Judges from neighboring counties filling in for Cochrane
Dec. 20—Following Wyoming County Circuit Judge Mike Cochrane's stroke Saturday, the need for a judge in the courtroom is being evaluated day-by-day.
Cochrane was at home in Pineville at the time of the stroke and was transported to a Charleston hospital. No other details have been released.
"The Supreme Court is aware of the situation," explained Jason Mullins, Wyoming County Commission president. "Judges are being assigned from other counties when they are needed here.
"We're doing what we need to do.
"Mike is just an incredible person, a fine Christian man. He is well thought of at the courthouse and throughout the county.
"We were just devastated by the news — and surprised. We had the courthouse Christmas party Friday and he threw that party. He paid for all the food. That's just the kind of guy he is. He was at the ballgame that night. Then Saturday morning..."
Mullins said Cochrane has family in from other states and his friends in Charleston are helping to take care of them.
—Cochrane was appointed by Gov. Jim Justice as Judge of the 27th Judicial Circuit in July 2021 to fill the unexpired term of Warren McGraw.
He has been a licensed attorney in West Virginia since 2000.
A 1985 graduate of Man High School, Cochrane spent four years in the U.S. Navy, then earned degrees from Marshall University (1994) and Mississippi College of Law (1998).
"I grew up on a four-acre spread along the banks of Huff Creek, just two miles from the Wyoming County line, in Logan County," Cochrane said during a previous interview.
"I went into the Navy at 18 years old and was a hospital corpsman, stationed at Portsmouth Naval Hospital from 1986-87, and then was assigned to a Marine Corps infantry platoon and company that took me throughout the world from 1988-89," he said during the interview.
"At Marshall, I worked at the Veterans Administration office in Huntington for four years and, while going to law school, I waited tables at night and on weekends in a hotel restaurant in Jackson, Miss.
"I've been a practicing licensed attorney since 1999 in North Carolina and since 2000 in West Virginia," Cochrane said.
He spent four years with Elam Law in Charlotte, N.C., a small medical malpractice firm, from 1998-2002.
"I came to Wyoming County in 2002 and worked as an attorney for the Bureau of Child Support Enforcement until I came to work with (then-Prosecutor) Rick (Staton) full-time in 2012, after being a part-time assistant prosecutor beginning in 2009," he said.
In March 2013, Cochrane was appointed county prosecutor by the county Commission, filling the unexpired term of Rick Staton.
Officials held a prayer vigil for Cochrane Saturday night at the courthouse and ask that people continue to pray for his recovery.
