H. L. Kirkpatrick

Harry Louis Kirkpatrick III (born 1951), abbreviated H. L. or H.L., is the chief judge of the 10th Circuit Court of West Virginia. Kirkpatrick was appointed by then-West Virginia Governor Gaston Caperton in 1995 to serve as a circuit judge on the Tenth Judicial District in Raleigh County.

Biography
Harry Louis Kirkpatrick III was born in Beckley, West Virginia and grew up in Fayette and Raleigh Counties. He is a graduate of Woodrow Wilson High School (Beckley, West Virginia), University of Kentucky, and the West Virginia University College of Law.

Judicial service
Kirkpatrick served as a lawyer for more than twenty years until he was appointed to serve as a circuit judge of the Tenth Judicial Circuit in 1995 by then-West Virginia Governor Gaston Caperton. Kirkpatrick assumed office in 1996 and was re-elected in 2000, 2008, and 2016.