Harrah relies on experience as Prosecutor in run for Fayette Circuit Judge
By Stephen Baldwin, RealWV
“I dedicated the first 14 years of my career to being a public servant, and I just wanna serve again.”
That’s how Larry Harrah describes his decision to run for Circuit Court Judge in the 15th District, Fayette County. Previously the Fayette County Prosecutor who’s been in private practice since 2019, Harrah said the timing was right now.
“I grew up in these courtrooms watching Judge Hatcher and Judge Blake run these courtrooms effectively. That’s the only way I know how to do it, and I have the experience on all sides.”
Harrah grew up in Goose Creek, just outside Fayetteville. “I don’t come from lawyers,” he says, “I come from welders and machinists, blue collar people.”
But one of his teachers in high school assigned students to conduct a mock trial, and he was the attorney. “It set me on a path of what I wanted to do.”
After graduating from WVU Tech in Montgomery, where he met his wife, Melissa, he began classes at the Appalachian College of Law before transferring to WVU the following year.
“Judge Hatcher came to my graduation on a Saturday,” he remembered. “He asked me if I’d like to clerk for him starting that Monday, and I said yes.”
Then in early 2015, Harrah was appointed as the Fayette County Prosecutor by the County Commission, the youngest person to ever hold the job. “I’ve handled the heaviest cases you can possibly imagine, the worst of the worst. As a prosecutor, you’re usually dealing with people about a situation that happened on their very worst day.”
One exception to that rule was the Fayette County Drug Court, which Harrah participated in from the start. “Getting to see those folks graduate is one of the best, most fulfilling experiences I’ve ever had.”
If elected, Harrah plans to keep the county’s three special treatment courts–Teen, Drug, and Family Treatment–in place. “I don’t just want to continue them, but I want them to be a shining star. That’s where we change lives; I’ve seen it.”
He says the best part of treatment courts is the low recidivism rate. “Not only do you help the person then, but it keeps them from reoffending later.”
Asked to describe what his courtroom would be like if elected, Harrah said, “First and foremost, they can expect to be treated with kindness and fairness. I will treat everybody equally. There will not be any favoritism shown to any individual at all. Everyone that walks into that courtroom will be treated with kindness and fairness. I will run an efficient, effective, professional courtroom and I will maintain control of that courtroom.”
Harrah says the judiciary should be independent. “It should be free from political affiliation or influence. That’s why I’m an independent.”
Harrah is running for Circuit Court in District 15 which serves Fayette County. His opponents include Judge Sam Fox, Evan Dove, Brandon Gray, and Wes Toney. Voters will choose a judge in the primary election this May. All other candidates have been invited to be featured in a similar profile.
