MORGANTOWN, W.Va.— Monongalia County Circuit Court Judge Perri Jo DeChristopher has appointed Tim Pocious to replace Todd Gaujot as magistrate. Gaujot resigned and agreed not to seek further judicial office following his second admonishment from the Judicial Investigation Commission.
Pocious was appointed to serve as magistrate in 2019 following the retirement of Darus Summers; he then ran unsuccessfully for the seat on the bench against Gaujot in the 2020 election.
“It’s a court of your peers, and everyone should be treated the same, and I try to do that every day,” Pcious said.
Pocious served as a campus police officer at an alternative school in Pennsylvania for about five years before accepting a job as a court security officer in Monongalia County 2008. Other than his brief stint as a magistrate, Pocious has served as a court security officer in the Monongalia County Justice Center.
Pocious is married with two children.
The abrupt resignation of Gaujot dropped the county from four to three magistrates. In 2021, the group of four processed about 6,500
From 1999 to 2000, Monongalia County had five magistrates, but in 2000, one of those was moved to Mercer County.
Legislative efforts since have failed to replace that fifth judicial officer.
“Tim is an experienced magistrate,” Monongalia County commissioner Sean Sikora said. “He’ll bring experience immediately to the position, and we’re in need of that.”
Commissioner Jeff Arnett is a practicing lawyer and praised the appointment.
“I would like to thank Judge DeChristopher for the appointment of now-Magistrate Pocious,” Arnett said. “I was before him before, and he does a very good job.”