On January 8, 2024, Joyce Dumbaugh Chernenko filed her Certificate of Candidacy with the
West Virginia Secretary of State, seeking re-election to Division 1 of the Family Court for the
First Circuit of West Virginia, serving the citizens of Hancock, Brooke, and Ohio counties.
Judge Chernenko has served in Family Court in the Northern Panhandle for twenty seven
years. “My years in public service have been dedicated to protecting children, listening to the
concerns of parents in the courtroom, and making fair, honest decisions in these difficult cases,
involving the most important issues in their lives,” Chernenko said. She now seeks to continue
her role as a public servant, unwavering in her commitment to the citizens of the Northern
Panhandle.
Judge Chernenko was appointed to the Family Court by Governor Gaston Caperton in 1996,
and was elected to the court in 2002. She has worked tirelessly to improve the Family Court
system in our area, establishing a parent assistance program and custody mediation process years
before these two helpful programs were recognized and required by the West Virginia
Legislature.
Judge Chernenko saw the need for a separate space in her Ohio County and Hancock County
court facilities, where children could be protected from the emotional toll of their parents’ court
case. In 2002 the West Virginia Supreme Court awarded her one of two $2,500 statewide grants,
to create such a sanctuary in the Family Court’s Wheeling facility. In 2005 she and her husband,
Wellsburg attorney Marc B. Chernenko, sponsored the creation of the “Kid’s Korner” at the New
Cumberland court location. In this safe space games, music, and soft plush toys comfort these
little ones. “Marc and I were so pleased to be able to help by sponsoring the Kid’s Korner,” said
Judge Chernenko. “We have been so blessed in our lives, and wanted to give back, for the
children involved in our Family Court.”
Judge Chernenko was elected by her colleagues as President of the West Virginia Family
Judicial Association for two consecutive terms in 2000 and 2001, during a critical period when
the modern Family Court was created in our state. The Judge was recognized by the WVU
College of Law and West Virginia Executive Magazine in 2017 as a “Lawyer and Leader” in
West Virginia, in recognition of her public service career. In 2022 Legal Aid of West Virginia
honored Judge Chernenko at its Wheeling awards event with a Lifetime Achievement Award for
excellence as a trial judge.
Judge Chernenko is a lifelong resident of the First Circuit, born and raised in Weirton, the
daughter of long time Weirton businessman, the late William C. Dumbaugh, C.P.A. She
graduated in 1978 from Bethany College in Brooke County, and WVU College of Law in 1981.
Judge Chernenko is also the daughter-in-law of the late Senator John G. Chernenko, whose
public service to the citizens of the First District spanned decades, not only as its State Senator
and a veterans advocate, but before that as the United States Marshal for the Northern District of
West Virginia, appointed by Presidents Kennedy and Johnson.
Joyce Dumbaugh Chernenko will be a candidate on the ballot in the May 14, 2024 non-
partisan judicial election.
