A judge in Raleigh County is moving ahead with the balancing act of handling two different cases about religious exemptions to West Virginia’s vaccination law at the same time.

In the short view, Judge Michael Froble will hear arguments in a multi-day hearing about whether to issue permanent injunctions in the cases that come at the vaccine issue from opposite sides.

But over the longer term, the circuit court hearing that starts at 9 a.m. Wednesday is about establishing the raw material of a state Supreme Court review that seems on track for next spring.

The lawyers on opposite sides of the case agree so much is weighted toward the future that they jointly asked the circuit judge to halt everything, forgo this hearing and just move toward a Supreme Court review.

Instead, the judge dec

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