Law Suit Story Archives - West Virginia Public Broadcasting

Justice Plans To Call Special Session To Clarify W.Va. Abortion Laws

When the U.S. Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade, it sent abortion law decisions back to the states. In an opinion filed Wednesday, West Virginia Attorney General Patrick Morrisey concluded an 1882 law making abortion a felony was valid, but Morrisey also said superseding court rulings call for legislative clarification.

When the U.S. Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade, it sent abortion law decisions back to the states.

In an opinion filed Wednesday, West Virginia Attorney General Patrick Morrisey concluded an 1882 law making abortion a felony was valid, but Morrisey also said superceding court rulings call for legislative clarification.

A lawsuit was filed in Kanawha County Wednesday, contending the old law is not valid due to the numerous conflicting laws passed since the 1882 law went into effect. The suit asks for a temporary restraining order leading to a permanent injunction.

In his regular COVID-19 briefing Thursday, Gov. Jim Justice said he will call a special legislative session on abortion “very soon.”

He said he agrees with Morrisey’s opinion, but realized there’s an urgent need to know how to enforce the abortion laws now on the books.

“We need to move for further and more detailed clarification,” Justice said. “The legislature needs to amend this law to get absolute clarification.”

West Virginia House and Senate leaders have said in released statements that their legal teams have been working for months on clarifying the state’s abortion laws.

W.Va. Supreme Court Refuses To Hear Ousted Primary Candidate’s Appeal

West Virginia’s Supreme Court refused a last ditch attempt by a candidate ruled ineligible to stay on the primary ballot.Andrea Kiessling, a candidate in the 8th Senate District, took her case to the West Virginia Supreme Court of Appeals to try and remain on the May 10th Republican primary ballot.Friday afternoon, the high court refused to grant a stay or hear the appeal.

West Virginia’s Supreme Court refused a last ditch attempt by a candidate ruled ineligible to stay on the primary ballot.

Andrea Kiessling, a candidate in the 8th Senate District, took her case to the West Virginia Supreme Court of Appeals to try and remain on the May 10th Republican primary ballot.

Friday afternoon, the high court refused to grant a stay or hear the appeal.

On Wednesday, Kanawha Circuit Judge Duke Bloom ruled Kiessling did not meet the legal requirement that a candidate live in West Virginia five years prior to the election.

Thursday, Secretary of State Mac Warner ordered all parties involved in 8th Senate District County voting (Clay, Roane and parts of Kanawha, Putnam and Jackson) to disregard all Kiessling’s votes and post signs at all polling places declaring her ineligible for office.

In response to Kiessling’s requests, the original complainant argued the facts of Kiessling’s North Carolina residency clearly showed the eligibility violation.

The response also argued that should a stay be granted – with the majority of votes yet to be cast – any votes for a candidate that would ultimately be disqualified would result in even more voter disenfranchisement.

The residency complaint against Kiessling was first raised on Twitter by 8th Senate District Republican primary candidate and former Delegate Joshua Higginbotham.

The resulting actions set off a firestorm of partisan, polarizing social media posts, some from the state’s highest elected officials, just days before next Tuesday’ primary vote.

Ousted Senate Candidate Asks Supreme Court To Halt Ballot Removal Proceedings

The 8th District Senate candidate, Andrea Kiessling, wants the West Virginia Supreme Court of Appeals to keep her on the May 10th Republican primary ballot. On Wednesday, Kanawha Circuit Judge Duke Bloom ruled Kiessling did not meet the constitutional requirement that a candidate live in West Virginia five years prior to the election.

She asked for a stay to halt the court orders and filed an appeal to reverse the judges decision.

The original complaint said Kiessling lived in North Carolina for much of those five years and Bloom agreed.

Kiessling’s appeal argues the complaint came down too late, that facts of residency were not proved and that there is a post-election remedy that could be used for investigating possible candidate disqualifications.

Bloom ordered Secretary of State Mac Warner to withdraw Kiessling’s certificate of candidacy, disregard all her votes and post signs at polling places declaring her ineligible for office.

A spokesman from the Secretary of State’s office remained concerned with possible voter disenfranchisement over the more than 800 ballots cast prior to Bloom’s decision and said this was a precedent setting case.

After a Thursday afternoon decision by the West Virginia State Election Commission, Secretary of State Mac Warner said he would immediately have all election parties involved in the five county 8th Senate District (Roane, Clay and parts of Kanawha, Putnam and Jackson) begin carrying out Bloom’s orders.

Justices have asked for a response to Kiessling’s request for a Stay by 1 p.m. Friday.

Judge Orders Candidate Removed From Primary Election

Updated on Wednesday, May 4, 2022 at 5 p.m. Kanawha County Circuit Court Judge Duke Bloom has ordered West Virginia Secretary of State Mac Warner to remove Republican state Senate candidate Andrea Kiessling from the ballot days before the May 10 Primary Election.

Updated on Wednesday, May 4, 2022 at 5 p.m.

Kanawha County Circuit Court Judge Duke Bloom has ordered West Virginia Secretary of State Mac Warner to remove Republican state Senate candidate Andrea Kiessling from the ballot days before the May 10 Primary Election.

In a complaint filed last month, it was claimed that Kiessling violated the constitutional requirement that she be a West Virginia resident for five years before the election.

After a hearing on Tuesday, Judge Duke Bloom asked Kiessling’s attorney, the secretary of state, and the attorney who filed the complaint to enter their responses. Those were received earlier today, and the judge had already ruled against Kiessling.

Bloom would not say when Kiessling had made West Virginia her residence, but said it was clear she did not meet the five year standard.

The judge ordered Warner to:

Withdraw the certificate of candidacy
Direct all election officials to disregard any votes Kiessling receives.
Post signs in 8th District voting locations that Kiessling is ineligible.

Warner’s office had urged the judge to wait until after the election but indicated it will comply with the order in a statement. “An emergency meeting of the State Election Commission will meet as early as Thursday afternoon or Friday to implement the order of the judge. We plan to comply with the judge’s orders in the counties that make up the 8th Senatorial District.”

Original Post:

The West Virginia Secretary of State says a judge should wait until after the primary election to rule in a candidate’s residency dispute.

Kanawha Circuit Court Judge Duke Bloom asked all parties to file briefs Wednesday on how they think the case should be decided after a hearing held Tuesday morning.

The complaint claims District 8 Republican Senate candidate Andrea Kiessling violated the constitutional requirement that she be a West Virginia resident for five years before the election.

The complainant’s attorney argued documentation proves Kiessling was a North Carolina resident during much of the required five years.

Kiessling’s attorney argued evidence shows the candidate maintained West Virginia residency.

Bloom asked that the Secretary of State’s office also offer an opinion.

That response said the 800 or so Republican voters that have already cast ballots as of Wednesday in District 8 must not be disenfranchised, that the complaint comes too late according to state code, and that Bloom should wait until after the election to make any decision.

State Senate Candidate Refutes Residency Violation Claims

A claim that a state Senate candidate did not meet residency requirements and should not be on the ballot made its way to a Kanawha County courtroom Tuesday.

A complaint filed by Kanawha County registered voter Alicia Stine claims Republican Senate District 8 primary candidate Andrea Kiessling violated the West Virginia requirement that candidates must live in the state five years prior to their election.

District 8 includes Roane and Clay counties, and parts of Kanawha, Putman and Jackson.

The residency charge was first raised last week on Twitter by a District 8 opponent, former Republican state Delegate Joshua Higginbotham.

In a virtual hearing, Kiessling testified her family moved to Charlotte, North Carolina in 2012 for a better business opportunity for her family. Attorney Anthony Majestro asked Kiessling about her home and car purchases, business dealings and tax returns. She told Majestro she filed state and federal tax returns form 2012 until 2020 in North Carolina.

Kiessling testified that North Carolina was never a permanent home, she had dual residency and she was always laying the groundwork to return to central West Virginia, which she did in 2020.

“We always planned to move back and return to West Virginia,” Kiessling testified. “That was always the intention. My husband and I saw North Carolina in our business opportunities there as a means to an end. We needed to put things in place in order to be able to return to West Virginia, which was always always the plan.”

She also testified that she voted in North Carolina during those years, unaware that only a state resident can legally vote.

“I didn’t necessarily have that thought attached to why and when I voted. I voted because I wanted to vote,’ Kiessling said.

In a separate interview conducted after the hearing, Kiessling told West Virginia Public Broadcasting her intentions and actions while in North Carolina exhibited dual state residency.

“I took my pet to the vet, my local vet, in West Virginia, I continued to go to my dentist, and my children saw doctors in West Virginia,” Kiessling said. “I’m a shareholder at local businesses in West Virginia, I was very much involved in my family’s business. The list goes on. I remained a member of my church, all during the time I was in North Carolina. So I very much remained very well connected to West Virginia, and again, split my time between the states where I was running and operating businesses in and West Virginia.”

Kiesslnig said she and her campaign team knew the residency requirements before she decided to run for office, and felt any problems with driver licenses or voter registration were technicalities

“When I moved to North Carolina in 2012, for the businesses that we were pursuingI had to update my driver’s license,” Kiessling said. “And therefore my voter registration which was attached to the updating of my driver’s license, since that point in 2012. I have not updated my driver’s license or therefore my voter registration. I am a busy mom.”

Kanawha County Circuit Judge Duke Bloom asked for briefs of conclusions and relief from both parties – and from the Secretary of State’s office. He’s expected to make a ruling by the end of the week.

Lawsuit Asks State Senate Candidate Be Removed From Ballot

The petition claims state Senate District 8 candidate Andrea Kiessling does not meet residency requirements and asks Secretary of State Mac Warner to remove Kiessling from the May 10th republican primary ballot.

A lawsuit filed Friday afternoon asks that a West Virginia state Senate candidate be removed from the primary ballot.

The lawsuit was filed in Kanawha County Circuit Court by Alicia Stine, a registered voter in Senate District 8.

The suit follows an exchange on Twitter where Kiessiling’s opponent, former state delegate Joshua Higginbotham claimed Kiessling is a North Carolina resident. In a response, Kiessling said the accusation is false and West Virginia is her home.

The West Virginia Constitution requires candidates to be a citizen of the state for five years prior to their election.

The Secretary of State’s office said Kiessling properly filed to run for the office and they don’t have insight into whether there are any other disqualifying characteristics of eligibility.

West Virginia Public Broadcasting emailed both candidates for comment and are awaiting their responses.