Tag: West Virginia Supreme Court

Supreme Court to Decide if Prosecutor Should Keep Law License

The West Virginia Supreme Court of Appeals heard arguments Monday over whether to temporarily revoke the law license of a county prosecutor charged with domestic battery.

Kanawha County Prosecuting Attorney Mark Plants is facing the misdemeanor charge after State Police say he hit his step-son multiple times with a leather belt in February, leaving bruises.

The state Office of Disciplinary Counsel alleges Plants’ license should be revoked until his criminal proceedings are completed because he has violated ethics rules.  

Attorney for the office Joanne Kirby also said during the proceeding Plants’ is defending himself by asserting a statute preventing him from whipping his children is unconstitutional.

“He has essentially asserted that all criminal law of the state of West Virginia is unconstitutional,” Kirby told the court.

“He cannot be serving as the prosecuting attorney tasked with upholding and prosecuting the laws of the state of West Virginia when his own interests materially limit those of his client.”

Plants’ attorney Robert Davis maintained there is no precedent to remove the license of a prosecutor without a conviction and said it would be “extraordinarily disruptive” to the county’s system.

The court has given no timeline on how long it may take them to reach a decision.

Last month, Kanawha County Circuit Judge Duke Bloom ordered Plants and members of his office to no longer handle cases of abuse and neglect for children because of a conflict of interest and appointed a special prosecutor.
 

W.Va. Court Orders New Sentence in Truancy Case

  The West Virginia Supreme Court says a Kanawha County woman convicted in a truancy case can’t be both fined and ordered to perform community service.
 
The court says a Kanawha County judge also erred when he placed Beth Bennett on 90 days’ probation.
 
In an opinion issued Tuesday, the court says there are two sentencing alternatives for first-offense truancy. They are a fine, or requiring the adult to accompany the child to school.

The judge fined Bennett $50. The court says the fine wasn’t suspended, so there’s no basis for probation or community service.
 
Bennett pleaded guilty in April 2013 after her child had five unexcused absences from school. The court upheld her guilty plea.
 
The case was sent back to Kanawha County for resentencing.
 

First-Degree Murder Conviction Reinstated

The West Virginia Supreme Court has reinstated a man's first-degree murder convictions for the 1982 slayings of two people in Marion County.The court…

The West Virginia Supreme Court has reinstated a man’s first-degree murder convictions for the 1982 slayings of two people in Marion County.

The court ruled that the Ohio County Circuit Court erred when it granted Philip Reese Bush a new trial last year.

Bush was convicted in 1983 of killing Charles Dale Goff and Kathleen Jane Williams. His trial was moved to Ohio County because of pretrial publicity.

Bush’s appeal argued that one of the trial court’s jury instructions denied him due process.

A memorandum of decision issued Wednesday by the Supreme Court says there was no deprivation of due process.

Bush is serving two life sentences. He’s also a co-defendant in a separate Marion County case involving the slayings of three people in 1974.

Supreme Court Upholds PSC Approved Power Plant Sale

The West Virginia Supreme Court has sided with the state Public Service Commission on a decision to allow the sale of a Harrison County power plant.

The PSC approved the sale of Harrison Power Station in October 2013. In the deal, Mon Power would obtain about 80 percent ownership of the plant from Allegheny Energy Supply and become its sole owner.

In return, Allegheny would receive about 8 percent ownership of the Pleasants Power Station, becoming its sole owner as well, and $257 million. Mon Power has said they will pass the cost of the merger on to its consumers in their electricity rates.

The Citizen Action Group appealed the PSC’s decision, saying the price markup ruling violates stipulations of the merger agreement and contradicts commission policy.

The merger agreement CAG cites includes requirements for Mon Power to increase employment, invest in economic development, aid low income customers, increase energy efficiency programs, as well as other stipulations.

In a written opinion Wednesday, members of the state’s highest court disagreed with CAG and affirmed the original PSC approved agreement.

The transaction between Mon Power and Allegheny Energy, both First Energy subsidiaries, has already closed, but Mon has not yet increased rates for customers.
 

Kanawha Prosecutor Says He Won't Resign

Kanawha County prosecutor Mark Plants says his office doesn’t have a conflict investigating domestic violence cases involving children.
 
Plants is facing a domestic battery charge. He’s accused of hitting one of his sons more than 10 times with a leather belt on Feb. 22.
 
Plants told media outlets at a news conference on Monday that corporal punishment is legal if it’s reasonable. He says 75 percent of Kanawha County would be in jail if spanking was a crime.

Plants also said he won’t resign.
 
The state Office of Disciplinary Counsel has asked the West Virginia Supreme Court to either suspend Plants, prevent his office from working on cases involving allegations of violence by parents against children, or both.
 
 

W.Va. Court Allows Fee for FOIA Records Searches

The state Supreme Court has ruled that government agencies can charge an hourly fee for locating public documents requested under the West Virginia Freedom of Information Act.
 
The court ruled 4-1 in a decision released Thursday.
 
The justices overturned a Kanawha County circuit judge’s ruling that said the city of Nitro didn’t have the authority to enact an ordinance to establish an hourly search fee for documents.

The circuit judge had concluded the city could only charge for the cost of copying the documents, but the Supreme Court disagreed.
 
The justices said the Legislature has previously approved rules that allow various state agencies to charge search fees in FOIA document requests.
 
In a dissenting opinion, Justice Brent Benjamin said the fees should only apply to copying costs, not searches.
 

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