WRIT CONFERENCE

WEDNESDAY, APRIL 19, 2000

Mother appeals the termination of her parental rights.

Mother appeals the termination of her parental rights.

Refuse 5-0

3. State v. Robert Watson, No. 000201 (filed 1-31-00).

Watson was convicted of fraudulent use of a credit card. Watson’s 1 - 10 year sentence was suspended and he was placed on five years of probation. He appeals, arguing that the card which was used was an ATM debit card and not a credit card.

Hamer was convicted of two counts of delivery of a controlled substance. He appeals on the grounds of prosecutorial misconduct, and improper admittance of Rule 404(b) evidence.

Refuse 5-0

5. State v. John Gilman, No. 000049 (filed 1-11-00).

Gilman appeals his conviction for voluntary manslaughter. He was sentenced to nine years with a credit of 266 days.

Komar appeals his convictions for fleeing from an officer while under the influence of alcohol, second offense battery upon a police officer, second offense DUI, and driving while revoked for DUI. He argues that the evidence was insufficient to support his convictions.

Bowman appeals his misdemeanor conviction of violating a protective order. He was sentenced to 24 hours in jail. He argues that the evidence was insufficient to support a conviction.

Sites was convicted of three counts of delivery of a controlled substance. He was sentenced to three consecutive terms of 1 - 5 years each. He appeals, arguing that the court erred in denying him probation.

Blankenship was indicted for two counts of malicious assault. He was convicted of two counts of battery. He appeals, arguing that the evidence was insufficient to support his convictions.

The Bureau of Child Support Enforcement appeals the lower court’s modification of child support.

Wayne Patterson, pro se, appeals the lower court’s refusal to sanction attorneys for the Bureau of Child Support Enforcement in his child support case.

Alexander, plaintiff below, appeals the jury’s adverse verdict in her personal injury case.

Grant 3-2
(Maynard, C.J. & Davis, J.)

Conrad appeals the lower court’s dismissal, on summary judgment, of his malicious prosecution and abuse of process case.

Nesbit files a writ of mandamus, seeking to compel Judge Keadle to testify at a habeas corpus evidentiary hearing.

Davis appeals the denial of habeas relief below.

Jimmie Baisden appeals the lower court’s failure to award him child support.

Petitioner, pro se, seeks a writ of mandamus compelling the Circuit Court of Roane County to appoint him counsel and to provide him access to a complete copy of his criminal file. Additionally, Petitioner requests that this Court inform him as to the status of his Motion for a Bond Pending Appeal, filed in Roane County Circuit Court.

Carter seeks a writ of mandamus compelling Judge Hoke to hold an Omnibus Habeas hearing.

Grant 5-0 (USM)

19. SER Jack Grimes, Jr. v. Raleigh County Circuit Court, No. 000572 (filed on 3/20/00).

Petitioner, pro se, seeks a writ of mandamus compelling the Raleigh County Circuit Court to provide him a copy of his court transcripts. Grimes also requests the appointment of an attorney.

Miller, pro se, seeks a writ of mandamus compelling the Lincoln County Circuit Clerk to give him a copy of his entire file, including all transcripts of hearings and proceedings.

21. SER Glenn R. Taylor v. Hon. Lawrence Miller, No. 000729 (filed 4/5/00).

Taylor, pro se, seeks a writ of mandamus compelling the Preston County Circuit Court to order the court reporter to send him a full copy of his transcripts. Taylor also seeks to compel the Preston County Circuit Court to resentence him as the appeal period expired before he received the requested transcripts or, in the alternative, Taylor requests a release from confinement.

Boles, pro se, seeks a writ of mandamus compelling Judge Risovich to answer his pending Habeas Corpus petition, filed on 8/3/99.

Blake, pro se, seeks a writ of mandamus compelling the state of West Virginia to re-sentence him so that he can appeal his conviction. Blake alleges ineffective assistance of his counsel.

Mills, pro se, seeks a writ of mandamus compelling this Court to issue an Order directing the Harrison County Circuit Court to reinstate the 120 days filing period based upon the failure of Mills’ court appointed attorney to prepare and file a motion for reconsideration of his sentence within the 120 day period under Rule 35(b).

Pelphrey, pro se, seeks a writ of mandamus compelling the Randolph County Circuit Court to issue a response or set a hearing date concerning his habeas corpus petition filed on 3/26/99.

Tingley, pro se, seeks a writ of mandamus compelling (1) the Potomac Highland Jail to provide him with adequate library materials and library access; (2) seeks an investigation into the adoption of two of his wife’s babies; (3) requests a transfer to the penal facility from which he was paroled from pursuant to W.Va. Code §62-12-19; (4) requests copies of documents pertaining to his divorce proceeding; (5) seeks an emergency mandamus/ preliminary injunction granting him class action certification; (6)seeks a declaratory judgment that the defendant’s acts and policies violate the rights of the State of West Virginia; (7) a preliminary or permanent injunction prohibiting West Virginia State prisons from being denied access to the law library; (8) Order directing W.L. Frederick to submit a policy governing the distribution of the state supreme court law library order forms and tax forms; (9) an Order prohibiting defendant from transferring him to any other institution except from the institution from which he was paroled; (10) In Forma Pauperis status; (11) requests a Supervisory Writ of Control in his Marion County Divorce case; (12) requests service of process by mail without having to post security as he is a indigent prisoner.

Hicks, pro se, seeks a writ of prohibition against the Honorable Kendrick King of the Eight Judicial Circuit of McDowell County to stop Judge King from presiding over the case of Debra Hicks v. Donald Hicks (Civil Action No. 98D-393K).

Petitioner, pro se, seeks a writ of mandamus compelling the circuit court of Lincoln County to rule on his Rule 35 Motion for Reconsideration of his sentence filed in September 1999.

29. SER Jerry C. Pulley v. Howard Painter-Warden, No. 000437 (filed 2/28/00).

Pulley, pro se, seeks a writ of mandamus compelling the West Virginia Supreme Court of Appeals to provide him with copies of varius legal documents and requests that an Order be entered directing the West Virginia Division of Corrections to provide him with the requested legal documents.

Lemons seeks a writ of habeas corpus in which he asserts that the Classification Committee at Huttonsville misclassified him as a Level 4 security risk due to evidence of an attempted jail break by Lemons.

Neece, pro se, seeks a writ of habeas corpus in which he asserts that he has not received credit for the 7 months of time served at Southern Regional Jail prior to the time he was sentenced for a DUI -related Death. Neece also requests court transcripts from the Wyoming Circuit Clerk’s office.

Petitioner Crabtree, pro se, seeks a writ of habeas corpus asserting the following grounds:

(1) Unconstitutional admission of hearsay and impeachment evidence; (2) the Trial Judge committed a constitutional violation by twice going into the jury room during jury deliberations to respond to questions of the jury and refusing to make a record of it; (3) the Trial Judge committed a constitutional violation by refusing to allow him an opportunity to examine and analyze evidence; (4) the Trial Judge violated Crabtree’s constitutional rights when the State was permitted to amend its bill of information during the trial for recidivism, over Crabtree’s objection; (5) Crabtree’s 8th Amendment rights were violated when the Trial Judge sentenced him to a life sentence under the recidivist statute because the court failed to make any proportionality analysis prior to sentencing Crabtree ; (6) Denial of effective assistance of counsel; (7) Unconstitutional Indictment because the count of malicious wounding in 93-F-196 does not allege the means that the injury was inflicted (the malicious wounding count merely stated "by severely beating"), only a battery conviction could have been properly imposed; (8) Unconstitutional prejudicial pre-trial publicity; (9) Unconstitutional suppression of helpful evidence by the State of West Virginia; (10) the state unconstitutionally and knowingly used perjured testimony; (11) the Trial Judge unconstitutionally failed to duly caution him when recidivist information was filed; (12) unconstitutional defects in the malicious wounding indictment; (13) Unconstitutional jury instruction; (14) Improper and unconstitutional communication between the Prosecuting Attorney and a member of the jury; (15) the Trial Judge unconstitutionally and mistakenly advised Petitioner of the wrong parole date.

33. SER Clarence W. Lanigan v. William S. Haines- Warden, No. 000643 (filed 3/24/00). Lanigan seeks a writ of habeas corpus alleging the following: (1) the Respondent Division of Corrections Commissioner Paul Kirby knew or should have known that the West Virginia Corrections Policy Directive 670.00 , Disciplinary Rule (2.01) is violative and unconstitutionally vague and broad; (2) that the basis upon which petitioner was given a write-up was merely prejudicial and discriminatory act; (3) Lanigan asserts that he was punished twice, once by having to complete community service and twice by being transferred to a higher security institution, which violates his right to equal protection; (4) the Warden of Pruntytown Correctional Center violated Lanigan’s rights to fair and equal treatment by writing up Lanigan for transferring money into his fiance’s inmate account; (5) the Parole Board standards which are used to determine whether an inmate is a danger to the community are vague and discriminatory; (6) the rules in policy directives 670.00 and 664.00 punish inmates for prior or current criminal convictions, which have already been brought before a judicial body, thereby violating the double jeopardy clause.

Lopez, pro se, seeks a writ of habeas corpus alleging the following grounds: (1) the trial court lacked jurisdiction to sentence Lopez because the statute under which he was convicted is unconstitutional under the due process and equal protection clause; (2) Denial of effective assistance of counsel; (3) the trial court erred in its failure to comply with Lopez’s requests for transcripts; (4) Mt. Olive’s policy of not treating Hepatitis C Virus inmates violates Lopez’s state and federal rights and constitutes cruel and unusual punishment as Lopez has a serious heart condition; (5) Denial of a fair and just trial and due process rights afforded by virtue of the cumulative effects of the numerous errors committed during his trial.

Morgan, pro se, seeks a writ of habeas corpus alleging that the Huntington Work Release Center wrongly found her guilty of violating Disciplinary Rule 1.19 (Use and Possession of Drugs) based upon Morgan’s confession to a fellow inmate that she used drugs.

Robinson, pro se, seeks a writ of habeas corpus alleging that he has been at Potomac Highlands Regional Jail since 2/23/00 without any access to the law library.

37. SER Ronnie Redden v. Howard Painter-Warden, No. 000443 (filed 2/16/00).

Redden, pro se, seeks a writ of habeas corpus and requests a new trial asserting that his son lied about being sexually abused by Redden.

38. SER Paul Ferguson v. Dallan Fields-Sheriff, No. 000592 (filed 3/22/00).

Ferguson, pro se, seeks a writ of habeas corpus alleging that he has twice been denied his medication for his mental condition.

Hanna, pro se, requests a rule to show cause directing Judge George W. Hill to show why Hanna is not entitled to an omnibus habeas corpus hearing.

Father appeals the lower court’s termination of his parental rights.

Father appeals the Wyoming County Circuit Court’s decision in which Judge Hrko found that Susan Carter had complied with all requirements of the Family Case Plan, had successfully completed the Pre-Adjudicatory Improvement Period and that the DHHR shall reintegrate Natasha into mother’s home within 60 days.

Father appeals the termination of his parental rights.

Mother appeals the termination of her parental rights.

Father appeals the termination of his parental rights.

Hanline was convicted on a plea on two counts of Forgery and sentenced to two consecutive sentences of 1-10. Hanline now appeals the circuit court denial of her motion to reduce sentence, claiming that the court erred in failing to hold a hearing on her motion and in denying the motion.

Albright appeals his conviction on one count of Unaggravated Robbery, claiming that the circuit court erred in failing to suppress his statement made after he requested counsel and in denying his motion for acquittal.

Baker appeals his sentence of sixty (60) years (to be served consecutively to any sentence from another county) in the penitentiary for his conviction on a plea on one count of Aggravated Robbery. Baker claims that the sentence is disproportionate to his actions in commission of the crime and that the court abused its discretion in ordering the sentence to be served consecutively with another sentence.

Horton appeals his conviction on one count of Malicious Assault, claiming that the circuit court erred in failing to appoint a new attorney, in failing to appoint a Guardian ad litem, and in denying the Motion for Dismissal.

50. State of West Virginia v. Joseph W. Tolliver, No. 000150 (filed 1-28-00).

Tolliver appeals his conviction of Third Offense DUI, claiming that the circuit court erred in denying his Motion for Acquittal. The motion was made at the close of State’s evidence and was based on the failure of the State to introduce sufficient evidence of his prior convictions to support that element of the crime.

Refuse 5-0

Ramey appeals the circuit court order granting a portion of land to Ms. McGowan by adverse possession and failing to address the tort claims Ramey raised in the original complaint.

Refuse 5-0

Gordon appeals the circuit court order upholding the decision of the Barbour County Deputy Sheriff’s Civil Service Commission to terminate Gordon as a deputy sheriff, claiming the decision to terminate was clearly wrong and that failure to hold a hearing prior to suspension violated Gordon’s right to due process.

Cindy Norris appeals the circuit court order finding Rex Norris to be the primary caretaker of thier children, claiming that the court abused its discretion when it reversed the Family Law Master’s finding that Cindy Norris is the primary caretaker, is a fit parent, and that it is in the best interest of the children to award custody to her.