Justia West Virginia Supreme Court of Appeals Opinion Summaries

Karen Tanner appealed an order the circuit court that granted her parole with the condition that she not be in the presence or accompaniment of anyone convicted of a felony, including her husband. Tanner contended (1) the circuit court was without authority to grant parole insofar as parole is an executive function, and (2) the condition that she not associate with her husband was an unreasonable burden on her right of marriage. After discussing the reasons for imposing parole conditions, including the aim of reducing recidivism, the Supreme Court affirmed, holding (1) the West Virginia Home Incarceration Act imparts authority to circuit courts to grant parole under the conditions specified therein; and (2) the circuit court properly exercised its discretion and did not act in an unreasonable, capricious, or arbitrary manner when it imposed upon Tanner's parole the condition that she not associate with her husband. View "State v. Tanner" on Justia Law

Tyrone Crouch was convicted by a jury of voluntary manslaughter and sentenced by the circuit court to ten years imprisonment. Crouch appealed, contending that the circuit court improperly instructed the jury on the lesser-included offense of involuntary manslaughter. The Supreme Court reversed, holding (1) because of the clearly inconsistent and confusing definition of involuntary manslaughter given by the trial court, it was not certain that the jury understood how they could reach a verdict on that lesser included offense; and (2) the Court was unable to determine independently from the record that the inconsistent instructions were harmless. Remanded for a new trial. View "State v. Crouch" on Justia Law

The West Virginia Office of Tax Appeals rejected the challenge of ConAgra Brands, Inc. to assessments for unpaid corporation net income tax and business franchise tax. The assessments were imposed on apportioned royalties ConAgra received from the licensing of its intangible trademarks and trade names for use through the United States, including West Virginia. In setting aside the decision of the Office of Tax Appeals, the circuit court held that ConAgra's licensing transactions did not constitute doing business in West Virginia and that the assessments failed to meet the requirements of the due process and commerce clauses of the U.S. Constitution. The State Tax Commissioner sought reinstatement of the assessments for corporation net income tax and business franchise tax. The Supreme Court affirmed the circuit court, holding that the order setting aside the decision of the Office of Tax Appeals and invalidating the assessments should not be disturbed. View "Griffith v. Conagra Brands, Inc." on Justia Law

Michael Chenoweth was arrested for driving a motor vehicle while under the influence of alcohol. Thereafter, Commissioner Joe Miller of the West Virginia Division of Motor Vehicles issued an order revoking Chenoweth's privilege to drive a motor vehicle. The circuit court reversed and vacated the revocation of Chenoweth's driver's license based on its finding that the trooper improperly stopped Chenoweth's vehicle without an articulable reasonable suspicion. In so doing, the circuit court applied the exclusionary rule to an administrative driver's license revocation proceeding. The Supreme Court reversed, holding that there was no illegal stop, and thus it was not necessary to reach the issue of whether the circuit court properly applied the exclusionary rule in this case. View "Miller v. Chenoweth" on Justia Law

This case involved a decision by the West Virginia Department of Transportation, Division of Highways (DOH) to provide a wage increase for current and newly hired employees in three counties that were part of its District 5 operations. Appellants, who worked in DOH's District 1 counties, filed administrative grievances contending that they were victims of unlawful discrimination because of DOH's failure to provide them with a wage increase. The West Virginia public employees grievance board and the circuit court found no merit to Appellants' contention. The Supreme Court affirmed, holding that Appellants did not provide the Court with a basis on which to find that the board's findings were arbitrary or capricious so as to represent an abuse of discretion. View "Hammond v. Dep't of Transp." on Justia Law

Petitioner Donna Boley filed a petition asking for a writ of mandamus directed to Respondents, the Secretary of State of West Virginia and Frank Deem. Petitioner was an incumbent state senator seeking re-election for the Third Senatorial District (District 3). Deem sought to challenge Petitioner for the Republican Party's 2012 nomination and was certified as eligible by the Secretary to have his name placed on the ballot. Petitioner filed the petition challenging Deem's eligibility to be a candidate for state senator against her, asserting that Deem did not met the residency requirements contained in the state Constitution and the Senate Redistricting Act of 2011. Deem conceded that a plain reading of the residency requirements made him ineligible to be a candidate for state senator in District 3 but argued that the residency requirements should be declared unconstitutional. The Supreme Court found that the residency requirements were constitutional and granted the requested writ, ordering the Secretary to withdraw her certification of Deem's candidacy for state senator in District 3 and commanding that Deem's name be removed from ballots to be used in the May 2012 Republican party primary election. View "State ex rel. Boley v. Tennant" on Justia Law

In 1974, Amos and Lois Harper purchased property in a subdivision. In 2001, the property was sold at a foreclosure sale to the Bank of New York. Because the property taxes were not paid, the sheriff sold the tax lien on the property in 2007 to Marquis Development. Marquis sold the property to Gavin Smith, who subsequently served an eviction notice on Lois Harper's son, Mike Harper. The Harpers filed this declaratory judgment action against Marquis and Smith, claiming that they were the owners of the subject property. Ultimately, the circuit court granted summary judgment in favor of the defendants and declared that Smith was the owner of the subject real estate. The Supreme Court affirmed, holding (1) the circuit court erred to the extent it concluded that Smith was a bona fide purchaser given the fact that he was on notice of a potential defect in the tax deed received by Marquis; but (2) because the Harpers lost title to the property as a result of the foreclosure sale in 2001, the Harpers had no standing to challenge Smith's status as a bona fide purchaser. View "Harper v. Smith" on Justia Law

Michelle Falquero was employed by the state Department of Environmental Protection (DEP) when she filed a grievance alleging (1) that she had been constructively discharged due to a hostile work environment which spurred her to tender a letter of resignation, and (2) that when her working conditions improved she was wrongly denied the opportunity to rescind the voluntary resignation even though DEP had not formally accepted it. The state Public Employee's Grievance Board found merit in Falquero's contention that her job at DEP should not have been terminated because she could and did rescind her voluntary resignation before DEP had accepted it and ordered DEP to reinstate Falquero with back pay. The circuit court affirmed. The Supreme Court affirmed the circuit court, holding (1) acceptance of a tender of resignation of public employment may occur when the employer (i) clearly indicates acceptance through communication with the employee, or (ii) acts in good faith reliance on the tender; and (2) because the evidence showed that acceptance of the resignation did not occur, the circuit court did not err in upholding the ruling of the Grievance Board. View "W. Va. Dep't of Envtl. Prot. v. Falquero" on Justia Law

Respondent Timothy Judge was charged with failure to register as a sex offender. Respondent filed a motion to dismiss the indictment, which the trial court granted after concluding that Respondent did not violate the West Virginia Sex Offender Registration Act by failing to re-register as a sex offender after a one-night period of confinement in jail for an unrelated charge. The State appealed, contending that every dismissal from a penal institution, regardless of the nature of the offense or the length of confinement, requires a sex offender to initiate the registration process required by the Act. The Supreme Court affirmed the dismissal of the indictment, holding that Respondent was in compliance with the registration requirements of the Act, and Respondent was not required by the provisions of the Act to re-register with the state police following his release from jail. View "State v. Judge" on Justia Law

In these consolidated cases, Petitioners Paul Hoston and Reese Riley were convicted of drug-related offenses. In their appeals, Petitioners challenged the circuit court's denial of their motions to suppress evidence obtained against them through the use of a body wire worn by a confidential informant into their homes that recorded the illegal drug transactions. The electronic interception was authorized in both cases by a magistrate. Petitioners contended that such electronic interception could only be authorized by one of five designated circuit court judges, and therefore, the evidence was illegally obtained and should have been suppressed as fruit of the poisonous tree. The Supreme Court affirmed the final orders of the circuit court, holding (1) electronic interception by law enforcement authorities of a person's conduct or oral communications in his or her home is governed by W. Va. Code 62-1F-1 to -9; and 9; and (2) pursuant to W. Va. Code 62-1F-2(a), an order authorizing law enforcement authorities to conduct electronic interception of conduct or oral communications in the home can be obtained from either a magistrate or a judge of a circuit court within the county wherein the non-consenting party's home is located. View "State v. Hoston" on Justia Law