“Not a Critical Stage”: Supreme Court of West Virginia Re-Affirms Strict Frazier Test and Denies Right to Counsel or Hearing on Post-Sentence Motions to Withdraw Guilty Pleas 1. Introduction In State...
Inherent Violence & Proportionality in Recidivist Life Sentences: A Comprehensive Commentary on State of West Virginia v. Antonio Devon Cottingham (2025) 1. Introduction In State v. Cottingham, the...
State v. Harrison: No Pre-Habeas Right to Grand-Jury Transcripts After a Guilty Plea Introduction State of West Virginia v. Joshua James Harrison (Supreme Court of Appeals of West Virginia, 30 July...
Circumstantial Sufficiency: Supreme Court of West Virginia Clarifies Standard for “Concealment of a Deceased Human Body” – Commentary on State of West Virginia v. Anthony Yester Introduction The...
State v. Robinson: Re-Affirming the Limited Scope of Appellate Review over Statutorily-Bound Sentences and Jury Verdicts in West Virginia 1. Introduction In State of West Virginia v. Marques Robinson...
State v. Grant S.: Testimonial Evidence Alone Can Sustain Revocation of Home Incarceration in West Virginia Introduction In State of West Virginia v. Grant S. (Supreme Court of Appeals of West...
“The Voluntary-Acceptance Rule” Supreme Court of West Virginia Clarifies When Failure to File Financial Disclosure Will Not Upset a Divorce Settlement Introduction Anne Y. v. Daniel Y., decided on 27...
In re A.T., B.T., and N.T.: The Supreme Court of West Virginia Clarifies that Erroneously Excluding Parents (Whose Rights Are Intact) from Abuse-and-Neglect Permanency Hearings May Constitute...
Gilhuys v. Hardy County 911 Center: When Lack of Comparators Justifies Summary Judgment Despite Ongoing Discovery in WVHRA Actions Introduction In Gilhuys v. Hardy County 911 Center, the Supreme...
“In re A.H.” – Reaffirming the Constitutional Presumption of Fit Parental Custody and Defining the Bounds of Non-Parent Intervention in West Virginia 1. Introduction In In re A.H., No. 23-596 (W. Va....
Reinstatement of the Parental-Fitness Presumption After Rehabilitation – Commentary on In re A.H. (Supreme Court of Appeals of West Virginia, 2025) 1. Introduction In re A.H. presented the Supreme...
“When Protection Outweighs Rehabilitation” – Supreme Court of West Virginia Affirms Immediate Termination of Parental Rights Where the Abusing Parent Persistently Maintains a Violent Relationship and...
From Presumption to Discretion: Clarifying the Standard for Post-Dispositional Improvement Periods in West Virginia – A Commentary on In re D.S. (Supreme Court of Appeals, 2025) Introduction In re...
“Denial, Continued Association, and the Futility Test” – Supreme Court of West Virginia Clarifies When Improvement Periods May Be Refused in Abuse-and-Neglect Cases I. Introduction In In re E.H.,...
“Reasonable, Not Specialized”: West Virginia Affirms that Child-Welfare Agencies Need Not Provide Specialized ADA Training When Accommodating Parents with Autism Introduction In In re E.K., S.C., and...
“Re-evaluating Post-Termination Contact: The West Virginia Supreme Court Declares Specific Findings Mandatory Before Denying Visitation” Introduction In In re J.N.-1 (2025), the Supreme Court of...
“Denial as Non-Compliance” – West Virginia Supreme Court Clarifies that Failure to Acknowledge Abuse Constitutes Grounds for Terminating Both Improvement Periods and Parental Rights Introduction The...
The “Equal-Probability” Threshold: West Virginia Supreme Court Clarifies the Clear-and-Convincing Standard in Child-Sexual-Abuse Adjudications Introduction On 26 June 2025 the Supreme Court of...
“Significant-Connection Jurisdiction” and Incarceration-Based Neglect: Commentary on the Supreme Court of Appeals of West Virginia’s Decision in In re L.H. (2025) 1. Introduction In re L.H., No....
In re L.M.: The West Virginia Supreme Court Confirms that Parental Rights May Be Terminated Without Lesser Alternatives When the Parent Fails to Acknowledge Abuse or Comply with an Improvement Period...