In re J.T.: ADA “Reasonable Accommodations” Findings Under § 49-4-604(c)(5)(C) Are Not Required for Termination Under § 49-4-604(c)(6) Absent a Developed ADA Showing Court: Supreme Court of Appeals...
Freeland v. Kelly: Appellate Record Burden and the “Some Evidence” Rule in Prison Disciplinary Habeas Review 1. Introduction In Aron Freeland v. David Kelly, Commissioner, West Virginia Division of...
Rule 60(b) in Habeas After Final Appellate Review: Nine-Year Delay Is Unreasonable; “Fraud on the Court” Requires Proof and Need Not Trigger a Hearing Case: Antonio Prophet v. Jonathan Frame,...
Competency to Stand Trial Turns on Present Functional Understanding—not Etiology (TBI vs. Mental Illness)—and Retroactive Reevaluation Requires Preservation and Changed Circumstances 1. Introduction...
Plea-Colloquy Admissions Control Rule 32(e): No “Fair and Just Reason” to Withdraw Guilty Plea Where Withdrawal Grounds Contradict the Record 1. Introduction Case: State of West Virginia v. Edward...
Summary Affirmance Reinforces Deferential Review of Board of Review Factfinding on TTD Closure and Secondary Cervical Radiculopathy 1. Introduction In Katie Gee v. ACRN Resources, Inc. (W. Va. June...
Termination of Parental Rights Requires Child-Specific Allegations and Adjudication; Neglect of One Child Is Not Automatically Imputed to Siblings 1. Introduction Case: In re M.D., D.M., and A.M....
Failure to Acknowledge Abuse Makes a Post‑Adjudicatory Improvement Period Futile: Denial and Termination Affirmed Amid Ongoing Domestic Violence and Methamphetamine Use 1. Introduction In In re K.S....
Evidence Is Not “Outside the Adjudication” When It Bears on the Adjudicated Neglect Condition (and Improvement Periods May Be Denied for Non-Acknowledgment) 1. Introduction In In re C.B.-1, R.B.,...
In re A.C.: No Authority to Reinstate a Terminated Improvement Period; Noncompliance Supports Termination and Final Disposition 1. Introduction Case: In re A.C., Supreme Court of Appeals of West...
Rule 41(a)(2) Voluntary Dismissals: “With Prejudice” Requires a Finding of Plain Legal Prejudice Beyond a Second Lawsuit 1. Introduction In Timothy Hall v. Phillis Gail Ensor, Thomas Beach, III,...
Dispositional Orders Must Expressly Decide Post-Termination Visitation Motions and, If Granted, Set a Concrete Plan (Not Left to Placement Discretion) Case: In re A.G. and A.W.-1 Court: Supreme Court...
Post-Dispositional Improvement Period Requires a Substantial Post-Adjudicatory Change; Serious Safety Violations and Dishonesty Support Termination Without Less Restrictive Alternatives 1....
Mandamus Fee Denials Must Be Explained and Evaluated Under Highlands (Rule 52(a) Findings Required) 1. Introduction In Michael Shawn Steffen v. Scott Caserta, as Clerk of the County Commission of...
Personal Safety Orders Require Proof by a Preponderance, and Rule 59(e) Limits Appellate Review to Issues Raised 1. Introduction In A.H. v. J.B. (Supreme Court of Appeals of West Virginia, June 24,...
In re A.G.: Ongoing Domestic-Violence Threat and Prior Involuntary Terminations Support Adjudication, Denial of Improvement Period, and Termination Without Less Restrictive Alternatives 1....
Hypothetical Vagueness Attacks Do Not Defeat West Virginia’s Kidnapping Statute Absent an As-Applied Showing; Consecutive Sentences Within Statutory Bounds Stand 1. Introduction In State of West...
Scheduling Orders in Original Jurisdiction Writ Proceedings Do Not Divest Circuit Court Jurisdiction Absent a Rule to Show Cause or Stay 1. Introduction In Antonio Prophet v. Jonathan Frame,...
Expired Personal Safety Orders Remain Reviewable for Collateral Consequences; “Reconsideration” Motions Are Construed Under Rule 59(e) or Rule 60(b) 1. Introduction In A.H. v. B.K. (W. Va. Sup. Ct....
Best Interests Cannot Substitute for Statutory Abandonment in Stepparent Adoption—Interference with Visitation Defeats the Abandonment Presumption Case: In re the Adoption of: R.E.H., No. 25-332...