Failure to Follow Through with a Court-Conditioned Improvement Period (Including Inpatient Treatment) Supports Termination; Credibility Findings and Inadequately Briefed Extension Claims Will Not Be...
Acknowledgment of Abuse as a Precondition to Additional Improvement Periods (and a Basis for “No Reasonable Likelihood” Findings) Case: In re D.R. Court: Supreme Court of Appeals of West Virginia...
Termination for Post‑Adjudication Nonparticipation; Written‑Motion Requirement for Improvement Periods Introduction In In re H.A. and C.M., the Supreme Court of Appeals of West Virginia affirmed an...
UCCJEA Home-State Jurisdiction for Infants Turns on Where the Child Lived from Birth with a Person Acting as a Parent—Not Place of Birth Case: In re J.H., No. 25-393 (W. Va. Sup. Ct. App. Mar. 24,...
Post-Termination Visitation as the Child’s Right: Courts May Not Delegate Contact Decisions to Adoptive Placement Discretion Case: In re M.C., No. 25-262 (Nicholas County CC-34-2024-JA-101) Court:...
Failure to Acknowledge Abuse and Noncompliance Defeat Improvement Period; MDT Lapses Treated as Harmless Where Best Interests Support Termination Case: In re T.H. and S.H.-1, No. 25-284 (W. Va. Mar....
In re V.M.: Termination May Proceed Without Less Restrictive Alternatives When a Parent Stops Following the Family Case Plan 1. Introduction Case: In re V.M., No. 25-489 (Kanawha County...
Deed References to Prior Surface Conveyances Do Not Reserve Minerals After Merger Without “Certain and Definite” Reservation Language Introduction In Joseph Wells, Individually and as Power of...
Strict Summons Service and Prejudice-Based Enforcement of Trial Court Rule 24.01 in Legal Malpractice Dismissals Introduction In Shelia Hallman-Warner v. Ryan Umina (Supreme Court of Appeals of West...
Expert “Provocation/Reasonable Person” Opinions Are Inadmissible When They Invade the Jury’s Common-Sense Role and Lack Daubert Reliability (State v. Starkey) Case: State of West Virginia v. Antwon...
Felony-Murder-by-Robbery Sufficiency Review: Jury Credibility Control and Circumstantial Proof of Conspiracy Introduction State of West Virginia v. Bobby Wolford (W. Va. Sup. Ct. App., Mar. 24, 2026)...
Proportionality and Preservation Rules in Supervised-Release Revocations: Meaningful Two-Test Analysis Required; Unraised Constitutional Claims Not Reviewed Case: State of West Virginia v. James...
Accomplice Testimony and Jury Credibility Determinations Sustain Grand Larceny and Conspiracy Convictions Under Sufficiency Review Introduction In State of West Virginia v. Joshua Pruitt (No. 24-15),...
Adult-Pornography “Grooming” Evidence Survives Rule 403; Uncorroborated Child-Victim Testimony and Statutory Consecutive Terms Sustain Convictions and Sentence Introduction In State of West Virginia...
Strict Enforcement of Perfecting-Appeal Deadlines: Failure to Timely Perfect and to Seek Extension Before Expiration Warrants Dismissal 1. Introduction In Stephanie Lara Toler v. West Virginia...
De Novo Appellate Review of Denials of Motions for Judgment of Acquittal in West Virginia Introduction In State of West Virginia v. Victor Lee Thompson, No. 23-478 (W. Va. Mar. 12, 2026), the Supreme...
Restitution May Run to Victim’s Parents as “Third-Party Compensators,” and Fund Restitution May Be Proven by Reliable Agency Records Without Live Testimony Case: State of West Virginia v. Willie...
In re S.M.: Dispositional Orders Must Make Evidence-Based Findings on the “Cecil T. factors” and May Not Rely on “Indefinite” Incarceration Court: Supreme Court of Appeals of West Virginia | Date:...
Appellate Deference to Credibility Findings and “Sibling Imputation” in Sexual-Abuse Adjudications Under West Virginia’s Abuse-and-Neglect Statutes 1. Introduction Case: In re A.C. and S.T., No....
No Additional Improvement Period Absent Substantial Change; New Domestic-Violence Conviction and Out-of-State Home Incarceration Support Termination (In re R.L.) Introduction Case: In re R.L., No....