Rory Perry: Topics-CriminalInformation about recent WV Supreme Court cases and opinions involving criminal matters.Summaries of all January 2007 opinions posted - corrected- August 28, 2007 Summaries of all 62 opinions issued in the January 2007 term of court are now posted. The summaries are in three groups. Issue 91, posted on March 2, 2007, contains summaries of the first ten opinions of the term. Issue 92, posted August 22, contains summaries of 45 opinions. Finally, Issue 93, posted August 28, contains seven opinion summaries that were inadvertently omitted from Issue 92. The opinion summaries are also available on three general category pages: Civil, Criminal, and...http://www.state.wv.us/wvsca/Clerk/Topics/Criminal/2007/08/28.html#a1278 CRIMINAL :: Improper comment on defendant's silence was plain error- August 28, 2007 STATE v. BRIAN DANIEL MURRAY, No. 33193 (Per Curiam)(Davis, C.J., dissenting)(Maynard, J., dissenting)(Benjamin, J., concurring)(June 5, 2007). Defendant appealed following jury conviction in the Circuit Court of Morgan County for the offenses of failing to render aid at an automobile accident involving death and failure to maintain control of his vehicle. Applying plain error analysis to conclude that the prosecution improperly commented on the defendant's failure to testify.http://www.state.wv.us/wvsca/Clerk/Topics/Criminal/2007/08/28.html#a1277 CRIMINAL, ATTORNEYS :: Conflict of interest and ineffective assistance of counsel- August 22, 2007 STATE EX REL. CARROLL EUGENE HUMPHRIES v. THOMAS MCBRIDE, WARDEN, No. 33103 (Per Curiam)(April 19, 2007). Petitioner appealed an order of the Circuit Court of Greenbrier County that denied his petition for a writ of habeas corpus. Petitioner was convicted by a jury on July 30, 1999, of one count of felony offense of accessory before the fact to murder of the first degree, and one count of the felony offense of conspiracy to commit murder. Reversing and remanding for a new trial, in light of...http://www.state.wv.us/wvsca/Clerk/Topics/Criminal/2007/08/22.html#a1266 CRIMINAL, EVIDENCE :: Late disclosure of rebuttal witness merited mistrial- August 22, 2007 STATE v. JULIAN R. SMITH, No. 33171 (Per Curiam)(Maynard, J., dissenting)(Albright, J., concurring)(June 13, 2007). Reversing conviction of the offense of aggravated robbery following a jury trial in the Circuit Court of Kanawha County. Holding that a witness, disclosed after the defendant testified, who recanted an undisclosed pretrial statement that supported the defendant's defense of alibi, was prejudicial. Holding that "manifest necessity for a mistrial is demonstrated in the record in..http://www.state.wv.us/wvsca/Clerk/Topics/Criminal/2007/08/22.html#a1265 CRIMINAL, EVIDENCE :: Failure to provide pre-trial notice of 404(b) material, dismissed charges as 404(b) material- August 22, 2007 STATE v. JEREMIAH DAVID MONGOLD, No. 33222 (DAVIS, C.J.)(Starcher, J., concurring in part and dissenting in part)(June 6, 2007). Affirming a conviction for death of a child by parent, guardian or custodian by child abuse, obtained following a jury trial in the Circuit Court of Hampshire County. Holding that the trial court did not err in admitting related incident evidence that was not disclosed prior to trial, in light of the fact that the evidence was used to rebut defendant's character...http://www.state.wv.us/wvsca/Clerk/Topics/Criminal/2007/08/22.html#a1264 |