Joseph C. Thorton v. William M. Ward
Joseph C. Thorton v. William M. Ward
Opinion
Petitioner Joseph C. Thorton, 1 Executive Director of the Governor's Committee on Crime, Delinquency, and Corrections 2 (the "Executive Director"), herein appeals from the January 23, 2018 order of the Circuit Court of Ohio County reversing the Executive Director's order decertifying Respondent William Ward ("Mr. Ward") as a law enforcement officer in the State of West Virginia. On appeal, the Executive Director raises two issues: (1) whether the circuit court erred by applying the incorrect statutes to define the scope of the Law Enforcement Professional Standards Subcommittee's 3 ("Subcommittee"
*594 ) authority and (2) whether the circuit court erred by incorrectly applying the due process protections in employment disputes to a proceeding governing law enforcement professional certification. Upon careful review of the briefs, the appendix record, the arguments of the parties, and the applicable legal authority, we find that the circuit court erred by applying the incorrect statutory provisions to this matter and the proceedings below. Furthermore, because the circuit court applied the incorrect statutory provisions, its conclusion that the civil service hearing proceedings must precede decertification proceedings is also in error. Therefore, we reverse the order of the circuit court and remand the case for further proceedings consistent with this opinion.
I.
FACTUAL AND PROCEDURAL HISTORY
In March 2015, Mr. Ward was a certified law-enforcement officer employed by the Wheeling Police Department with the rank of corporal. 4 On March 25, 2015, Mr. Ward and his then-girlfriend, Paula Brown ("Ms. Brown"), 5 were involved in an incident inside Mr. Ward's Wheeling residence. On this day, an argument and physical altercation occurred seemingly over a series of text messages regarding Mr. Ward's contact with his former wife. Mr. Ward asked that Ms. Brown leave the premises and take her possessions and children with her. 6 According to the Criminal Complaint, Ms. Brown then "went downstairs and took Mr. Ward's duty weapon, ID, and keys" before attempting to leave the residence with those items. The Criminal Complaint further alleges that Mr. Ward "got the weapon off of [Ms. Brown] and [he] went to call 911"; that he set his retrieved duty weapon down; that he recalled that Ms. Brown still had his ID and keys; and that he "ran down the stairs, caught [Ms. Brown] at the garage door and the force of their body weight broke the garage window." The Criminal Complaint indicates that Mr. Ward then "walked back into the kitchen where he noticed his duty weapon was missing again." At this point, Ms. Brown left the residence. It was later determined that Ms. Brown had "left the weapon at the residence and she had hid it in the garage above the light." On that same date, both Mr. Ward and Ms. Brown sought domestic violence protective orders, but those petitions were withdrawn or dismissed at the request of the respective parties.
As a result of the incident, the Ohio County Sheriff's Department investigated and caused the filing of two criminal charges against Mr. Ward: (1) brandishing a weapon, in violation of West Virginia Code § 61-7-11 and (2) domestic battery, in violation of West Virginia Code § 61-2-28(a). Initially, Mr. Ward pleaded not guilty to the charges and was released on bond. One of the terms of Mr. Ward's bond was that he was prohibited from possessing a firearm. Additionally, the Wheeling Police Department placed Mr. Ward on administrative leave with pay from his employment subsequent to the arrest and pending an internal investigation. Following the conclusion of the internal investigation, in June 2015, the Chief of the Wheeling City Police Department, Shawn Schwertfeger ("Chief Schwertfeger"), recommended to the City of Wheeling that Mr. Ward be terminated.
In February 2016, on the eve of trial, the special prosecutor, Ms. Brown, Mr. Ward, and the City of Wheeling reached essentially a pretrial diversion agreement on the pending criminal charges. Specifically, it was agreed that the brandishing charge would be dismissed with prejudice and the domestic battery charge would be resolved with Mr. *595 Ward entering a provisional no contest plea. Additionally, the plea agreement continued a term of Mr. Ward's bond, whereby Mr. Ward remained unable to possess a firearm until October 2016. 7 The Agreement also contained provisions that Mr. Ward would retain his employment as a police officer and would return to full time employment as a police officer over the course of the Agreement if the terms thereof were met. However "if Mr. Ward was found to have violated any term of the agreement he would be automatically found guilty of the underlying charge and be subject to a six (6) month jail sentence." The magistrate court approved that plea agreement by order entered April 25, 2016.
While Mr. Ward's criminal case was pending, the Subcommittee learned of the incident and charges. As part of the end-of-year compliance check of all law enforcement officers' ongoing in-service training and firearms qualification requirements, Mr. Ward was flagged as not having kept up with the mandatory firearm qualifications. On September 10, 2015, the Subcommittee initiated communications with the Wheeling Police Department ("the Department"), informing them that the Subcommittee had flagged Mr. Ward regarding his firearms qualifications for the 2015 training year. When the Subcommittee inquired of the Department, the Department informed the Subcommittee that Mr. Ward was excused from that requirement due to him being on extended administrative leave with pay. The Department further informed the Subcommittee that Mr. Ward was on administrative leave because of a domestic violence related arrest. The next communication between the Subcommittee and the Department was again initiated by the Subcommittee. On October 1, 2015, the Subcommittee sent an email to the Department to "follow up on the charges against William Ward." The email further inquired as to whether the incident was "wrapped up or it is all still pending" and whether Mr. Ward was "currently on leave or has he separated from the department." Chief Schwertfeger responded the same day answering all the questions from the Subcommittee: he indicated that the charges were still pending; the City had not yet acted upon his recommendation of termination; and Mr. Ward remained on administrative leave with pay.
Following a February 1, 2016 news report describing Mr. Ward's no-contest plea to the domestic battery charge, the Subcommittee informed Mr. Ward that his law enforcement officer certification would be reviewed. More specifically, the Subcommittee sent a notification letter to Mr. Ward dated March 8, 2016, stating that "[a]s a result of the provisional plea which you have entered in Ohio County Magistrate Court as part of Case No. 15-M-546 a review of the status of your certification as a law enforcement officer in West Virginia has been set." 8
As a part of the Subcommittee review proceeding, the Subcommittee provided an "Overview of Appearance Before the LEPS Subcommittee," which included procedural information about the proceeding. 9 On April 28, 2016, Mr. Ward, with counsel, appeared before the Subcommittee. The Subcommittee heard testimony from four witnesses and *596 considered sixty-seven exhibits. 10 Mr. Ward submitted two exhibits and gave his account of events. Mr. Ward's attorneys also "spoke with members [of the Subcommittee] concerning [Mr. Ward's] actions in the matter being reviewed and the disposition of the charges against him." During this proceeding, it appears the witnesses were not sworn and numerous witnesses were questioned by the Subcommittee while they were in the room together, rather than one at a time. The witnesses also were not subject to cross-examination, and there was no record made of the proceeding.
After taking the evidence, the Subcommittee unanimously concluded that Mr. Ward was in violation of several law-enforcement professional standards. 11 Based on those findings, on April 29, 2016, the Subcommittee issued an immediate stop work order and decertified Mr. Ward as a law enforcement officer. On May 26, 2016, the Subcommittee memorialized its decision in a written Position Statement ("Position Statement"). As a result, Mr. Ward was forbidden from taking or holding any sworn law enforcement position in West Virginia. The Subcommittee notified Mr. Ward that he could contest its decision pursuant to West Virginia Code of State Regulations § 149-1-1. On August 1, 2016, the City of Wheeling terminated Mr. Ward's employment. 12
Mr. Ward then timely filed an appeal. Represented by counsel, Mr. Ward appeared before the Governor's Committee's Hearing Examiner 13 on August 10, 2016, for a de novo review of his case. Mr. Ward had the opportunity to have an evidentiary hearing on the record, to be represented by counsel, to call and cross-examine witnesses, and to make arguments. During this review hearing, Mr. Ward did, in fact, advance several procedural and jurisdictional challenges, introduce an additional exhibit, and extensively cross-examine the Subcommittee's witnesses. 14 On November 10, 2016, the Executive Director issued his Findings of Fact and Conclusions of Law and Final Ruling on Administrative Appeal ("Executive Director's Written Decision"). 15 Based on what he contends was an independent review of the hearing transcript and the record, the Executive Director ultimately agreed with the conclusions of the Subcommittee, adding that Mr. Ward's failure to disclose his inability to lawfully carry a *597 firearm constituted an additional basis for his decertification.
Mr. Ward timely appealed the Executive Director's Written Decision to the Circuit Court of Ohio County asserting several errors in the administrative hearing process. In its January 24, 2018 memorandum order reversing the Executive Director's Written Decision ("Final Order"), the circuit court found that "the statutory sanctions possessed by the ... Subcommittee can not [sic] be applied to a city police officer if those sanctions would interfere with the officer's unequivocal right to exercise the due process rights established by West Virginia Code [§] 8-14-20. Those sanctions would only apply - if any remained - after those due process rights had been complied with [sic]." The circuit court further held that Mr. Ward "was subject to the civil service provisions of Article 14 of Chapter 8, section 20, and he could only be removed, discharged, suspended or reduced in rank or pay for just cause and he could not [be] removed, discharged, suspended or reduced in pay 'except as provided by the civil service provisions of this article.' "
Accordingly, the circuit court held that Mr. Ward had a right to be furnished with a written statement of the reasons for the action taken against him and then given an opportunity to file a written answer furnished to the Policeman Civil Service Commission. Following such answer, he was entitled to a public hearing within a period of ten days from the filing of the charges in writing or his written answer. The circuit court found that the burden of proof at that hearing would be upon the City of Wheeling to show just cause for its actions. The circuit court determined that Mr. Ward was not provided with his rights under West Virginia law and that "[n]one of the proceeding that took place before Hearing Examiner Earl W. Maxwell is relevant to this decision. The ... Subcommittee had no right to revoke the law enforcement certification of [Mr. Ward], a police officer with the city of Wheeling Police Department." Based on these findings, the circuit court reversed the order decertifying Mr. Ward and granted Mr. Ward's appeal. The Executive Director appeals from this Final Order.
II.
STANDARD OF REVIEW
With respect to the applicable standard of review, this Court has held that:
"[o]n appeal of an administrative order from a circuit court, this Court is bound by the statutory standards contained in W. Va. Code § 29A-5-4(a) and reviews questions of law presented de novo ; findings of fact by the administrative officer are accorded deference unless the reviewing court believes the findings to be clearly wrong." Syl. Pt. 1, Muscatell v. Cline ,196 W. Va. 588 ,474 S.E.2d 518 (1996).
Syl. pt. 1,
Straub v. Reed
,
III.
DISCUSSION
A. The circuit court applied the incorrect statutes to define the scope of the Law Enforcement Professional Standards Subcommittee's authority to decertify law enforcement officers
In his first assignment of error, the Executive Director contends that the circuit court misread the applicable statutes and ignored the statutory basis for the Subcommittee's authority to decertify Mr. Ward. 16
*598 We agree. Specifically, the Final Order fails to analyze the applicable statutes that govern the Subcommittee in regulating the profession of law enforcement in West Virginia. As the Executive Director aptly notes, the Final Order "contains incorrect statutory citations and summaries, and effectively removes the governing code sections from consideration."
In particular, in the circuit court's five-page order, it analyzes a subsection of the West Virginia Code- § 30-29-3(a)(5) -rather than the applicable section of the West Virginia Code-§ 30-29-5. Additionally it misreads West Virginia Code § 30-29-3(a)(11). This erroneous application is a substantial and substantive flaw in the Final Order because these statutory provisions discuss very different issues.
First, the circuit court reviewed and relied upon its interpretation of West Virginia Code § 30-29-3(a)(5) in reversing the Executive Director's Written Decision. West Virginia Code § 30-29-3(a)(5) provides only that the Subcommittee shall "[m]aintain a list of approved law-enforcement instructors[.]" This provision has absolutely no bearing on the issues raised below and was neither cited to nor relied upon by the Executive Director in his Written Decision. 17 However, the Executive Director did cite to and rely on West Virginia Code § 30-29-5 in support of his Written Decision. West Virginia Code § 30-29-5 (LexisNexis 2018), which is the proper section for analysis, provides the certification requirements and gives the authority to the Subcommittee to decertify a law enforcement officer. In particular, West Virginia Code § 30-29-5(h) provides that "[t]he [S]ubcommittee, or its designee, may decertify or reactivate a law-enforcement officer pursuant to the procedure contained in this article and legislative rules promulgated by the [S]ubcommittee." West Virginia Code § 30-29-5(i) further provides the statutory procedure for "[a]ny person aggrieved by a decision of the [S]ubcomittee ... [to] contest the decision[.]" Accordingly, it is clear that the circuit court relied on the wrong statutory provision in arriving at its decision in this matter.
Second, the circuit court discussed and relied upon its interpretation of West Virginia Code § 30-29-3(a)(11). This provision provides that the Subcommittee has the authority to certify or decertify a law enforcement officer. However, the circuit court stated in its order that this provision was ambiguous because "the [S]ubcommittee is charged with certifying or decertifying or reactivating law enforcement officers 'as provided in' section 3(a)(11) of article 29 (the same section) ...." This is an incorrect statement. West Virginia Code § 30-29-3(a)(11) actually provides that the Subcommittee may "[c]ertify or decertify or reactivate law enforcement officers, as provided
in sections five [ § 30-29-5 ] and eleven [§ 30-29-11]
."
The circuit court's misapplication of the applicable statutes ignores the statutory basis for the Subcommittee's authority to certify or, as in the instant matter, decertify a law-enforcement officer. This distinction is a crucial issue because the statutory provisions *599 and related regulations ignored by the circuit court lay out the foundation and procedures for the decertification process and the Subcommittee or its designee's authority to implement these procedures. According to the Executive Director, these misapplied statutory provisions laid out the core of his argument: that the Subcommittee of the Governor's Committee, or its designee, has the sole authority to decertify law enforcement officers in West Virginia and that the statutory language does not allow for the decertification provisions to be subordinate to the civil service provisions. As such, it is imperative that the circuit court apply the correct statutory provisions.
This Court has previously found that applying incorrect statutes in a particular matter is, in itself, reversible error.
Mott v. Kirby
,
Furthermore, while Mr. Ward responded in his brief with a plethora of different arguments, he failed to respond to this first assignment of error. At no point in his brief does Mr. Ward argue that the circuit court did, in fact, analyze and rely on the correct statutory provisions or that even if the circuit court did misapply the statutes, that it was not reversible error. West Virginia Rule of Appellate Procedure 10(d) provides that "[u]nless otherwise provided by the Court, the argument section of the respondent's brief must specifically respond to each assignment of error , to the fullest extent possible. If the respondent's brief fails to respond to an assignment of error, the Court will assume that the respondent agrees with the petitioner's view of the issue. " (Emphasis added). Accordingly, we rule against Mr. Ward.
B. The circuit court incorrectly applied the due process protections in employment disputes to a proceeding governing law enforcement professional certification, confusing an administrative action with an employment decision
In the Executive Director's second assignment of error, he contends that the circuit court erred by incorrectly applying the due process protections in employment disputes contained within the civil service statute, West Virginia Code § 8-14-20, to an entirely separate and distinct proceeding governing law enforcement professional certification, which is codified in West Virginia Code §§ 30-29-1 et seq . Particularly, the Executive Director contends that the circuit court erred by subordinating the professional decertification procedures to civil service discipline or termination procedures.
Significantly, Mr. Ward's response fails to articulate any argument or response as to why the civil service provisions must be invoked prior to the Subcommittee instituting decertification proceedings, except for this vague hypothetical question: "If the lower court's order is not affirmed, why would any police department ever initiate termination or disciplinary proceedings ... when the police department can just have the [ ] Subcommittee do the same thing without all the necessary requirements, formalities[,] and protections?" We further note that Mr. Ward's response fails to give any explanation as to why the civil service statutory scheme does not make any mention of the decertification process or why there are separate statutory provisions under the decertification statutory scheme for law enforcement officers who are separated from employment. Accordingly, we agree with the Executive Director that the civil service employment statutory scheme is entirely separate and independent from the law enforcement decertification administrative scheme.
First and foremost, it is important to review the significance and importance of the statutory scheme for decertifying law enforcement officers. "The most common state legislative and administrative approach for
*600
addressing police misconduct,
[
18
]
which is largely unknown to scholars and the public even though it has been adopted by forty-three states, involves revocation of the officer's state certificate or license that is issued upon successful completion of state-mandated training." Roger L. Goldman & Steven Puro,
Revocation of Police Officer Certification: A Viable Remedy for Police Misconduct?
,
Since at least the 1980s, the West Virginia Legislature has recognized that law enforcement officers were professionals and authorized either the Governor's Committee or its Subcommittee to promulgate certification requirements and the authority to certify law enforcement officers pursuant to those requirements.
See
Moreover, the explicit language of each section demonstrates the Legislature's intent to have two separate and independent statutory schemes: one for protecting a civil service employee's interest in his/her employment and one for protecting the regulation of the law enforcement profession. For instance, the civil service provisions set forth a right for law enforcement officers employed by municipalities to have a hearing before he or she is "removed, discharged, suspended or reduced in rank or pay."
*601
If the Legislature explicitly limits application of a doctrine or rule to one specific factual situation and omits to apply the doctrine to any other situation, courts should assume the omission was intentional; courts should infer the Legislature intended the limited rule would not apply to any other situation. Hence, a statute which specifically provides that a thing is to be done in a particular manner, normally implies that it shall not be done in any other manner. See 73 Am.Jur.2d Statutes § 211 (1974). "This canon is a product of logic and common sense, and it has special force when the statutory scheme is carefully drafted." State v. Sugg ,193 W. Va. 388 , 401 n. 14,456 S.E.2d 469 , 482 n. 14 (1995).
State ex rel. Riffle v. Ranson
,
On the other hand, the administrative certification/decertification provisions provide that the Subcommittee or its designee "may decertify or reactivate a law-enforcement officer pursuant to the procedure contained in [Article 29] and legislative rules promulgated by the [S]ubcommittee."
Mr. Ward has cited to no language of the statutory framework or the accompanying legislative rules that definitively state that a law enforcement officer must undergo the hearing procedures of the civil service statute prior to the Subcommittee or its designee obtaining its authority to begin the decertification process. Accordingly, the clear and unambiguous statutory language demonstrates that these two statutory schemes have different purposes and function independently of each other.
Additionally, the Executive Director argues that "the circuit court's conclusion that termination
must
precede decertification would render the other sections-specifically, sections ignored in the circuit court's analysis-redundant." We agree. As discussed above, the circuit court analyzed and applied the wrong statutory provisions. Accordingly, the circuit court failed to consider West Virginia Code § 30-29-11
20
, which provides for procedures to be followed when decertifying law enforcement officers who are separated from their employment. If decertification can occur only post-termination, then the provisions of West Virginia Code § 30-29-11 would be redundant and meaningless. We have previously held that " '[i]t is always presumed that the legislature will not enact a meaningless or useless statute.' "
Matheny v. Scolapio
,
Lastly, we note that both statutory schemes provide for their own due process protections.
21
The civil service provisions provide for notice, including a written statement of charges; ability to answer the statement of charges; if demanded, a public hearing; ability to be represented by legal counsel; written record of all testimony; and right of appeal to the circuit court.
See
The decertification provisions also provide for due process protections. In particular, the legislative rules, approved by the Legislature, outline the specific reasons that a certification may be revoked.
As such, both of these statutory schemes protect two separate and independent interests: employment protections and the regulation of mandatory professional certifications. Neither of these statutory schemes are subordinate to the other, but each has their own procedure and protections. Therefore, the circuit court erred when it determined that the civil service statutory scheme must always precede a law enforcement officer's decertification proceeding. 22 Consequently, we reverse the circuit court's January 23, 2018 Final Order reversing the November 10, 2016 Executive Director's Written Decision decertifying Mr. Ward as a law enforcement officer in the State of West Virginia. 23
*603 IV.
CONCLUSION
For the reasons set forth above, the January 24, 2018 Final Order of the Circuit Court of Ohio County reversing the November 10, 2016 order of the Executive Director decertifying Mr. Ward as a law enforcement officer in the State of West Virginia is reversed, and this case is remanded to the circuit court to vacate its order reversing the Executive Director's Written Decision and for further proceedings consistent with this opinion.
Reversed and Remanded.
Since the filing of the appeal in this case, the executive director of the Governor's Committee on Crime, Delinquency and Correction has changed from W. Richard Staton to Joseph C. Thorton. By Order entered March 19, 2019, the Court has made the necessary substitution of parties pursuant to Rule 41(c) of the West Virginia Rules of Appellate Procedure.
The Governor's Committee on Crime, Delinquency, and Correction ("the Governor's Committee") was "established as a state planning agency pursuant to § 15-9-1 of [the West Virginia Code.]"
The Subcommittee was continued pursuant to West Virginia Code § 30-29-2.
At the time of the incident, Mr. Ward had been a certified law-enforcement officer with the City of Wheeling Police Department for eleven years.
The record before us indicates that Ms. Brown and her children were living with Mr. Ward at his home located on Wheeling Island.
The record indicates that the children may have also been present during this incident.
The terms of the Provisional Plea Agreement included, but were not limited to the following:
a. Mr. Ward would enter a plea of no contest to the offense of Domestic Battery and agreed that if the terms of the Agreement were violated he would face a term of up to 6 months in jail, however, if the terms were complied with then the plea would not be entered and the charge of Domestic Battery would be dismissed;
b. The court would defer consideration of the no contest plea for a period of two years to allow the terms to be met; and
c. The State would dismiss the charge of brandishing with prejudice.
We note that an actual copy of the March 8, 2016 letter is not included in the Joint Appendix Record submitted by the parties. Therefore, this language comes from Mr. Ward's underlying Petition For Review/Appeal filed with the Circuit Court of Ohio County.
As the Executive Director noted in his November 10, 2016 decision, this "Overview" is an ill-prepared document and the Subcommittee should rewrite the document to more accurately indicate the nature of the proceeding. Additionally, we agree with the Executive Director that the Subcommittee "should either follow these procedures or amend them to reflect the actual practice."
The Subcommittee also provided these sixty-seven exhibits via email to Mr. Ward prior to the April 28, 2016 meeting.
These standards included the following: (1) having admitted the commission of or been convicted of a felony or any crime involving dishonesty, unlawful sexual conduct, physical violence, or driving under the influence of alcohol or drugs, or having been placed in or participated in any pretrial diversion or equivalent program for the same; (2) an inability to lawfully carry a firearm under state and/or federal statute; and (3) any conduct or a pattern of conduct unbecoming to a law enforcement officer or law enforcement official or activities that would tend to disrupt, diminish, or otherwise jeopardize public trust and fidelity in law enforcement.
Notably, the termination letter from the City of Wheeling states that there were two reasons for Mr. Ward's termination: 1) the bond restriction imposed upon Mr. Ward which prohibited him from possessing a firearm had not been lifted and 2) his law enforcement certification had been revoked. As such, the City of Wheeling noted that Mr. Ward was unable to fulfill his responsibility under the terms of Paragraph 9 of the Provisional Plea Agreement and Agreed Order, which provided that after "six (6) months form the date of this Agreement, the bond restriction currently imposed on Mr. Ward that prohibits him from possessing a firearm shall be lifted, and he shall be returned to full-time duty[.]"
The hearing examiner was a designee of the Executive Director.
The Subcommittee had five witnesses: Nicole Seifert, Corporal of the Ohio County Sheriff's Office; William Nolan, Sergeant of the Wheeling Police Department; Chief Schwertfeger; Thomas McComas, Sheriff of the Cabell County Sheriff's Department; and Eric Michael Gordon, Assistant Prosecutor of Marshall County. Mr. Ward called only Charles Sadler, Manager of the Law Enforcement Professional Standards Program during this review hearing.
The Executive Director noted that after the review hearing, the "Hearing Examiner issued a nonbinding recommended decision to [him] in [his] capacity as Executive Director of the Governor's Committee on Crime, Delinquency and Correction." The Executive Director further made note that he reviewed all of the findings and recommendations of the Hearing Examiner and that "[s]ome of the findings are incorporated into [his Decision]" and "[s]ome findings are modified or rejected."
As a preliminary matter, Mr. Ward asserts that the Executive Director lacks standing to pursue this appeal. We have previously held that, "[t]o entitle any person to obtain a writ of error or appeal from a judgment, he must be both a party to the case and be aggrieved by the judgment." Syl. pt. 1,
Williamson v. Hays
,
In its Final Order, the circuit court even commented that this section "adds nothing [to the analysis] because it simply requires that a list be maintained on approved law-enforcement officers."
As scholars have noted,
[t]raditional remedies for police misconduct fail to address the problem caused by the practice of leaving the decision to hire and fire officers up to local sheriffs and chiefs. This often leads to situations where unfit officers are able to continue to work for a department that is unable or unwilling to terminate them. Even when they are terminated, these officers often go to work for other departments within the state. Although virtually every other profession is regulated by a state board with the power to remove or suspend the licenses or certificates of unfit members of the profession ( e.g. , attorneys, physicians, teachers), there has been a longstanding tradition of local control of police without state involvement.
Roger L. Goldman & Steven Puro,
Revocation of Police Officer Certification: A Viable Remedy for Police Misconduct?
,
Syl. pt. 6,
Mounts v. Chafin
,
The circuit court instead analyzed West Virginia Code § 30-29-3(a)(11).
Because the circuit court erroneously subordinated the decertification statutes to the civil service statutes, the circuit court did not address any claim regarding the sufficiency of due process under the decertification statutory framework. Accordingly, we do not address the sufficiency of these statutes in this case.
This is consistent with other courts as well.
See
Pangallo v. Kentucky Law Enf't Council
,
While the Executive Director raised only two assignments of error in his opening brief, which we addressed in turn above, he also generally argued that none of Mr. Ward's other objections to the procedure utilized by the Subcommittee and the Executive Director constitute a sufficient basis to affirm the judgment of the circuit court. We decline to address this non-assignment of error. As acknowledged by the Executive Director, the circuit court did not reach any final decision on these additional procedural issues.
See
Skaggs v. E. Associated Coal Corp.
,
Case-law data current through December 31, 2025. Source: CourtListener bulk data.