The West Virginia Supreme Court of Appeals will hear four cases today in the Marlyn E. Lugar Courtroom at the West Virginia University College of Law. The court will convene at 10 a.m. Admission is free and open to the public.
“It is a very valuable opportunity for our students and the public to see the state’s highest court in action,” said Joyce E. McConnell, dean of the WVU College of Law. “We deeply appreciate the justices’ willingness to conduct the court’s business at WVU.”
The justices will hear four arguments in the court’s morning session. Following a break, they will return to the Lugar Courtroom to judge the final round of the George C. Baker Moot Court Competition. Since 1982, the annual competition requires second-year law students to write appellate briefs and present oral arguments on both sides of an issue. The case to be argued this year involves Fourth Amendment issues of search and seizure and probable cause.
In its morning session, the Supreme Court justices will first hear Jennifer Fillinger, R.N. v. Laura Rhodes, Executive Director, WV Board of Examiners for Registered Professional Nurses. The petitioner is seeking a writ of prohibition to stop further proceedings on two complaints filed against her.
The second case is University Commons Riverside Home Owners Assoc. v. University Commons Morgantown, LLC, et al. It involves an action brought by a condominium owners’ association against defendants who designed, constructed, and marketed the condominium complex.
The third case is Pamela Jean Games-Nelly, Prosecuting Attorney v. Honorable Joann Overington, Magistrate for Berkeley County, and Christopher Seidell. For this case, the prosecutor is appealing the circuit court’s order denying a petition for prohibition. The prosecutor sought to prohibit a magistrate’s order directing the State to produce certain discovery to the defendant in a pending misdemeanor DUI case.
The final case on the Supreme Court’s docket is Mountain State College v. Sheryl Holsinger, Sandra R. Carpenter and Mary J. Yeater. Mountain State College is appealing the order of the Circuit Court of Kanawha County that granted judgment in favor of the respondents for fraudulent inducement and unconscionable inducement to enroll in Mountain State’s legal assisting program.
Attendees to the West Virginia Supreme Court should be seated by 9:50 a.m. Attire is business casual and backpacks/book bags are not allowed in the courtroom. If entering or exiting the courtroom after court starts, visitors must do so between cases to avoid undue disruption. Cameras and recording devices are not permitted in the courtroom.
