Survey of Develpoments in West Virginia Law: 1977

Whitman v. Fox' involved various constitutional challenges to the West Virginia conspiracy statute,'" election fraud statute," and the procedure followed by the Logan County Circuit 8 Other cases dealing with Constitutional Law decided in 1977 included: State v. Boyd, 233 S.E.2d 710 (W.Va.1977) (constitutional provisions governing due process and self-incrimination of criminal defendant were infringed by interrogation at trial as to reason defendant had not earlier disclosed a defense); Menon v. Davis Memorial Associates, Inc., 235 S.E.2d 817 (W.Va.1977) (civil plaintiff's rights to due process violated when trial court ruled on the merits of the case without affording plaintiff an opportunity to present evidence in his behalf); State ex rel.Hutzler v. Dostert, 236 S.E.2d 336 (W.Va.1977) (bail, which must be determined on a case by case basis, deemed to be excessive as to named defendant and his charged offense, thus violating constitutional prohibition against excessive bail); Smoot v. Dingess, 236 S.E.2d 468 (W.Va.1977) (defendant may not be incarcerated for either civil or criminal contempt upon unsworn testimony and notice of the contempt hearing should be given to the real party in interest); O'Neil v. Parkersburg and Hendrickson v. Parkersburg, 237 S.E.2d 504 (W.Va.1977) (notice of claim provision that right of victim of governmental tort feasor to sue is absolutely barred should he not give required notices to municipality within thirty days after his cause of action has accrued, violated equal protection and due process clauses and were unconstitutional); Mason County Board of Education v. State Superintendent of Schools, 234 S.E.2d 321 (W.Va.1977) (county board of education had standing to obtain judicial review of an order of the State Superintendent of Schools requiring the reinstatement of an employee); State ex rel.Preacher v. Sencindiver, 233 S.E.2d 425 (W.Va.1977) (upheld constitutionality of W. Va.Code § 61-2-1 (1977 Replacement Vol.), felony murder statute, as not erecting an impermissible inference of motive, willfulness and premeditation); State ex rel.State Building Commission v. Casey, 232 S.E.2d 349 (W.Va.1977) (statute providing for rent-free use of state property by a private corporation is an unconstitutional grant of the credit of the State to such corporation); State ex rel.Kanawha County Building Commission v. Paterno, 233 S.E.2d 332 (W.Va.1977) (acquisition and construction by the commission of annex through issuance of bonds payable from severence tax revenues were not violative of constitutional provisions limiting contracting of state debts or those granting the state's credit to a county, or those limiting the contracting of county debts); Anderson v. George, 233 S.E.2d 407 (W.Va.1977) (declared W. VA.CODE § 7-10-4 (1976 Replacement Vol.) unconstitutional because statute did not provide for pre-seizure or post-seizure hearing on the validity of humane officer's statutory powers); State ex rel.Cogar v. Kidd, 234 S.E.2d 899 (W.Va.1977) (declared portion of embezzlement statute, W. VA.CODE § 61-3-20 (1977 Replacement Vol.) which caused certain presumptions of guilt to be raised, unconstitutional; statute deemed severable with the rest of it remaining valid); State ex rel.Piccirillo v. Follansbee, 233 S.E.2d 419 (W.Va.1977) (property qualification for candidacy in municipal elections unconstitutional as violative of equal protection, W. VA.CONST.art.III, § 17).