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Fourth Circuit Clarifies Two-Year Statute of Limitations Governs All § 1983 Claims Arising in West Virginia, Regardless of Underlying Tort or Survivability

Article • March 1, 2026 • from CLN April, 2026

Filed under: 42 U.S. Code § 1983, civil action for deprivation of rights, Monell Liability, False Arrrest/Malicious Prosecution, Statutes of Limitation and Laches

Fourth Circuit Clarifies Two-Year Statute of Limitations Governs All § 1983 Claims Arising in West Virginia, Regardless of Underlying Tort or Survivability by David Kim by David Kim The United States Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit held that all 42 U.S.C. § 1983 claims arising in West Virginia are …

Fourth Circuit: Government Breached Plea Agreement by Successfully Arguing for Sentencing Enhancement Based on “Total Relevant Conduct” Not Stipulated to in Plea Agreement

Article • October 15, 2025 • from CLN November, 2025

Filed under: Breach of Plea/Coop./Immunity Agreements, In Connection With Another Felony Offense, Plea Bargaining, Acquitted Conduct/Uncharged Crimes/Dismissed Counts, Relevant Conduct

Fourth Circuit: Government Breached Plea Agreement by Successfully Arguing for Sentencing Enhancement Based on “Total Relevant Conduct” Not Stipulated to in Plea Agreement by Douglas Ankney by Douglas Ankney The United States Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit held that the Government breached its plea agreement with Dehaven Darnell …

Fourth Circuit: Procedurally Unreasonable Sentence Where District Court Failed to Address Defendant’s Non-Frivolous Downward Variance Argument Based on Sentencing Disparity  Due to Which State’s Statu...

Article • May 15, 2025 • from CLN June, 2025

Filed under: Sentencing, Failure To Consider Disparity, Federal-State Differences/Disparity/Conflicts, Disparity in Charging/Sentencing Practices

Fourth Circuit: Procedurally Unreasonable Sentence Where District Court Failed to Address Defendant’s Non-Frivolous Downward Variance Argument Based on Sentencing Disparity Due to Which State’s Statute Prior Conviction Based Upon by Anthony Accurso The United States Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit held that the U.S. District Court for the …

News In Brief

Article • November 1, 2024 • from CLN November, 2024

Filed under: News in Brief

News In Brief by Alabama: WSFA out of Mobile reported that on August 22 and 23, 2024, a sex trafficking sting operation occurring in several jurisdictions resulted in the arrests of 11 men. Montgomery County Sheriff Derrick Cunningham and other law enforcement officials discussed the results at a press conference. …

Fourth Circuit Vacates Order Denying § 2254 Motion, Remands for Evidentiary Hearing on Whether Counsel’s Failure to Object to Duplicative Drug Conspiracy Counts in Violation of Double Jeopardy Clause ...

Article • October 1, 2024 • from CLN October, 2024

Filed under: Ineffective Assistance of Counsel, Evidentiary Claims, Drug Trafficking Crimes

Fourth Circuit Vacates Order Denying § 2254 Motion, Remands for Evidentiary Hearing on Whether Counsel’s Failure to Object to Duplicative Drug Conspiracy Counts in Violation of Double Jeopardy Clause Was Strategic by Matthew Clarke by Matthew Thomas Clarke The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit vacated the U.S. …

Fourth Circuit: Walking Past Unoccupied Home With Bulging Pocket and Attempting to Evade Neighborhood Tipster Insufficient for Reasonable Suspicion to Seize and Search

Article • February 15, 2024 • from CLN February, 2024

Filed under: Terry Stops, Pat Down Searches, No Suspicion of a Crime, Suspicionless Searches, Anonymous 911 Call

Fourth Circuit: Walking Past Unoccupied Home With Bulging Pocket and Attempting to Evade Neighborhood Tipster Insufficient for Reasonable Suspicion to Seize and Search by Anthony Accurso by Anthony W. Accurso The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit overruled the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of West …

PrimeCare Bankruptcy

Brief • January 18, 2024

Filed under: Primecare Medical

PrimeCare Bankruptcy Case 5:22-cv-00405 Document 871 Filed 01/18/24 Page 1 of 7 PageID #: 13218 IN THE UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT FOR THE SOUTHERN DISTRICT OF WEST VIRGINIA AT BECKLEY MICHAEL D. ROSE and EDWARD L. HARMON, on their own behalf and on the behalf of all others similarly situated, …

West Virginia University Forensic Scientists Provide a Benchmark for Analyzing Duct Tape Fracture Edges

Article • January 15, 2024 • from CLN January, 2024

Filed under: Commentary/Reviews, Reviews, Resources, junk science, Scientific Testimony or Evidence

West Virginia University Forensic Scientists Provide a Benchmark for Analyzing Duct Tape Fracture Edges by Jo Ellen Nott by Jo Ellen Nott A common household item is being analyzed by forensic scientists as the newest tool in crime scene investigations. Researchers at West Virginia University are establishing the standard for …

West Virginia Supreme Court Announces in the Absence of a Deadline, Trial Court Must Permit Defendant to Stipule to Prior Conviction During Trial

Article • November 1, 2023 • from CLN November, 2023

Filed under: Prior Conviction/Sentence/Incarceration, Trial on Stipulated Facts, Consent of Counsel

West Virginia Supreme Court Announces in the Absence of a Deadline, Trial Court Must Permit Defendant to Stipule to Prior Conviction During Trial by Douglas Ankney by Douglas Ankney The Supreme Court of Appeals of West Virginia held that, where a trial court has not set a deadline for submitting …

Rose v. Sandy, WV, Order and Propose4d Findings and Recommendation, Conditions of Confinement, 2023

Brief • October 30, 2023

Filed under: Conditions of Confinement, Food, Overcrowding, Exercise, Plumbing, Sanitation, Lighting

Rose v. Sandy, WV, Order and Propose4d Findings and Recommendation, Conditions of Confinement, 2023 Case 5:22-cv-00405 Document 774 Filed 10/30/23 Page 1 of 39 PageID #: 12449 IN THE UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT FOR THE SOUTHERN DISTRICT OF WEST VIRGINIA BECKLEY DIVISION MICHAEL D. ROSE, ET AL., Plaintiffs, vs. Civil …

Rose v. Sandy, WV, Complaint, Conditions of Confinement, 2023

Brief • July 17, 2023

Filed under: Conditions of Confinement, Food, Showers, Toilets, Sewage, Water, Hygiene Supplies

Rose v. Sandy, WV, Complaint, Conditions of Confinement, 2023 Case 5:22-cv-00405 Document 433 Filed 07/17/23 Page 1 of 89 PageID #: 5682 IN THE UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT FOR THE SOUTHERN DISTRICT OF WEST VIRGINIA BECKLEY DIVISION MICHAEL D. ROSE, CHARLES BLESSARD, ROBERT C. CHURCH, SR., NICOLE HENRY, EDWARD L. …

News in Brief

Article • June 15, 2023 • from CLN July, 2023

Filed under: News in Brief

News in Brief by California: A former police officer with the LAPD, Paul Razo, 46, was arrested in early May 2023, accused of sexually assaulting at least four minor boys over the course of more than a decade. Weeks after his arrest, Razo died of medical complications while in custody. …

News in Brief

Article • May 15, 2023 • from CLN June, 2023

Filed under: News in Brief

News in Brief by Arkansas: The DOJ announced on Jan. 24, 2023, that two former police officers in Crawford County were charged with excessive use of force after beating a man at a gas station. The New York Times reported that the two former officers, Zackary King and Levi White, …

News in Brief

Article • February 15, 2023 • from CLN March, 2023

Filed under: News in Brief

News in Brief by Alabama: The DOJ Civil Rights Division announced on Oct. 21, 2022, that a former sheriff’s deputy in Dallas County was charged with kidnapping and sexually assaulting a woman in the middle of the day on Jan. 30, 2020. The Miami Herald reported that the then-active deputy, …

News in Brief

Article • November 15, 2022 • from CLN December, 2022

Filed under: News in Brief

News in Brief by Alabama: Court documents revealed the week of Oct. 3, 2022, show that a former Brookside police chief, Mike Jones, was indicted by a grand jury for speeding and impersonating an officer. AL.com reported that Jones had resigned from his post as the town’s Chief of Police …

News in Brief

Article • October 15, 2022 • from CLN November, 2022

Filed under: News in Brief

News in Brief by Arkansas: A Mulberry police officer and two sheriff’s deputies from Crawford County were suspended after a video surfaced appearing to show them beating a man suspected of making violent threats. Maine Public Radio reported that the three officers were videoed by a bystander as they held …

West Virginia Supreme Court: Defendant Who Provided False Information to Detective Who Failed to Identify Himself as Police Officer Has No Duty to Cure False Statement Upon Learning Detective Is a Pol...

Article • May 15, 2022 • from CLN June, 2022

Filed under: False Statements/Perjury

West Virginia Supreme Court: Defendant Who Provided False Information to Detective Who Failed to Identify Himself as Police Officer Has No Duty to Cure False Statement Upon Learning Detective Is a Police Officer by Douglas Ankney by Douglas Ankney The Supreme Court of Appeals of West Virginia ruled that a …

Department of Homeland Security-South Regional Jail Investigation, 2022

Publication • April 28, 2022

Filed under: Prison Conditions

Department of Homeland Security-South Regional Jail Investigation, 2022 Forward By order of Jim Justice, Governor for the state of West Virginia, an investigation was conducted at Southern Regional Jail to determine if the allegations being placed by former and current employees, current and former inmates, and family members of inmates …

Fourth Circuit: State’s Failure to Plead Procedural Default Results in De Novo Review on Merits; Prosecutor’s Comments to Jury to Send ‘Societal Message’ Denied Defendant Fair Trial, Habeas Relief War...

Article • February 15, 2022 • from CLN March, 2022

Filed under: AEDPA

Fourth Circuit: State’s Failure to Plead Procedural Default Results in De Novo Review on Merits; Prosecutor’s Comments to Jury to Send ‘Societal Message’ Denied Defendant Fair Trial, Habeas Relief Warranted by Dale Chappell by Dale Chappell THE U.S. COURT OF APPEALS FOR THE Fourth Circuit held that a prosecutor’s comments …

West Virginia Supreme Court: Emergency Protective Order Not De Facto Search Warrant

Article • June 15, 2021 • from CLN July, 2021

Filed under: Warrantless Searches, Protective Orders

West Virginia Supreme Court: Emergency Protective Order Not De Facto Search Warrant by Douglas Ankney by Douglas Ankney The Supreme Court of West Virginia held that an Emergency Protective Order (“EPO”) issued pursuant to West Virginia Code § 48-27-403 (2006) (“EPO Statute”) is not a de facto search warrant. Jeffery …