Summary
The Supreme Court of Appeals of West Virginia affirmed the petitioner’s eight-to-thirty-five-year sentence imposed after her unsuccessful discharge from a drug court program. The court rejected challenges to the circuit court’s reliance on drug court records and to the conduct of the sentencing hearing, noting that the claims were either unsupported by the record or not preserved. The court declined to address the petitioner’s ineffective-assistance claims on direct appeal.
Topics
Practice areas
Questions Presented
- Whether the circuit court erred by relying on drug court records or a summary of those records that Thomas claimed had not been provided to her.
- Whether the circuit court denied Thomas due process by failing to conduct an effective sentencing hearing after her expulsion from drug court.
- Whether Thomas could obtain review on direct appeal of her claim that counsel rendered ineffective assistance at sentencing.
Holdings
- The circuit court did not err in relying on Thomas's drug court records or a summary of those records because Thomas and her counsel did not object, counsel referenced the records and the release for them, and counsel did not dispute their findings.
- The court found no error in the manner in which the sentencing hearing was conducted because Thomas was sentenced in open court with counsel present, the court gave Thomas and counsel an opportunity to speak, and no objection to the nature of the proceeding was preserved.
- The court declined to rule on Thomas's ineffective-assistance claims in the direct appeal because such claims are more appropriately developed in a petition for writ of habeas corpus.
Key quotations
“This Court will not consider an error which is not properly preserved in the record nor apparent on the face of the record.” (2)
“Such a claim is more appropriately developed in a petition for writ of habeas corpus.” (2-3)
Factual background
Thomas pleaded guilty to two counts of fraudulent use of an access device, misdemeanor petit larceny, two counts of forgery, and two counts of uttering. The circuit court imposed a net effective sentence of eight to thirty-five years but suspended it so Thomas could participate in the West Central Regional Drug Court Program. After Thomas was expelled from the program, the court reviewed drug court records and reinstated the original sentence; neither Thomas nor her counsel objected to the records, the proceeding, or the opportunity to speak.
Procedural history
Thomas was indicted, pleaded guilty to multiple offenses, and received an effective sentence of eight to thirty-five years, which was suspended while she participated in a regional drug court program. After she was expelled from the program, the circuit court reinstated the original sentence at a February 13, 2012 sentencing hearing. The Supreme Court of Appeals of West Virginia affirmed, finding no substantial question of law or prejudicial error.