PANEL PROPOSED TO CONSIDER RECUSAL REQUESTS
Story by Beth Gorczyca Ryan
The State Journal
Thursday, February 7, 2008; 06:00 AM
The Legislature is considering the creation of a Judicial Recusal Commission to hear requests for the removal of judges in certain cases.
In the future, when judges, justices and magistrates are asked to recuse themselves, the decision on what to do may not come from the bench.
Instead, it may come from a state-appointed commission.
The state Legislature recently introduced resolutions in both chambers to create a three-person Judicial Recusal Commission. The commission would be made up of retired and active judges who would rule on whether any judicial authority -- be it at the magistrate court, circuit court or Supreme Court of Appeals level -- should step aside on a case.
"I'm a lawyer, and from my perspective it often comes up that it may be in the best interest of my clients to have a judge recuse himself or herself. But the question is, 'Do you even ask?'" said Delegate Doug Reynolds, D-Wayne, who was one of the sponsorsof the resolution on the House side. "The judge may take it as an insult. ... And in many cases that chills people from asking for a recusal."
The issue of judicial recusals has grabbed a lot of headlines recently. A few weeks ago, Supreme Court Chief Justice Elliott "Spike" Maynard decided to recuse himself from an appeal being brought before the high court by Massey Energy after photos emerged of Maynard and Massey CEO Don Blankenship dining together while on vacation in Europe. Businessman Hugh Caperton, who filed the lawsuit being appealed, said the photos raised questions about whether Maynard could be unbiased when considering the appeal.
Maynard said he and Blankenship had been friends for decades. Both men grew up in Mingo County and socialized often in Charleston and elsewhere. He said that friendship had no effect on his vote to consider Massey Energy's appeal in the case, which included a $50 million verdict. That verdict now stands at about $75 million because of interest and penalties.
Instead, Maynard said he recused himself because the controversy caused people to question the validity of the court system. And he believed it was in everyone's interest for him to step aside.
Caperton also twice asked Justice Brent Benjamin to recuse himself from deciding the appeal because Blankenship donated a sizable amount of money to a political group that supported Benjamin for the Supreme Court. Benjamin refused both recusal requests.
Reynolds said his intention in sponsoring the resolution wasn't to get involved in the debate over whether Maynard should have stepped down. Instead, he said he sponsored the resolution because of what he sees happening in the court system's lower levels.
"I worry about it more from a litigant's prospective," he said.
He said most people in West Virginia enter the court system at the magistrate level. And when a person encounters a magistrate with whom he or she may have a history, it makes that person skeptical of the system.
"If someone gets screwed over in a $2,500 dispute, it will leave a bad taste in their mouth," he said.
But Delegate Mike Burdiss, D-Wyoming, who also sponsored the resolution, said he believes the Maynard recusal debacle did help to stimulate the measure.
"That brought this to the light ... that there is no place to go and seek redress," Burdiss said.
Under the House's version of the resolution, the governor would appoint three people who are all members of the bar to the commission. Each member would serve for a six-year term.
In times when one party believes a judge should be recused, the party would file an application with the commission, which then would issue a binding decision on whether the judicial official should step aside.
Reynolds said he doesn't expect the commission will become a reality this year because it is an election year, and two seats on the Supreme Court, including Maynard's, are up for election.
But he does hope the discussions taking place at the Capitol right now will carry over to next year. Hopefully then, he said, the commission can be formed.
Burdiss agreed that it may take longer than one session to establish the commission, but he said it is something the state really needs to look at.
But when asked whether he'd heard any comments about the bill from the West Virginia Judicial Association or judges individually, he said he had not.
He added that they may not comment because of it being "a separation of powers issue." But he didn't see it as a separation of powers conflict for the Legislature to create the judicial recusal commission.
And if other people did, he said, they were welcome to bring it up during debates on the resolution.
"That's what this whole process is about: Let's throw it out there for debate," he said.
BILL IN HOUSE WOULD SACK PLASTIC BAGS LAWMAKERS SAY PLAN WOULD ENCOURAGE REUSE AND RECYCLING
BY JAKE STUMP
DAILY MAIL CAPITOL REPORTER
Plastic shopping bags have become such an eyesore and environmental bane in southern West Virginia that a group of lawmakers is attempting to ban them statewide.
A bill introduced this week in the House of Delegates aims to ban retailers from issuing plastic shopping bags, long considered an unsightly, non-biodegradable hazard by environmentalists.
Four delegates have sponsored legislation that would require retail establishments to phase out their use of plastic bags by 2011.
As part of the bill, retailers would also have to provide customers with compostable bags, such as paper; label bags to return to the store for recycling; place recycling bins at the establishment for customer use; and offer reusable bags for customers to buy in lieu of disposable bags.
The lead sponsor, Delegate Ralph Rodighiero, D-Logan, said he introduced the bill because plastic bags have become quite the public eyesore, cluttering riverbanks and roadways.
"We're trying to revive our area," Rodighiero said. "We've got the Hatfield-McCoy Trail, a new Wal-Mart, and we're trying to build. People are coming in from out-of-state to see our beautiful area, and the last thing they need to observe are white and blue plastic bags along the bank."
The Logan County area is vulnerable to flooding, which causes litter, such as plastic bags, to wash up into plain view, Rodighiero said.
"We've got several creeks and this happens a lot in our area, I'm ashamed to say," he added.
While the delegate's main motivation behind the bill is to make West Virginia's wilderness pristine and presentable, he noted that banning plastic bags would also greatly benefit the environment.
"If we switched back to paper bags, the paper itself goes back into the dirt," he said. "Ten years from now plastic bags will still be hanging out alongside the roads."
Parts of the legislation are intended to encourage more people to recycle. The United States Environmental Protection Agency reports that only 1 percent of plastic bags were recycled in 2000. One ton of recycled plastic bags is equivalent to saving 11 barrels of oil, according to the EPA.
Co-sponsoring the bill with Rodighiero are Delegates Ted Ellis, D-Logan; Melvin Kessler, D-Raleigh; and Doug Reynolds, D-Wayne.
Some states have considered similar legislation, though opposition from retail industry advocates have prevented these laws from gaining momentum.
Retailers nationally have opposed a ban on plastic bags because they are cheaper, lighter and more durable than paper bags, which were the most common type of shopping bag before the late 1980s.
While state governments haven't acted forcefully with plastic bag bans, some local governments have.
San Francisco became the first city to ban plastic shopping bags in March 2007. The city of Oakland, Calif., soon followed, and at least 30 towns in Alaska have bans in order.
Chicago is currently considering an ordinance that would require retailers to provide reusable bags and recycling bins at their establishment.
Other countries have taken a more aggressive approach. Starting in June, China is requiring all retailers to charge customers for using plastic bags. The government there wants the country to return to using cloth bags and shopping baskets.
In Ireland, the government imposed a levy on plastic shopping bags in 2002, leading to a 95 percent reduction in their usage.
"It's more of an eyesore to me," Rodighiero said. "I'd just like our area to be more presentable."
Contact writer Jake Stump at jakestump@dailymail.com or 348-4842.
Publication: CHARLESTON DAILY MAIL
Published: Thursday, February 07, 2008
LABOR GROUP TO LOBBY FOR PAID SICK DAYS
BY SARAH K. WINN
sarahkwinn@wvgazette.com
The Service Employees International Union wants the West Virginia Legislature to consider mandating employers to provide paid sick days for their workers.
The international health care union, which represents 4,000 West Virginia workers, and others are gathering support for legislation dubbed the West Virginia Healthy Families Act.
The act will require employers with 25 or more employees to give full-time workers up to seven paid sick days per year. Part-time workers can earn paid sick days too, based on the number of hours worked.
These sick days can be used for oneself, a child or aging relative, according to the proposed legislation. The days accrued can carry over from year to year, but an employer is required only to give seven days per year, which includes days that are carried, according to the legislation.
More than 282,000 West Virginia workers have no paid sick leave, said Sherri McKinney of SEIU Local 1199, which serves 27,000 health care and social service workers across West Virginia, Kentucky and Ohio.
"Considering West Virginia's population, that's a lot of people without paid sick time," she said. "For some, missing one day's pay can make the difference in keeping the electricity on."
While the majority (86 percent) of West Virginia businesses have fewer than 20 employees, nearly 80 percent of the state's workers are employed by business with more than 20 employees, according to 2004 census data.
In a poll conducted by the SEIU within the last six months, 81 percent of West Virginians supported the proposal, McKinney said. This is the first time such legislation has been proposed, McKinney said.
Along with the local SEIU chapter, other groups have given their support, including the AFSC-WV Economic Justice Project, Mountain State Education and Research, the South Western District Labor Council, West Virginia AFL-CIO, West Virginia Citizens Action, the West Virginia Council of Churches and West Virginians for Affordable Health Care.
The SEIU also has talked to legislators for their sponsorship, including Delegates Doug Reynolds and Dale Stephens, both D-Cabell; Don Perdue, D-Wayne; House Speaker Richard Thompson, D-Wayne; House Majority Leader Joe DeLong, D-Hancock; and Majority Whip Mike Caputo, D-Marion, McKinney said.
Still lacking is the support of local businesses and their organizations, she conceded. However, McKinney said the SEIU has been concentrating on likely supporters so far.
Nationwide, the push for paid sick time is prevalent, said Jennifer Farmer of the SEIU in Columbus, Ohio.
Nearly half of all full-time workers in the U.S. have no paid sick days, Farmer said, referring to data from the National Partnership for Women and Families. Of these workers, half are taking care of children or the elderly, she said.
Lower-wage workers are hit the hardest, with three out of four having no paid sick days, she said.
Currently, only San Francisco has passed such provisions, she said. A city ordinance requires employers to provide sick leave (up to 72 hours for companies with 11 or more employees) to both full-time and part-time employees.
Other policies are proposed in Ohio, Connecticut and Washington, D.C., Farmer said.
So far, opposition to proposed paid sick day legislations has come primarily from the National Federation of Independent Business, Farmer said.
The NFIB has said people are going to cheat and take days when they or their families are not ill and that the bill takes away a business' flexibility to offer sick days to employees, Farmer said.
Both Farmer and McKinney said similar criticisms could be made of the West Virginia act, but they have yet to hear any local rumblings.
Overall, the legislation could help some low-wage workers keep their heads above water.
"This [legislation] provides a way for families to take care of themselves," Farmer said.
To learn more about the campaign, visit www.sickdayswv.org.
To contact staff writer Sarah K. Winn, use e-mail or call 348-5156.
Publication: THE CHARLESTON GAZETTE
Published: Tuesday, November 13, 2007
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