Getting interscholastic athletics in West Virginia out of the courts of law and onto the playing fields/courts.

In the recent Supreme Court of Appeals of West Virginia decision of SER W. Va. Secondary School Activity Comm. v. Webster, Judge , the Supreme Court held that the Circuit Court exceeded its jurisdiction in determining the SSAC officials misapplied its own rules, when those officials suspended several players involved in the South Charleston High School v. Hurrican High School football playoff game on November 19, 2010. In addition, it appears this Supreme Court decision was intended to (and will almost certainly thwart) future litigation on questioning whether the game officials should have made the appropriate calls during a game sanctioned by the SSAC.


As the Supreme Court noted in said decision:

"[T]here was no claim in this case that the ejection or suspension rules were unreasonable, arbitrary, or capricious. By superimposing its judgment on how the SSAC applied its own rules with regard to handling ejections and suspensions, the trial court exceeded its jurisdiction. Simply put, the trial court lacked any authority to engage in a review of the SSAC’s decision to suspend the respondent players pursuant to its properly promulgated rules."


Hopefully, this would put a stop to the disturbing number of lawsuits initiated in the past several years in various West Virginia courts that attempt to use those who wear the black robes to work, to also wear the zebra stripe shirt underneath.

http://www.state.wv.us/wvsca/docs/spring11/104001.pdf

WV House Bill 2001 has become law ... giving one sentenced to life w/mercy one shot at parole every three years ....

Interesting bill (signed by Governor Tomblin and has became law with an effective date of January 25th of this year), that although the WV Parole Board shall at least once a year reconsider and review the case of every inmate who was deniled parole and is still eligible, it can only reconsider and review once every three years the case for parole of an inmate serving a life sentence.

http://www.legis.state.wv.us/Bill_Status/Bills_history.cfminput=2001&year=2011&sessiontype=RS&btype=bill

WV Legislature considering bill limiting landowner's liability for injuries occurring on property while hunting.

The bane of many a landowner in West Virginia involves those who decide to enjoy the sport of hunting while trespassing on the land of another. Senate Bill 83 (currently bottled up in ths Senate Natural Resources Committee) would prescribe that an owner of land owes no duty of care to keep the premises safe for entry or use by others for recreational or wildlife propagation purposes, or to give any warning of a dangerous or hazardous condition, use, structure or activity on such premises to persons entering for such purposes. In addition, an owner of land who either directly or indirectly invites or permits without charge does not assume responsibility for or incur liability for any injury to person or property, wherever the persons or property is located, caused while hunting.

Typically a land owner who invites one onto their property does owe a certain duty of care to those who take up that invite and enter the property. Some may ask why should only those landowners who invite others onto their property to hunt enjoy almost absolutle immunity from possible lawsuit, while others who may invite others for different purposes would not????


http://www.legis.state.wv.us/Bill_Status/Bills_history.cfm?input=83&year=2011&sessiontype=RS&btype=bill