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Mingo County Magistrate Cleared, County Commissioner and Circuit Judge Charged [View all]
Mingo County Magistrate cleared
Mingo County Magistrate Deloris D. “Dee” Sidebottom has been fully reinstated after an investigation sparked by a motion filed by Mingo County Prosecuting Attorney C. Michael Sparks in November 2012.
The motion asked for the disqualification of Magistrate Sidebottom, listing a number of allegations she had violated West Virginia Codes of Judicial Conduct and stating Magistrate Sidebottom had “engaged in a course of increasingly unprofessional and paranoid misconduct that potentially diminishes the public confidence in the integrity of the judiciary and raises substantial questions as to Magistrate Sidebottom’s fittness for office.”
<snip>
By letter to Magistrate Sidebottom, the Judicial Investigation Commission dismissed the Complaint filed by Sparks and indicated that “…there did not appear to be any violation of the Code of Judicial Conduct…” on the part of the Magistrate.
The letter from the Judicial Investigation Commission went on to say that the Complaint should never have been filed, writing that there was “…no probable cause to file a Complaint before the Judicial Hearing Board so charging” and that “Mr. Sparks has been advised of the dismissal of his Complaint and of the Commission’s reasons for such action.”
<snip>
The order was signed on August 6, 2013, by Chief Circuit Judge, 30th Judicial Circuit Michael Thornsbury.
http://www.coalvalleynews.com/news/home_top-news/2394703/Mingo-County-Magistrate-cleared
Mingo County Magistrate Deloris D. “Dee” Sidebottom has been fully reinstated after an investigation sparked by a motion filed by Mingo County Prosecuting Attorney C. Michael Sparks in November 2012.
The motion asked for the disqualification of Magistrate Sidebottom, listing a number of allegations she had violated West Virginia Codes of Judicial Conduct and stating Magistrate Sidebottom had “engaged in a course of increasingly unprofessional and paranoid misconduct that potentially diminishes the public confidence in the integrity of the judiciary and raises substantial questions as to Magistrate Sidebottom’s fittness for office.”
<snip>
By letter to Magistrate Sidebottom, the Judicial Investigation Commission dismissed the Complaint filed by Sparks and indicated that “…there did not appear to be any violation of the Code of Judicial Conduct…” on the part of the Magistrate.
The letter from the Judicial Investigation Commission went on to say that the Complaint should never have been filed, writing that there was “…no probable cause to file a Complaint before the Judicial Hearing Board so charging” and that “Mr. Sparks has been advised of the dismissal of his Complaint and of the Commission’s reasons for such action.”
<snip>
The order was signed on August 6, 2013, by Chief Circuit Judge, 30th Judicial Circuit Michael Thornsbury.
http://www.coalvalleynews.com/news/home_top-news/2394703/Mingo-County-Magistrate-cleared
Now get this:
W.Va. County Reeling as Judge, Official Indicted
WILLIAMSON, W.Va. August 16, 2013 (AP)
Even in southern West Virginia, where corruption is as much as a part of life as coal, people are shocked by allegations that a judge commandeered the legal system in a years-long attempt to frame a romantic rival for crimes he didn't commit.
Federal prosecutors indicted Mingo County Circuit Judge Michael Thornsbury on two counts of conspiracy Thursday, just hours after indicting County Commissioner Dave Baisden on extortion charges. Thornsbury attorney Steve Jory declined comment while Baisden's attorney did not return messages.
<snip>
The indictment says Thornsbury tried between 2008 and 2012 to frame Robert Woodruff for crimes including drug possession, larceny and assault. The judge had been having an affair with his secretary — Woodruff's wife, Kim — and he tried to eliminate the competition after she tried to break things off, it says.
http://abcnews.go.com/US/wireStory/wva-judge-county-official-face-federal-charges-19974460
WILLIAMSON, W.Va. August 16, 2013 (AP)
Even in southern West Virginia, where corruption is as much as a part of life as coal, people are shocked by allegations that a judge commandeered the legal system in a years-long attempt to frame a romantic rival for crimes he didn't commit.
Federal prosecutors indicted Mingo County Circuit Judge Michael Thornsbury on two counts of conspiracy Thursday, just hours after indicting County Commissioner Dave Baisden on extortion charges. Thornsbury attorney Steve Jory declined comment while Baisden's attorney did not return messages.
<snip>
The indictment says Thornsbury tried between 2008 and 2012 to frame Robert Woodruff for crimes including drug possession, larceny and assault. The judge had been having an affair with his secretary — Woodruff's wife, Kim — and he tried to eliminate the competition after she tried to break things off, it says.
http://abcnews.go.com/US/wireStory/wva-judge-county-official-face-federal-charges-19974460
Sidebottom, Thornsbury, and Baisden are all Democrats.
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