CHARLESTON, W.Va. -- State Police asked West Virginia's Supreme Court on Wednesday to dismiss a lawsuit arising from an investigation into a drug informant's 2005 murder.
The justices heard arguments Wednesday over whether the department and three troopers should be immune from the civil case brought by Betty Jarvis and Wanda Carney. The court could rule later this year.
Jarvis and Carney allege they were prosecuted in retaliation for their involvement in the probe that followed the killing of Carla Collins in Mingo County.
Several area residents were charged in the murder or for attempting to cover it up. Jarvis, a former Kanawha County school board member, is related to at least one of the suspects. Carney worked for one of their defense lawyers.
Jarvis and Carney was arrested after going to the apartment of another of the suspects, where Jarvis allegedly entered and took a camera and other items. The two were arrested on property crimes charges, said Michael Mullins, a lawyer for the State Police and the three troopers.
"There was probable cause," he told the justices. "The grand jury found probable cause."
But prosecutors later decided to pursue an obstruction case against them. Though they were convicted, the Supreme Court reversed those guilty verdicts in 2008.
Mullins appealed after Kanawha Circuit Judge Paul Zakaib refused to dismiss the lawsuit. Chief Justice Robin Davis questioned whether it was premature for the high court to hear the case. Mullins argued that law enforcement officers need the court's guidance on when an arrest can expose them to a lawsuit.
CHARLESTON, W.Va. -- State Police asked West Virginia's Supreme Court on Wednesday to dismiss a lawsuit arising from an investigation into a drug informant's 2005 murder.
The justices heard arguments Wednesday over whether the department and three troopers should be immune from the civil case brought by Betty Jarvis and Wanda Carney. The court could rule later this year.
Jarvis and Carney allege they were prosecuted in retaliation for their involvement in the probe that followed the killing of Carla Collins in Mingo County.
Several area residents were charged in the murder or for attempting to cover it up. Jarvis, a former Kanawha County school board member, is related to at least one of the suspects. Carney worked for one of their defense lawyers.
Jarvis and Carney was arrested after going to the apartment of another of the suspects, where Jarvis allegedly entered and took a camera and other items. The two were arrested on property crimes charges, said Michael Mullins, a lawyer for the State Police and the three troopers.
"There was probable cause," he told the justices. "The grand jury found probable cause."
But prosecutors later decided to pursue an obstruction case against them. Though they were convicted, the Supreme Court reversed those guilty verdicts in 2008.
Mullins appealed after Kanawha Circuit Judge Paul Zakaib refused to dismiss the lawsuit. Chief Justice Robin Davis questioned whether it was premature for the high court to hear the case. Mullins argued that law enforcement officers need the court's guidance on when an arrest can expose them to a lawsuit.
Lawyer Lonnie Simmons, representing Carney and Jarvis, partly agreed. He said Zakaib tried to harmonize earlier, differing rulings on the subject.
"There really is some confusion in regard to qualified immunity," Simmons said.
But Simmons also argued that the criminal case against the woman was retaliatory, after they had made statements and approached potential witnesses while investigating the murder.
"Their actual speech is what was criminalized," Simmons said. "They wanted to prosecute these two defendants because of what they were doing or saying."
Justice Brent Benjamin questioned whether upholding the lawsuit would lead to negligence claims against police officers.
"Nobody likes to be arrested," he noted.
