Right to appeal
by admin on 08/03/10 at 7:46 am
The Register-Herald
March 8, 2010
Last week, the state Supreme Court declined to intervene in a case involving a high school cheerleading team.
Tolsia High School claimed it was unfairly punished when a cheerleading stunt that was deemed illegal knocked the team out of state competition. A Wayne County circuit judge agreed and issued an injunction that would allow Tolsia to compete.
The state Secondary School Activities Commission wanted the Supreme Court to overturn the injunction, but the high court refused to hear the case.
Was it a landmark case? No. Was it an important case? Outside Wayne County, probably not. It didn’t involve a multimillion-dollar civil judgment or a criminal case resulting in a life prison sentence.
But it points to a bigger issue.
For much of the current legislative session, a bill to establish an intermediate appellate court in West Virginia drew much attention.
Supporters said the creation of such a court would improve the state’s business climate by guaranteeing an automatic right of appeal and give lower court rulings a more thorough review. Under the current system, they said, those who want to appeal can petition the Supreme Court. The court then accepts or rejects the petition, but no explanation is given if the request is rejected.
