Former Prosecutor Suspended For Three Years

The West Virginia Supreme Court of Appeals has imposed a three-year suspension of an elected prosecutor who had resigned after the bar charges were filed 

After having reviewed the record and the parties’ briefs and oral arguments in this case, and having considered the pertinent authority, we respectfully believe that the HPS erred in dismissing Count III. We also conclude that a harsher sanction is merited under the facts of this case, and that a more appropriate sanction is the three-year suspension requested by the ODC. We therefore modify the HPS’s recommendation and order that Ms. Taylor be suspended from the practice of law for a period of three years. We also believe the issue of potential supervised practice in the future should be addressed during reinstatement proceedings, if any, and not in this proceeding.

The discipline matter involved a host of allegations

Ms. Taylor was admitted to the West Virginia Bar in 2017. She was elected Prosecuting Attorney of Boone County, West Virginia, on November 3, 2020, and assumed that position in December 2020. Prior to her election, she was an Assistant Prosecuting Attorney for Wood County, West Virginia for one year and was an Assistant Prosecuting Attorney for Kanawha County, West Virginia for approximately three months. In both positions she handled magistrate court matters.

On March 9, 2023, the Board issued a forty-two page, five-count statement of charges against Ms. Taylor. Count I alleged that Ms. Taylor improperly employed her boyfriend as an Assistant Prosecutor in Boone County. The statement of charges alleged that in so doing, she used her office for her own private gain or the private gain of another person and created a conflict of interest between her interests and the interests of her client, the public she was elected to serve, in violation of West Virginia Rules of Professional Conduct 1.7(a)(2) and 8.4(d). Count II alleged that Ms. Taylor failed to timely prepare orders in abuse and neglect and juvenile matters as directed by the Circuit Court of Boone County, in violation of West Virginia Rules of Professional Conduct 1.1, 1.3, 3.4(c), and 8.4(d). Count III alleged that Ms. Taylor failed to timely prepare abstracts of judgment and releases of judgment as required by West Virginia Code § 50-3-2a(g), in violation of West Virginia Rules of Professional Conduct 1.1, 1.3, 3.4(c), and 8.4(d).  Count IV alleged that Ms. Taylor engaged in a course of dilatory behavior as Boone County Prosecuting Attorney, to wit, preparing numerous flawed and legally insufficient charging documents in felony criminal matters that were defective on their face and/or omitted essential statutory elements, failing to correct errors and/or repeating errors made in documents she prepared in court matters, failing to adequately prepare for grand jury and other court proceedings, failing to attend hearings in which she was to represent the State of West Virginia, and failing to timely prosecute criminal matters, in violation of West Virginia Rules of Professional Conduct 1.1,14 1.3,15 3.2, and 8.4(d). Count IV also alleged that Ms. Taylor adduced testimony in grand jury proceedings that mischaracterized the evidence in those cases in violation of West Virginia Rules of Professional Conduct 3.3(a)(3),  3.8(a), and 8.4(d). Count V revolved around a complaint filed with the ODC by the sister of a murder victim in the so-called “Dickens case.” As a result of this complaint, the statement of charges alleged that for a murder trial, Ms. Taylor failed to speak with and prepare law enforcement in advance of trial, failed to properly mark evidence for trial, failed to properly lay a foundation to enter evidence at trial, failed to timely identify and provide advance notice of witness to the court and the defendant, and showed a general lack of familiarity with the case and a general lack of preparedness, in violation of West Virginia Rules of Professional Conduct 1.1, 1.3, and 8.4(d). As part of this Count, the Board also alleged that Ms. Taylor failed to provide a verified response to the complaint when such was requested by the ODC, in violation of West Virginia Rule of Professional Conduct 8.1.

The parties entered joint stipulations regarding proposed findings of fact and conclusions of law on July 25, 2023. Thereafter, the HPS conducted a three-day evidentiary hearing. At the end of the hearing, the HPS issued a fifty-three-page report. 

The court rejected Respondent’s contention that no discipline be imposed

As to the length of the suspension, we conclude that three years is comparable to discipline that we have imposed for similar misconduct. For example, in Lawyer Disciplinary Board v. Busch, 233 W. Va. 43, 754 S.E.2d 729 (2014), we imposed a three-year suspension on Mr. Busch for his misconduct while Prosecuting Attorney of Randolph County. This misconduct included making misstatements to opposing counsel and the circuit court, failing to comply with court orders, failing to respond to discovery requests, and placing responsibility for his misdeeds on others, in violation of Rules of Professional Conduct 3.3, 3.4, 3.8, and 8.4(c) and (d) in two separate cases.

The West Virginia Record reported on her 2023 resignation

Boone County Prosecuting Attorney Donna Taylor has resigned amidst an investigation into her “incompetence and neglect of duty.”

Taylor submitted her resignation May 31 to the Boone County Commission, which held an emergency meeting later in the day to accept the resignation and discuss the situation. Her resignation is effective June 4, and assistant prosecutor Frank Curnutte was named the interim for a 30-day period starting June 5.

Taylor cited a “hostile work environment” as the reason for her resignation. She was facing charges from the state Lawyer Disciplinary Board and impeachment proceedings from the county commission…

Taylor was elected as Boone County’s first Republican and first female prosecutor in 2020. Soon after, one of the office’s two assistant prosecutors – Jennifer Anderson – resigned. At a December 2020 meeting of the Boone County Commission, Taylor asked to post the position with an annual salary of $80,000. She then hired boyfriend Branden Ledford for the job. Timothy Gibson, the other assistant, notified the state Ethics Commission about the situation.

In March 2021, the Ethics Commission ruled Ledford had an unfair advantage and ordered Taylor to terminate his employment. The next day, Gibson told Taylor she should resign based on the ruling. He also sent a letter to the county commission saying she should resign or be impeached.

Taylor then fired Gibson the same day, and Ledford’s employment ended March 15, 2021.

(Mike Frisch)