Opinion ID: 1331803
Heading Depth: 1
Heading Rank: 2

Heading: william o'neill

Text: The action of William O'Neill is before this Court upon an appeal from the final order, entered March 10, 1980, of the Circuit Court of Berkeley County, West Virginia, which order denied an appeal by O'Neill to the circuit court from his Berkeley County magistrate court conviction of the misdemeanor offense of battery. The petition for appeal to this Court indicates that on Saturday evening, March 1, 1980, members of the Berkeley County Sheriff's Department arrested the appellant upon an arrest warrant charging him with the offense of battery, a misdemeanor. That warrant was issued by Magistrate Berkeley A. Gay of Berkeley County and resulted from an alleged domestic dispute between the appellant and the appellant's wife. The appellant alleges that upon his arrest he was taken to the home of Magistrate Gay where the appellant, without counsel, entered a plea of guilty to the battery warrant. At that time, the appellant was adjudged guilty as charged and sentenced by Magistrate Gay to twenty days in the Berkeley County jail. The appellant further alleges that as a result of his plea of guilty, Magistrate Gay refused to permit the appellant to process an appeal from the battery conviction and refused to set bond for an appeal. [1] On March 7, 1980, the appellant, seeking relief from his magistrate court conviction, filed a Petition for Appeal and/or Habeas Corpus and/or Mandamus in the Circuit Court of Berkeley County. A hearing was held upon that petition on March 10, 1980. As stated in its order of March 10, 1980, the circuit court concluded that, inasmuch as the appellant in magistrate court had freely and voluntarily entered a plea of guilty to the offense of battery, all rights to appeal had been waived. In that order, the circuit court concluded as follows: ... The guilty plea entered by the Petitioner to the charge of battery on March 1, 1980 was freely and voluntarily made by the Petitioner after having been first advised by the Court of the charges against him and of his rights under the Constitutions of the United States and of the State of West Virginia; under the laws of the State of West Virginia, a guilty plea having been finally made and freely entered into constitutes a waiver of all rights to appeal. It is from the March 10, 1980, final order of the Circuit Court of Berkeley County, West Virginia, that the appellant appeals to this Court. By order entered March 11, 1980, this Court stayed the execution of the appellant's sentence.