Opinion ID: 1326707
Heading Depth: 1
Heading Rank: 1

Heading: whether the affidavit required under the aforesaid west virginia code section may be executed by a complaining witness (in this case, a deputy sheriff) or whether the same must be executed by the prosecuting attorney on behalf of the state of west virginia?

Text: Cases from other jurisdictions which have considered similar issues have uniformly allowed the prosecuting attorney, as the representative of the State, to file for removal of a judicial officer from a pending case on the grounds of bias or prejudice. See State ex rel. Brown v. Dewell, supra ; Peters v. Jamieson, supra ; Allen v. Bach, supra; State v. Kraska, supra ; Ex parte Howell, supra ; State ex rel. McNary v. Jones, supra ; State ex rel. Tittman v. Hay, supra ; State v. Brown, supra ; State ex rel. Douglas v. Superior Court, supra. We have found only one case that considered whether a witness can cause the removal of a judge. In Fitch v. Star-Times Publishing Co., 263 S.W.2d 32 (Mo.1953), the Supreme Court of Missouri said: Whether the State should ask for a disqualification of a judge must be decided by the prosecuting attorney.... Occasions are rare when the State requests or should request that a judge be disqualified. Certainly a witness has no right to disqualify a trial judge. 263 S.W.2d at 34. This Court recently undertook an extensive review of a prosecutor's duties and functions in State ex rel. Skinner v. Dostert, W.Va., 278 S.E.2d 624 (1981). It was said there: As criminal offenses are offenses against the State which must be prosecuted in the name of the State ... the prosecutor, as the officer charged with prosecuting such offenses, has a duty to vindicate the victim's and the public's constitutional right of redress for a criminal invasion of rights. The `spirit of the law' has long been and it has been long held that `the public has rights as well as the accused, and one of the first of these is that of redressing or punishing their wrongs.' (Citation omitted). 278 S.E.2d at 631. We held in that case that the prosecutor had discretion in control of criminal cases so long as he fulfills his duty to the people. We also held that the prosecutor alone is responsible for the decision to move for the dismissal of a warrant or indictment. It follows that the prosecutor is the proper State official to exercise the State's prerogative to seek the removal of a magistrate from a pending case under W.Va.Code, 50-4-7 [1978], when it is believed that the magistrate is biased or prejudiced for or against a party or has discussed the merits of the case. [3] It is admitted by the parties in this case that the decision to file the affidavit is a matter which lies within the discretion of the prosecuting attorney. The question presented by this case, however, is whether an affidavit signed by a complaining witness is sufficient to cause the disqualification of a magistrate or whether the affidavit must be signed by the prosecuting attorney. We hold that it must be signed by the prosecuting attorney. Presentation of the affidavit by the prosecuting attorney, signed by the prosecuting attorney, is the proper expression of that discretionary decision. Merely notarizing an affidavit signed by a complaining witness is not enough to evidence the proper exercise of a prosecuting attorney's discretion. The State is the party to the criminal case. The representative of the State in a criminal case is the prosecuting attorney. The complaining witness does not represent the State and cannot bind the State in this instance. The mere fact that in this case the complaining witness was also an employee of the State does not change the issue. As in the decision to dismiss a warrant or indictment, see State ex rel. Skinner v. Dostert, supra , the discretionary decision to move for the disqualification of a magistrate under W.Va. Code, 50-4-7 [1978], ultimately rests with the prosecuting attorney as the State's official representative in a criminal case. The exercise of that discretion must be properly evidenced by the execution of an affidavit by the prosecuting attorney.