Opinion ID: 2504769
Heading Depth: 2
Heading Rank: 1

Heading: State v. James

Text: Appellant Charles J. James (hereinafter Mr. James) was accused of giving alcohol to the thirteen-year-old sister of his girlfriend while he was alone with the minor in the girlfriend's apartment. The minor alleged that after giving her the alcohol Mr. James fondled and massaged her breasts. In response to the unwanted physical advances, the minor ran back to her home, told her mother what had happened and the mother immediately called the police. Mr. James was twenty-five years of age at the time of the incident. After probable cause was found at the preliminary hearing to bind the case over for presentment to the grand jury, Mr. James entered a plea to first degree sexual abuse pursuant to Kennedy v. Frazier, 178 W.Va. 10, 357 S.E.2d 43 (1987). [2] According to the terms of the September 2, 2009, sentencing order of the Circuit Court of Ohio County, the trial court sentenced Mr. James to one to five years in the penitentiary for first degree sexual abuse pursuant to the penalty contained in West Virginia Code § 61-8B-7(b) (2006). After denying Mr. James' motion to find the extended supervision provisions of West Virginia Code § 62-12-26 unconstitutional, the lower court also imposed as part of the sentence thirty years of supervised release to commence after the prison term is served. Mr. James filed an appeal of the sentencing order with this Court. He reiterates the arguments raised below regarding West Virginia Code § 62-12-26 being unconstitutional on the grounds that it: (1) violates double jeopardy prohibitions by allowing multiple punishments to be imposed for the same offense, (2) offends due process principles by removing the jury from the assessment of facts regarding the increased penalty of supervised release, and (3) constitutes cruel and unusual punishment. In the alternative, Mr. James argues that the trial court abused its discretion by imposing an unduly harsh thirty-year period of extended supervision.