Opinion ID: 4173746
Heading Depth: 1
Heading Rank: 1

Heading: Incidents and Criminal Complaints

Text: The charges filed by the ODC against Mr. Plants arose out of two incidents that resulted in criminal complaints against him. First, on February 26, 2014, Allison Plants, Mr. Plants’s ex-wife (“Ms. Plants”), reported to the West Virginia State Police that Mr. Plants had injured their son by whipping him with a belt. The next day, Ms. Plants filed a Domestic Violence Petition seeking protection for herself and their two minor children. The magistrate/family court issued a Domestic Violence Emergency 1 Rule 3.7 of the Rules of Lawyer Disciplinary Procedure states: “In order to recommend the imposition of discipline of any lawyer, the allegations of the formal charge must be proved by clear and convincing evidence.” 2 Protective Order (“Emergency Protective Order”) on February 27, 2014, concluding that Ms. Plants had proved “the allegations of domestic violence or abuse by clear and convincing evidence of immediate and present danger of abuse.” The Emergency Protective Order provided that Mr. Plants (1) “shall refrain from abusing, harassing, stalking, threatening, intimidating or engaging in conduct that places [Ms. Plants and the two children] . . . in reasonable fear of bodily injury”; (2) “shall refrain from contacting, telephoning, communicating with, harassing, or verbally abusing [Ms. Plants]”; (3) shall refrain from entering any school, business, or place of employment of [Ms. Plants]”; and (4) “shall refrain from entering or being present in the immediate environs of [Ms. Plants’s] residence.” On March 17, 2014, while the Emergency Protective Order was in effect, Ms. Plants reported that in the parking lot at the Fruth Pharmacy in Charleston, West Virginia, Mr. Plants spoke to their two children at her vehicle and then spoke to her. During the hearing before the HPS, Mr. Plants admitted that he spoke with his children but denied that he communicated with Ms. Plants. Mr. Plants further acknowledged that he was aware of the terms of the Emergency Protective Order at the time of this incident. The evidence adduced during the hearing was that as Mr. Plants was exiting Fruth Pharmacy, Ms. Plants entered the same location. After exiting Fruth Pharmacy, Mr. Plants observed his children waving to him from inside Ms. Plants’s car in the parking lot and he walked over to speak with them. After Ms. Plants returned to her car, Mr. Plants 3 walked away. The next day, the State Police filed a criminal complaint in magistrate court charging Mr. Plants with violating the Emergency Protective Order based upon this incident. On March 21, 2014, the family court modified the Emergency Protective Order according to an agreement between the parties. Among other things, the modified Emergency Protective Order permitted Mr. Plants to have supervised visitation with the children and to communicate with the children. Except as otherwise agreed by the parties, the original terms of the Emergency Protective Order continued in full force and effect. On March 31, 2014, the State Police filed a criminal complaint charging Mr. Plants with domestic battery based upon the report on February 26 by Ms. Plants that Mr. Plants had whipped their son with a belt. On April 7, 2014, Mr. Plants filed a motion to dismiss this charge on the grounds that he had a constitutionally protected right to discipline his child and that there is no liability for the reasonable use of corporal punishment for disciplinary purposes. Mr. Plants admitted that he “spanked his son with his leather belt.” On June 19, 2014, the family court entered a 90-day Domestic Violence Protective Order at the final hearing to address the status of the Emergency Protective Order. The family court found that Ms. Plants “proved by a preponderance of the 4 evidence . . . allegations of domestic violence or abuse” under West Virginia Code § 48­ 27-501. The family court further found that “[t]hough Mr. Plants did not intend to injure his son, the incident was significant and serious enough to warrant the issuance of a protective order.” The Domestic Violence Protective Order expired by its own terms on September 17, 2014. On July 14, 2014, Mr. Plants and the Special Assistant Prosecuting Attorney (“Special Prosecutor”) entered into a Pretrial Monitoring Agreement as a Condition of Bond (“Monitoring Agreement”) relating to both criminal complaints. In that Agreement, Mr. Plants agreed, among other things “to comply fully with the provisions of this agreement for a period of six (6) months or upon completion of the BIPPS (Batterers Intervention and Prevention Program) class, whichever occurs last.” The Agreement also provided that if Mr. Plants “successfully completes [the BIPPS] class and fully complies with all of the other terms of the Agreement, the circumstances would be communicated to the Special Prosecutor for consideration prior to the final compliance hearing.” On May 21, 2015, the magistrate court dismissed both criminal complaints against Mr. Plants with prejudice based upon a joint motion in which the Special Prosecutor attested that Mr. Plants had successfully completed the BIPPS program and had not violated any terms of the Monitoring Agreement. 5