Court Opinion

ID: 9856549
Source: CourtListenerOpinion
Date Created: 2023-09-24 06:50:12.300403+00
Date Added: 2024-06-11T09:39:12.856718
License: Public Domain

WORKMAN, Justice,
dissenting:
I concur in the majority’s affirmation of the appellant’s conviction, but must dissent with regard to the remand for reconsideration of sentencing.
The sentence imposed by the circuit judge obviously was a stringent one under all the facts and circumstances of the case to which this Court is privy. As a matter of fact, based on the information included in the record on appeal, were I still a circuit judge and presiding over this case, I would have placed the appellant on probation. But this is not the sentencing court.
For far too long this Court has frequently and routinely substituted the judgment of the trial court judge with its own. The law of the State of West Virginia affords the trial court judge in this case the discretion to impose the sentence that he did. W.Va.Code §§ 60A-4-401 [1983]. Furthermore, the standard for probation is set forth W.Va.Code § 62-12-3 [1988] which provides, in part,
Whenever, upon the conviction of any person eligible for probation under the preceding section [§ 62-12-2], it shall appear to the satisfaction of the court that the character of the offender and the circumstances of the case indicate that he is not likely again to commit crime and that the public good does not require that he be fined or imprisoned, the court, upon application or of its own motion, may suspend the imposition or execution of sentence and release the offender on probation for such period and upon such conditions as are provided by this article.... (emphasis added)
There is nothing in the record to indicate that the circuit judge did not already consider the factors enumerated in syllabus point 6 of the majority’s opinion. In addition, there are probably many other facts *565and circumstances in his knowledge which are not within this Court’s knowledge. He saw the testimony of the witnesses, including the defendant, their demeanor and credibility; and he had the opportunity to discern the degree of responsibility the defendant accepted and to know the sentiment of the community in his jurisdiction far better than we. The remand is nothing but a loosely veiled directive to “Do it our way,” and it is time for the Supreme Court to begin to recognize and respect the limits the law places on their authority.
Our laws do not repose in the Supreme Court of Appeals the authority to substitute its own judgment for that of every other judicial officer at every layer of the legal system. For too long this Court has been too quick to classify any decision it disagrees with as an abuse of discretion.
Circuit Judges are not automatons. They are vested with a great deal of authority and discretion and possess a tremendous amount of power over people’s lives. They are elected by the people. Like most elected officials, there are some with greater wisdom, ability, and judicial temperament than others. Whether they act in accordance with our perception of good judgment if we were vested with their responsibilities should not be the question. The question should be whether they act within the law and their discretion thereunder.
Lastly, much is made by the appellant of the fact that the trial court judge has made a commitment to deal with drug offenders in a stringent manner. However, our society is moving to the growing realization that the casual use of drugs, once thought harmless, bolsters and supports the human destruction that the large drug trade is wreaking in this nation. The people of Upshur County may have held this philosophy when they elected this circuit judge. He is the person empowered by law to have made this sentencing decision and, absent an abuse of discretion, it should not be disturbed on appeal.