Court Opinion

ID: 9856602
Source: CourtListenerOpinion
Date Created: 2023-09-24 06:51:55.852065+00
Date Added: 2024-06-11T09:39:49.166223
License: Public Domain

NEELY, Justice,
dissenting:
I dissent because a reasonable interpretation of W.Va.Code 8-14-17 [1986] allows the Police Civil Service Commission to set a minimum level of reading and writing skills as a threshold requirement.
W.Va.Code, 8-14-17 [1986] provides in pertinent part:
Vacancies in positions in a paid police department of a Class I or Class II city shall be filled, as so far as practicable, by promotions from among individuals holding positions in the next lower grade in the department. Promotions shall be based upon merit and fitness to be ascertained by competitive examinations to be provided by the Police Civil Service Commission and upon the superior qualification of the individuals promoted, as shown by their previous service experience. [Emphasis Added]
This Code section is phrased in general language that allows the Police Civil Service Commission the discretion to establish minimum standards in each area. The statute calls for all promotions to be based on “merit,” “fitness,” and “competitive examinations.”
The majority’s holding today ignores the importance of literacy in any modern police force. Search warrant affidavits, for example, are difficult to write and provide many traps for the unwary. If a police officer fails to read and understand literature relating to recent decisions governing criminal procedure, there is a high likelihood that the prosecution will be deprived of convictions and justice will be confounded. The presiding judge will not take into consideration the policeman’s previous service record and experience when he dismisses the charges and allows a criminal to go free.
*764The written examination serves to exclude applicants who may later make errors based on their inability to follow written instructions. I do not find a threshold requirement that all applicants for the position of corporal demonstrate their familiarity with the written law and their ability to execute its commands in a written examination an unreasonable requirement.