05/12/08

Decision delayed in AP suit seeking W.Va. justice's records

By TIM HUBER
AP Business Writer

CHARLESTON, W.Va. (AP) -- The Associated Press' attempt to obtain Chief Justice Elliott "Spike" Maynard's e-mail, visitor logs and other state Supreme Court records has been delayed until June after a circuit judge said he wanted to determine if he had the authority to issue rulings affecting the state's highest court.

"We've got this inferior-superior court issue," Kanawha County Circuit Judge Duke Bloom said during Monday's hearing on the AP's lawsuit.

Bloom likewise asked both sides whether he should hear the case at all since a possible conflict might arise because the Supreme Court provides money for judicial salaries.

"I think that's very important for the integrity of the judicial system," Bloom said.

The state's Judicial Investigation Commission has indicated there is no conflict, though it has not yet issued a written decision, Bloom said. Neither the AP nor the Supreme Court asked Bloom to step aside.

The AP filed the complaint after the high court denied a state Freedom of Information Act request for e-mails, visitor logs and other documents held by Maynard and other court officials. The court released some records, but declined to release Maynard's, saying they are exempt from the state's public records law.

The AP filed FOIA requests in January seeking any communication between Maynard and Massey Energy chief Don Blankenship. The information was sought as part of the AP's coverage of Maynard's July 2006 European vacation rendezvous with Blankenship. The coal company had several cases pending or headed toward West Virginia's sole appeals court at the time.

Richmond, Va.-based Massey is the nation's fourth-largest coal company by revenue and operates mines in West Virginia, Virginia and Kentucky.
Bloom directed lawyers for both sides to submit briefs on his jurisdiction question and rescheduled the hearing for June 24.