WV Judicial Complaint Larry Ours

7/18/2019 WV Judicial Complaint Larry Ours

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MAIL TO:

WV Judicial Investigation Commission

City Center East – Suite 1200 A

4700 MacCorkle Avenue, SE

Charleston, West Virginia 25304

304-558-0169

FOR JIC OFFICIAL USE ONLY

Complaint No.: ______________________

Judicial Officer: _____________________

Date Filed: __________________________

BEFORE THE JUDICIAL INVESTIGATION COMMISSION

OF WEST VIRGINIA

COMPLAINT

Use this form to give the Judicial Investigation Commission enough information to evaluate your

complaint. Read the enclosed brochure explaining the Commission’s function, jurisdiction and

procedures. The complaint must be TYPED or legibly HAND – PRINTED in blue or black ink only.

DO NOT use pencil. The Complaint MUST be submitted with the attached Affidavit, which must

be signed by you and NOTARIZED. PLEASE NOTE: The Commission has no authority to

change the outcome of any case. Your complaint of judicial misconduct is a matter totally

separate and independent of your litigation and will have no effect on any legal decision or on

appeal.

I. Person Making Complaint:

Name: _____________________________

Address: _______________________

_______________________

______________________

Telephone: Daytime ( ) ___________________ Evening ( ) ___________________

Email: __________________________________________________________________

II. Judicial Officer Complained Of:

Name: _____________________________

The Court is located in: ___________________________________________________ (County).

Randall W Turner

PO BOX

Petersburg, WV

Larry Ours, Magistrate

Grant County



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Court Level: G Supreme Court G Circuit Court G Family Court

G Magistrate Court G Mental Hygiene G Juvenile Referee

G Special Commissioner G Special Family Court Judge

III. Additional Information:

A) If your information arises out of a court case, please answer these questions:

1) If you know, what is the name and number of the case?

Case Name: _____________________________________________

Case No: __________________________________________

b) What kind of case is it?

G Civil G Criminal G Domestic G Abuse & Neglect

G Juvenile G Probate G Guardianship/Conservatorship

G Other (specify)

c) What is your role in the case?

G Plaintiff/Petitioner G Defendant/Respondent

G Attorney for _______________________

G Witness for _______________________

G Other (specify): _____________________

d) If you were represented by an attorney in this matter at the time of the conduct

complained of please identify him/her:

Name of Attorney: __________________

e) If this complaint relates to a trial or other court proceeding, has it been or will it

be appealed?

Yes No Not applicable

Turner v Jones

14M40297

n/a



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IV. Statement Of Facts and Canons Violated:

Completion of this section is MANDATORY. Please state in the order of time the specific facts and

circumstances you believe amount to judicial misconduct. Be as brief and to the point, but state all

relevant details including names, dates, and places. If you know them, list the Canons you believe

the judicial officer may have violated.

Canons Violated: Canon 1, Canon 2(A), Canon 3(B)(2)(4)(5)(8), (C)(1)(2)(5)

On July 1, 2014, Magistrate Ours issued an arrest warrant for Randall Turner

citing WV §61-5-26 and §50-5-11. (See exhibit A) The warrant stated it was for

civil contempt based on a complaint filed by Catrina Jones (Vanmeter) with the

Grant County Sheriff’s office (See exhibit B) alleging a violation of a Magistrate

Court Order (See exhibit C). Turner was arrested at his home and brought

before Ours who read into the record outside of Turner's presence (audio of

hearings included with complaint on CD) a statement that he was holding a

hearing for "civil contempt". No testimony from the complainant was taken, nocross examination allowed. Turner denied the allegations. Ours says it will be set

for a hearing at a later date and states that the penalty for contempt is a $50

fine. However in the very next breath Ours then sentences Turner to two days in

jail so that the "defendants can move out". Turner is taken into custody and

transported to Potomac Highlands Regional Jail where he served his sentence

entirely. Ours then completes a FALSIFIED Jail Commitment Order (Exhibit D) in

which he hand writes the charge as "Civil Contempt 50-5-11(e) & 61-5.16" (a

charge which requires a third offense and a jury verdict to allow any jail time).

When Turner was released he returned home to find a magistrate court notice of

contempt hearing scheduled for July 8th. Ours told Turner in open court on the

8th that he had not been found guilty of anything on July 1. When asked why

Turner was sent to jail Ours yelled “Sanctions! Haven’t you ever heard of

sanctions?!” A few minutes later Ours told Turner he was sent to jail “so that the

[delinquent] renters could move out”, despite having previously ruled they had to

be out by the 30th of June, the day before the July 1 hearing. Incredibly, in Ours

"notes" (Exhibit E) Ours states that he would not have sent Turner to Jail had he

not claimed to be innocent of the charges and instead paid a $50 fine. He saysin open court and in his notes that he is sending Turner to jail 'to give the

defendants time to move out.'

On 7/2/14 Randall Turner’s wife, Linda Turner, appeared at the Magistrate

Clerk’s office requesting a copy of all the paperwork from the case file pertaining

to the Contempt charge from the previous day. Mrs. Turner had with her the

documents that were served when Randall was arrested. She was told there



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IF ADDITIONAL SPACE IS REQUIRED, YOU MAY ATTACH AND NUMBER UP TO

THREE (3) ADDITIONAL PAGES, DOUBLE-SPACED.

were no other papers in the file. She returned home and was reminded by her

son, Jeff, that the papers they had in their possession did not include any Order

signed by Magistrate Ours on July 1 much less one which found Randall guilty of

anything or sentencing him to jail. Linda Turner called the Magistrate Clerk’s

office and again inquired about this additional document. She spoke with Jill who

then put her on hold and who, after a few minutes, returned to the phone and

said that there WAS another document, but that Magistrate Ours told her that noone except an attorney could have access to it. Jill was the only staff member in

the clerk's office since the clerk and the assistant clerks were out of town at a

conference. Jill's actual position is assistant to magistrate Ours. Turner was

forced to file a Petition for Writ of Mandamus (Exhibit F) to obtain the document

(Exhibit D) which he finally did on September 5th (Exhibit G). It was clear that

Ours ordered his assistant to unlawfully deny Turner access to the Jail

Commitment Order, most likely because even HE knew that what he was doing

was illegal and the Order was fraudulent, citing a fictitious charge as the basis

for incarceration. He knew he HAD to put down a charge other than "sanctions"if he expected to have Turner accepted into the jail, so he lied and entered

"Contempt" and cited two statues (one of which is not even correct for

magistrate court use.) He used his office to kidnap Turner and illegally imprison

him. This was a CRIME, and constituted the commission of multiple felonies.

When Turner was released from jail he returned home to find a notice of hearing

for “civil contempt” from the Magistrate Clerk, with the hearing to take place on

July 8th for the very same Contempt charge which caused his arrest and

imprisonment on July 1. It was at this hearing (listen to audio CD) that Oursadmits he arrested Turner for contempt, failed to hold a hearing when deputies

brought him to court, sentenced him to two days in jail without a hearing or jury

trial as required by law, and then claimed he was now holding a contempt

hearing a week later on the same charge. Turner feared for his freedom and

welfare should he appear before Ours again so on July 7th he filed a Motion for

Disqualification of Ours (Exhibit H) which Ours mentions on July 8th as he holds

the hearing anyway. Earlier on the morning of July 8th, Turner had a family

friend, Greg Stocks, who he had asked to act as his agent for the hearing that

afternoon due to his great apprehension of appearing in front of Ours again, go



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V. Documentation:

List the documents or other items that you have attached to help support your claim that the

judicial officer has engaged in misconduct. Please keep attachments to a minimum and only

submit those documents or items which actually support your contentions. DO NOT attach

the entire file. Note: DO NOT send original documents. These documents cannot be

returned to you. You should retain a copy for your records.

1.

2.

3.

4.

5.

6.

OTHER:

Warrant for the arrest of Randall Turner

Defendants Complaint Filed With Sheriff

Jail Commitment Order of July 1

Court Order 6/28/14

Petition for Writ of Mandamus

Motion for Disqualification

Audio CD of hearings on 7/1/14 and 7/8/14 (two CDs, each contains the sa



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VI. Witnesses:

Identify, if you can, any witnesses to the alleged conduct of the judicial officer and if

known, their address and phone number.

Witness 1: ____________________________

Address: ____________________________

Phone: ( ) ___________________________________

Witness 2: ____________________________

Address: ____________________________

Phone: ( ) ___________________________________

Witness 3: ____________________________

Address: ____________________________

Phone: ( ) ___________________________________

Witness 4: ____________________________

Address: ____________________________

Phone: ( ) ___________________________________

In filing this complaint, I accept and understand that:

Rule 2.4 of the WV Rules Judicial Disciplinary Procedure provides that the details

of complaints filed or investigations conducted by the Office of Disciplinary

Counsel shall be confidential. The details/investigation remain(s) confidential

unless the judicial officer has been admonished by the Judicial Investigation

Commission or a Statement of Charges has been issued.

The Rule of Confidentiality attaches and becomes effective upon the filing of this

complaint.

The judicial officer who is the subject of your complaint has a right to see your

complaint and respond to it. By filing this complaint, you consent to any such

disclosure.

I must complete and sign the attached affidavit before a notary public.

Linda Turner

P.O. Box Petersburg WV

Greg Stocks

640-D North Calvert St. Baltimore MD 21202

410 913-4337



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AFFIDAVIT

STATE OF __________________________________

COUNTY OF __________________________________, ss:

This day personally appeared before the undersigned authority, a Notary Public in and for

the State and County aforesaid,

__________________________________________________________________

(Name of Complainant)

who, swears or affirms that the statements contained in the foregoing Complaint are true except

as to those stated to be upon information, and as to those statements, he believes them to be true.

______________________________

Complainant

Taken, subscribed, and sworn to before me this ____ day of

________________________________________, 20____ .

My commission expires_____________________________.

______________________________

Notary Public

West Virginia

Grant

Randall W Turner



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to the Magistrate Clerk’s office to file a notice of appeal for what was then presumed to have

been a July 1 criminal contempt conviction, since under the law it could be nothing else, even

though THAT would also have been improper, and since Ours had ordered the Clerk’s office not

to provide Turner with a copy of the Order from July 1st which sent Turner to jail. It was filed so

that the record would reflect an appeal notice of the very charge Ours was presumed determined

to sentence Turner for a second time, prior to his doing so that afternoon.

Stocks presented the notice to Jill, who disappeared into another room with it. Magistrate Ours

then emerged from the room, Notice of Appeal in hand, and asked “Who are you?” Stocks told

him his name and that he was acting as Turner’s agent. Ours bristled and emphatically told

Stocks he could not act as agent for Turner as that would be the “ practice of law without a

license”. Stocks told him he disagreed and offered to provide him with the WV statute, a WV

Supreme Court ruling and WV attorney general’s opinion which allowed him to act as agent , all

specifically stating that is was not the practice of law without a license. Ours told Stocks to bring

him those items “if you want”.

Then Ours took it upon himself to review the requested filing and tell Stocks that “it cannot be

filed because he (Turner) has not been found guilty of anything”. When Stocks asked him how

could that be since Turner was sentenced to jail, Ours replied “You don’t understand what is

going on, wait until the hearing today.” Ours refused to say on what charge or legal basis Turner

had been sent to jail. Stocks again insisted on the filing and Ours again told him no, but said it

could “ be addressed at the end of the hearing” that afternoon, though Stocks should understand

that a “surety bond would be required”. This created the distinct impression the Ours had pre-

determined what his ruling would be in the afternoon hearing, even more so when taken with

Ours’ later comment to Turner during the hearing that testimony was optional in the contempt



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hearing. Stocks replied that in no way was a Notice of Appeal to be “addressed” in Ours’

courtroom regarding its sufficiency, timeliness, or content. Stocks finally had to tell Ours that

neither he or anyone in the Clerk’s office had the legal authority to evaluate a requested filing for

legal sufficiency or any other criteria and refuse to accept it and that in fact under the law it must

be filed as requested. Stocks again demanded the document be filed and marked with the date

and time it was accepted and Ours, very reluctantly and while muttering his disapproval,

personally hand marked the Notice as “filed” with the date, time and his signature.

Immediately prior to the afternoon hearing on the 8th, Stocks provided Ours with the promised

documents which included a copy of WV Code 50-4-4a, Supreme Court decision in State ex rel

Frieson v. Isner, 168 W. Va. 758, 285 S.E.2d 641, (1981), and WV Attorney General opinion

letter (Exhibit I).

After calling Stocks and Turner into the courtroom, but denying access to Turner’s family and

friends, and any other observers, Ours refused to allow Stocks to proceed as agent stating this

would constitute “practice of law without a license” and repeatedly screamed at him to be quiet

while pounding his fists on his desk. To inform his decision about Stocks as agent, Ours first

claims to have called the WV Supreme Court, then claimed it was actually another Magistrate,

Riley Barb of Tucker county, that he called, and finally arrived at having spoken to Barb who in

turn allegedly called the counsel for the Supreme Court who allegedly advised him not to allow

Stocks to act as agent, as if this would have been a legitimate and authoritative opinion. You can

hear the absurd reasoning Ours gives in the audio provided. Ours refused to hear any argument

from Stocks or Turner on the issue and repeatedly told Stocks he was go ing to “throw him out”.

The entire exchange was a combination of yelling, screaming, fist pounding threats and anger

from Ours, almost none of it being conducted in even barely a civil tone.



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Ours then tells Stocks he can sit next to Turner and advise him, resulting in a ridiculous ‘since

the judge won’t talk to me, ask him XYZ, even though we all know he can hear me asking you to

ask him XYZ’ farce, reminiscent of a grade school argument. The audio content speaks for itself

as far as misapplications of law and procedure as well as an admission by Ours that he sent

Turner to jail absent any findings of guilt or actual lawful basis, for violating a court order, as a

“sanction” but absent any verdict of guilty of civil or criminal contempt. In fact, Ours goes to

great lengths to make it abundantly clear Turner was found guilty of NOTHING prior to being

thrown in jail.

Instead, Ours asserted, Turner went to jail for various reasons, depending on when he was asked,

including: Sanctions, a legal fiction Ours made up in an offensive abuse of power; or to allow

defendants to move out; or because Turner had the temerity to claim to be innocent of the

contempt charge. We cannot forget the FOURTH reason however which is contained in the

falsified Jail Commitment Order, Civil Contempt.

The recording of the July 8 hearing, made at the request of Turner prior to the beginning of the

hearing, was available on CD the next day, the CD having been burned by Ours himself. Turner

by chance learned that day that a recording existed for the July 1 hearing also and requested a

copy. Two months of excuses and stonewalling took place before the recording was finally

released to Turner, despite the fact that Ours walked into the Magistrate Clerk ’s office seconds

after Turner requested the additional recording. He was ‘out of the office’ that day, until Jill

called him asking if she could release a CD of the July 1st hearing she had found when getting

the one for July 8. After THAT call he was pulling into the parking lot as Turner left. The

reasons appear obvious once one hears it.



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There is so much impropriety here that one can only hope an adequate job of condensing it to the

required pages has been done. These events have garnered much local attention including an

article in the Grant County Press. We look to you to address this very disturbing activity. An

appeal gains nothing for Mr. Turner, costs him even more money, and fails to offer justice.



Documents

WV Judicial Complaint Larry Ours