Former Braxton magistrate sues jail authority for not following rules

CHARLESTON -- A former Braxton County magistrate whose son is an inmate at Central Regional Jail is suing the West Virginia Regional Jail and Correctional Facility Authority after its wrongly presented documents to her son that he was not to receive.

Terry L. Miller, the WVRJA executive director; Shannon Markle, the administrator at the Central Regional Jail; and Robert B. Given and Robert Stancati, correctional officers at the jail, were also named in the suit.

On Feb. 7, 2007, Carolyn Cruickshanks went to the jail to visit her son and brought with her a sealed envelope that was given to her by her son's attorney to be delivered to jail authorities, according to a complaint filed June 9 in Kanawha Circuit Court.

Cruickshanks claims when she registered at the front window, she gave the envelope to the defendants. Later, the envelope was given to Jordan Grubb, Cruickshanks' son, without being inspected, according to the suit.

On March 12, 2007, a criminal complaint was made against Cruickshanks and a warrant for her arrest was issued for conspiracy to commit intimidation and retaliation against a witness, according to the suit.

Cruickshanks claims the defendants did not carry out their rules, regulations or policies in regards to the delivery of materials to inmates because the envelope should not have been delivered to her son.

As a result of the defendants' conduct, Cruickshanks was caused to spend large sums of money in her defense; lost wages; confinement in a state regional jail for a period of 120 days; placed on probation; public humiliation; physical health issues; caused to never be able to be employed in any judicial offices; and was otherwise injured, according to the suit.

According to earlier reports, Cruickshanks allegedly had documents exposing inmate Philip Dailey as a snitch. Dailey had made a statement implicating Grubb in delivery of a controlled substance, as part of a plea bargain between Dailey and the state.

State Police arrested Cruickshanks March 12. The West Virginia Supreme Court of Appeals suspended her with pay the next day, and two days after that they suspended her without pay.

Cruickshanks is seeking compensatory and punitive damages. She is being represented by John R. Mitchell.

The case has been assigned to Circuit Judge Charles King.

Kanawha Circuit Court case number: 10-C-1036