CHARLESTON — The West Virginia Supreme Court of Appeals granted a writ of prohibition to reinstate the conviction of a Marshall County man.
Michael Daniel Bowman was convicted by a jury on five sexual offenses including sexual abuse by a custodian, according to a Nov. 16 opinion authored by Justice Tim Armstead.
Bowman's victims were young children and he was sentenced to a term of incarceration of 28 to 70 years. Bowman then filed a petition for a writ of habeas corpus arguing that the indictments were defective because the grand jury foreperson did not sign them.
"The circuit court rejected this argument. However, while not raised by Mr. Bowman, the circuit court sua sponte found 'fatal flaws' with the grand jury proceedings including 'inflammatory remarks' made by an investigator who testified before the grand jury," the opinion states. "Based on these conclusions, the circuit court ruled that Mr. Bowman’s convictions on five sexual offenses were null and void, ordered that the indictments against him be dismissed with prejudice, ordered his immediate release from custody, and ordered that he no longer be required to register as a sex offender or be subjected to supervised release."
West Virginia then filed the proceeding with the West Virginia Supreme Court. The court agreed with the state and find that the circuit court far exceeded its authority in ordering the dismissal of the indictments and releasing Bowman from incarceration.
"We therefore grant the requested writ of prohibition," Armstead wrote. "Mr. Bowman’s convictions are reinstated forthwith, and we set aside all other relief contained in the circuit court’s orders. This matter is remanded to the circuit court for immediate proceedings consistent with this opinion."
Bowman was convicted in 2017. The court found that while the investigator arguably made some statements that may have been excluded from a petit jury’s consideration, the law is very clear that absent any evidence of willful, intentional fraud, the circuit court had no authority to question the evidence considered by the grand jury.
"Clearly, there is no evidence of such," the opinion stated. "The investigator’s testimony established all of the elements of the crimes charged. Moreover, it has not been established that his testimony impacted the grand jury’s return of a true bill, any issue with regard to the presentation was rendered inconsequential by the jury’s verdict finding Mr. Bowman guilty, and, most importantly, the statements did not amount to prosecutorial misconduct."
Bowman was taken into custody again November 16 in Moundsville, according to media reports.
West Virginia Supreme Court of Appeals case number: 21-0401
