Hampshire County is making history again!

Follow the process of the Committee to Reform Hampshire County Government as the Petition works its way through the legal process; it is a great lesson in the Constitutional rights guaranteed by our state Constitution.

The Petition as amended in the Legislature:
        Click here for Petition.

As of the close of the last Legislative Session on March 10, 2007 for the fourth time the Petition was not passed by the Legislature contrary to the provisions of the West Virginia Constitution. Several citizens have filed for a declaratory judgement in the Circuit Court of Kanawha County in order to quiet the Legislature's claim that our petition asks for an unconstitutional form of election. We have posted the Courts finding here in two formats.

        Click here for the Court's findings in text based web page format.

        Click here for the Court's findings in .pdf format (requires Adobe Reader)

On April 24, 2007, the Hampshire County Commission with little notice or public input adopted a Resolution to ask the Legislature to ignore the Petition as outdated.
       Click here for the Resolution

Our legal council has filed a Memorandum in answer to the Legislature's plea to vacate the opinion and the Hampshire County Commission's Resolution to declare the Petition void.
Click here for the Memorandum in .pdf format.

On Tuesday, October 7, 2008 the West Virginia Supreme Court of Appeals will hear oral arguments on our case. The court's calendar page is available at: http://www.state.wv.us/wvsca/calendar/oct7_08ad.htm. Our council's Brief is available here in pdf format in a download size much smaller that the above link from the Court. The Legislature's Brief is available from the Court's web page.

On December 11, 2008,the WV Supreme Court handed down their decision! They reversed the lower court so there is no directive to the Legislature to place the Petition on our ballot, nor is there any decision on the constitutionality of voting by district. The Court's decision is available on their web site: Click here for official version!

On January 9, 2009, The Committee's council, Mr. Robert Bastress, filed a Petition for Rehearing. This petition details the important constitutional implications of the Court's decision. Click here for the Petition in pdf format.

We will keep you posted if there is any further the action to be taken by our citizens.

    The Committee to Reform Hampshire County Government would like to thank Mr. Robert M. Bastress, a noted West Virginia constititional lawyer and professor, for his assistance in the legal battle to procure rights guaranteed under the West Virginia Constitution.