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Four West Virginia Officials, including Circuit Court Judge, Face Federal Charges
Loaded on Nov. 15, 2013
by Christopher Zoukis
published in Prison Legal News
November, 2013, page 42
A former West Virginia judge is facing up to ten years in federal prison after pleading guilty to charges that he conspired to protect a county sheriff from allegations of drug-related activity.
Filed under:
Misconduct/Corruption,
Government Misconduct,
Judicial Misconduct,
Prosecutor/Attorney General Misconduct.
Location:
West Virginia.
Former Mingo County Circuit Court Judge Michael Thornsbury, 57, pleaded guilty on October 2, 2013 in the U.S. …
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More from this issue:
- The Too-Many Prisoners Dilemma, by Dan Froomkin
- From the Editor, by Paul Wright
- Texas Judges Rarely Disciplined, Seldom Publicly, by Matthew Clarke
- Habeas Hints: Staring Down the Two-Headed Monster: Richter-Pinholster, by Kent A. Russell
- The Real Costs of Incarceration in the United States
- Attorney Fees Not Exempt from Disclosure Under California Public Records Act
- PLN Files Censorship Suit Against Nevada DOC
- Traumatic Brain Injury Rate High Among Prisoners, by Matthew Clarke
- Debtors' Prisons Returning to America, by David Reutter
- Hell on Earth: Sexual Victimization of the Criminally Insane, by David Rosen
- China Vows to Finance Incarceration with Public Funds, Not Prison Profits
- Oregon Considers Subsidizing Prison Medical Costs Through Medicaid
- PLN Challenges Postcard-only Policy at Tennessee Jail
- Federal Justice Grants Favor Prosecution, Law Enforcement Over Indigent Defense
- Texas Prison Population Drops but Savings Evaporate, by Matthew Clarke
- Federal Prisoners Paid During Government Shutdown, but Not Prison Guards, by Derek Gilna
- Minnesota Judge Condemns System that Jails Mentally Ill
- GEO Group Pulls out of Mississippi Prisons, by David Reutter
- Gun Found in Segregation Cell at Privately-operated Mississippi Prison
- New York City Jail Chaplain Fined for Accepting Bribe, Pleads Guilty to Fraud Charges
- New Exonerations Registry Catalogs Over 2,400 Wrongful Convictions
- New Hampshire Supreme Court Revives Prisoner's Negligence Action
- Prisoners in Texas Jail Providing Less Slave Labor
- Book Review: Against Their Will: The Secret History of Medical Experimentation on Children in Cold War America, by Christopher Zoukis
- Second Circuit: Bankruptcy Automatic Stay is No Excuse for Non-payment of Restitution, by Derek Gilna
- Third Circuit Reverses More Stringent Conditions of Supervised Release, by Derek Gilna
- Best Criminal Defense Pleading Ever!, by Alex Friedmann
- Connecticut Supreme Court Reverses FOIA Disclosure of NCIC Printout
- California: No-Gang-Contact Probation Condition Struck Down
- Ninth Circuit: Adam Walsh Detention Doesn’t Toll Term of Supervised Release, by Derek Gilna
- Four West Virginia Officials, including Circuit Court Judge, Face Federal Charges, by Christopher Zoukis
- U.S. Department of Justice Reports Statistics on State Prosecutors, by Matthew Clarke
- Eighth Circuit Upholds North Dakota Transient’s Failure-to-Register Conviction
- California: Enhanced Presentence Conduct Credits Not Available to Defendants Who Committed Crimes Before Statute’s Effective Date
- California: State Not Liable for Failure to Provide Needed Treatment so Long as Medical Care is Summoned
- Philippines Prison Suspends Thriller Dancers
- ICE Directive May Limit Solitary Confinement of Immigrant Detainees, by Derek Gilna
- Denial of Contraceptive Pill to Prisoner States Cause of Action
- Montana Jail Fresh Air/Exercise Lawsuit Certified as Class Action, Then Settles
- Anonymous PREA Hotlines Not So Anonymous
- D.C. Circuit Clears Terrorism Suspect after 11-Year Ordeal, by Derek Gilna
- Audit Reveals Federal Prison Industries Faces Declining Revenue, Job Losses, by Derek Gilna
- Fifth Circuit: No Right to RDAP for Non-citizen Federal Prisoner
- Prison Sentence Imposed for Sole Purpose of Drug Treatment Vacated by Eighth Circuit, by Derek Gilna
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- News in Brief
More from Christopher Zoukis:
- The Contraband Wars Prison authorities target books and mail, miss the goods coming through the staff door, July 1, 2021
- Trump v. Biden on Criminal Justice, Oct. 1, 2020
- Coronavirus in Prison: The Cruel Reality, Aug. 1, 2020
- With Lives of Immigrant Detainees at Risk to COVID-19, Federal Judge Forces ICE’s Hand, July 1, 2020
- A Nation on the Brink, June 15, 2020
- Federal Court Slams Michigan Jail for Bungling COVID-19 Pandemic, Demands Names of Vulnerable Prisoners for Release, June 1, 2020
- Silence: The Bureau of Prisons’ Pathetic Response to the COVID-19 Pandemic, June 1, 2020
- New York Judge Orders Release of 18 Rikers Island Detainees Due to COVID-19 Risk, June 1, 2020
- Coronavirus: A Nationwide Survey of the Push for Early Release as Pandemic Fears Grow, May 1, 2020
- California Three-Judge Court Denies Emergency Motion to Reduce Prison Population During Pandemic, May 1, 2020
More from these topics:
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- New York State Moves to Dismiss Hundreds of Prison Sexual Assault Lawsuits, Feb. 1, 2026. Staff-Prisoner Assault, DOC/BOP misconduct, Prosecutor/Attorney General Misconduct, Authority and Jurisdiction, Access To Courts.
- New York City Mayor’s Order Opening Rikers Island to ICE Declared Illegal, Jan. 1, 2026. Government Misconduct, Prosecutor/Attorney General Misconduct, Injunctions, Deportation/Removal/Exclusion, Enforcement of Immigration Laws.
- Utah Supreme Court Announces Framework for Analyzing Combined Brady and Napue Violations, Affirms Postconviction Relief in Capital Murder Case, Jan. 1, 2026. Police Misconduct, Prosecutor/Attorney General Misconduct, Perjury/Perjured Testimony, Constructive/Imputed/Presumed knowledge, Brady/Giglio/Jencks Act Issues.
- Mass Surveillance for Profit: Flock’s AI Reports “Suspicious” Movement to Police, Dec. 15, 2025. Contractor Misconduct, Government Misconduct, Protests, Police State-Surveillance, Electronic Surveillance.
- New Jersey Breaks Ground on New $330 Million Women’s Prison After Raid at Old Facility, Dec. 1, 2025. Staff-Prisoner Assault, Guard Misconduct, Prosecutor/Attorney General Misconduct, Guard Brutality/Beatings, Prison Rape Elimination Act.
- $950,000 Awarded to Trans Maryland Prisoner Dropped on Her Face by Guards, Nov. 1, 2025. Guard Misconduct, DOC/BOP misconduct, Government Misconduct, Retaliation for Filing Grievances, Retaliation for Organizing, Retaliatory Segregation, Guard Brutality/Beatings, Restraints, Discrimination (Transgender), Failure to Protect (Transgender), Immunity - Absolute and Qualified, Damages - Compensatory, Wrongful Use of Force.
- How Tyranny Becomes Entrenched: 9/11 and the Police State’s Endless Power Grabs, Oct. 15, 2025. Government Misconduct, War on Terror, Censorship, Police State-Surveillance, Electronic Surveillance.
- News in Brief, Aug. 1, 2025. Staff-Prisoner Assault, Private Prisons, Misconduct/Corruption, Guard Misconduct, Systemic Medical Neglect, Male Reproductive, Malpractice, Escapes, Guard Brutality/Beatings, Stun Guns/Tasers, Pepper Spray/Tear Gas, Restraints, Excessive Force (Wrongful Death), Juvenile Prisons, Bureau of Prisons (BOP), Bribery/Extortion/Theft.
- Sixth Circuit Order Sealing Records in Private Prison Shareholder Suit Vacated, Remanded, Aug. 1, 2025. Corrections Corporation of America/CoreCivic, Misconduct/Corruption, Public Records.

