Press Releases

09/17/2008

W.Va. court releases chief's e-mails sought by AP

By TOM BREEN
Associated Press Writer

CHARLESTON, W.Va. (AP) -- Five e-mails sent by West Virginia Supreme Court Chief Justice Elliott "Spike" Maynard to Massey Energy chief Don Blankenship showed the justice was concerned with a Democratic challenger's candidacy ahead of a primary that he ultimately lost.

The e-mails were released Wednesday, one day after a Kanawha County Circuit judge sided with The Associated Press, which sued the Supreme Court to have them released under the state's freedom of information law.

The e-mails were released after Circuit Court Judge Duke Bloom ruled that because they concerned a campaign for public office, the documents are public records under the law.
But Bloom allowed the Supreme Court to withhold eight other e-mails sent by Maynard to Blankenship because they did not concern public business.

That split decision concerned West Virginia University journalism professor Bonnie Stewart, who said the eight e-mails could have shed light on the relationship between Maynard and Blankenship.

"The public deserves to know what's in those e-mails," she said.

Revelations of Maynard's friendship with the Massey chief helped doom the justice's bid for re-election.

Two of the newly released e-mails contain links to the Web site of rival candidate Menis Ketchum's Huntington law firm. Three others contain links to news Web sites with stories about the campaign.

In one of the e-mails, which included a link to a page on Ketchum's firm's Web site that detailed its work in personal injury and medical malpractice cases, Maynard writes, "Don - This is only one of Menis' ads - look at the kind of cases he is advertising for - unbelievable."

In another e-mail, which included a link to the law firm's page on coal mine-related accident cases, Maynard writes, in all capital letters, "This one you gotta see - Aracoma is mentioned - you could have prevented it if you had only operated the mine properly according to Menis."

A January 2006 fire at Massey Energy's Aracoma Alma Mine No. 1 killed two coal miners. The state has sought to suspend or withdraw mining certificates held by six Aracoma workers and fine two others. Massey is appealing $70,000 in state fines and contesting a record $1.5 million federal fine related to the fire.

The other e-mails contained links to news stories, including a Nov. 6, 2007, article in the Parkersburg News and Sentinel about a speech he gave to the local Rotary Club.

"Dear Mr. Chairman," Maynard wrote to Blankenship, "Stories from the campaign trail - nice front page free coverage."

The last two e-mails were sent without comment from Maynard, linking to a column by MetroNews radio talk show host and Charleston Daily Mail columnist Hoppy Kercheval, who wrote that Maynard and Republican Supreme Court candidate Beth Walker were a "Dream Team" for conservatives.

The e-mails were sent in fall 2007, before Maynard's relationship with Blankenship touched off a storm of controversy.

Earlier this year, vacation photographs of the longtime friends were included in a request that the high court reconsider its November 3-2 decision overturning a multimillion-dollar judgment that Harman Mining Co. won against Richmond, Va.-based Massey in 2002. Maynard voted with the majority.

The photographs showed Maynard and Blankenship together in Monaco.

Massey had several cases pending or headed toward West Virginia's sole appeals court at the time.

The Supreme Court later agreed to reconsider the case and Maynard recused himself from the rehearing. On rehearing the case, the court again voted 3-2 to overturn the jury verdict.
The e-mails sent by Maynard show he was concerned as early as October 2007 about the candidacy of Ketchum.

By the time Maynard's vacation became public, he had gone from being a favorite for re-election to an embattled incumbent, ultimately finishing third out of four primary candidates.
With two seats up on the court, Workman and Ketchum won with 36 percent and 27 percent of the vote, respectively. Maynard came in third with 19 percent, followed by West Virginia University law professor Bob Bastress at 17 percent.

"The primary is over," Ketchum said Wednesday. "I don't want to comment on the critical nature of Spike's e-mails."

He did, though, say the circuit court judge was correct in ruling that judicial officers are not exempt from the state Freedom of Information Act.

"These e-mails were about an election, so I think he made the right call," Ketchum said.
State Supreme Court Spokeswoman Jennifer Bundy said Wednesday Maynard declined to comment.

The state Supreme Court had denied the AP's request to release Maynard's e-mails, saying judicial officers are not covered by the FOIA because it would violate the constitutional separation of powers.

"Where that separation of powers argument has teeth is when judges are behind closed doors, pondering the law," said Charles Davis, executive director of the National Freedom of Information Coalition. "In this instance, you're not talking about that. You're talking about politicking."