State of West Virginia Ex Rel. Charles W. Peacher, Jr. v. Vance E. Sencindiver, Judge Pierre E. Dostert, Judge…

Summary

The court denied prohibition seeking to prevent the petitioner's murder and burglary trial until he received a recommended neurological examination. It held that the trial court's denial of a continuance was discretionary and therefore not reviewable by prohibition. The court also rejected the due-process challenge to the felony-murder statute, concluding that the statute does not shift the burden of proving any element of first-degree murder to the defendant.