State of West Virginia v. Thomas R. Burton

Summary

The Supreme Court of Appeals of West Virginia affirmed Thomas R. Burton's forcible rape conviction, rejecting all five assignments of error. It held the State's proof of identity — the defendant's untied presence at the bar before and after the assault and his inculpatory statements to a fellow inmate — satisfied the circumstantial evidence test; that the jailhouse conversation with a visiting attorney was not privileged because no attorney-client relationship was contemplated and other inmates were present; that the State's witness properly invoked the Fifth Amendment as to his Maine felony, parole, and extradition because answers could incriminate him at extradition or parole-revocation proceedings; and that the trial judge's comments, viewed in context, did not materially prejudice the defendant. The court also announced that venue in a criminal case need only be proved by a preponderance of the evidence, and found the State met that burden through evidence placing the crime at a Grafton bar in Taylor County.