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D. Mark Snyder
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D. Mark Snyder was a family court judge for the Eleventh Family Circuit in West Virginia. He was appointed to the position in 2000 by Governor Bob Wise and was re-elected in 2002 and 2008.[1] Snyder retired at the end of 2016 when his term ended.[2] He died on April 21, 2017.[3]
Career
- 2000-2016: Judge, Eleventh Family Circuit
- 1994-2000: Juvenile referee, West Virginia Circuit Courts
- 1987-1994: Chief deputy public defender, Kanawha County Public Defender's Office
- 1987: Federal public defender, Southern District of West Virginia
- 1983-1987: Public defender, Summersville Office, Legal Aid of West Virginia[4]
Noteworthy events
Judge faces battery charge following altercation with nurse at local hospital (2013)
Snyder was visiting a friend in the hospital on the evening of November 4, 2013. According to a court complaint filed against Snyder in Kanawha Magistrate Court, the family court judge allegedly approached Stephanie King, a nurse who was working on the fifth floor of Charleston Area Medical Center's General Hospital. Snyder asked King to provide his friend, a patient, with medication and to make up his bed.[5]
When King told Snyder she would go to check with the patient, she alleged Snyder grabbed her by the arm and attempted to pull her down the hall to the patient's room. King said she pulled away and called a charge nurse. She stated Snyder pointed his finger near her face and yelled at her, then accused King and the hospital staff of not providing proper care to his friend. Although King and the charge nurse repeatedly asked Snyder to leave, he refused and had to be escorted out of the building by hospital security.[5]
Misconduct complaint and acquittal (2014)
Supreme court administrator Steve Canterbury filed a complaint against Snyder with the Judicial Investigation Commission. The commission investigates allegations of judicial misconduct in West Virginia.[6]
Snyder was arraigned and charged with battery of a healthcare provider. He was released after posting a $5,000 bond.[1][7] On August 7, 2014, he was found not guilty of battery. At the trial, Judge Snyder testified in his own defense. His physician also testified in his defense, telling the jury of Snyder's unsteadiness, resulting from his diabetes and causing him to walk with a cane. Discrepancies between the record and the report of King were addressed by two further testimonies, a medical records expert and a nurse from another hospital that was visiting the same patient as Snyder. The jury deliberated for less than an hour and returned with a non-guilty verdict.[8][9] Subsequently, the judicial commission did not find probable cause to charge Snyder with misconduct.[10]
Judge sues nurses, others over arrest (2014)
After being acquitted of battery, Snyder filed a lawsuit against King (the nurse who charged him with battery) as well as her husband who is a sheriff's deputy, several police officers, the City of Charleston, and the Charleston Area Medical Center.[5] The suit alleged “verbal abuse, false allegations of a battery...unreasonable search and entry of his home” among other charges.[11]
Recent news
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See also
External links
- Kanawha County Court information page
- Official Kanawha County, West Virginia website
- UPDATE: WV Supreme Court administrator files complaint against judge charged with battery (with video) 11/5/2013
Footnotes
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 Charleston Daily Mail, "Kanawha family court judge arrested on battery charge," November 5, 2013
- ↑ Charleston Gazette-Mail, "Kanawha races: Rutherford elected sheriff; Harshbarger loses after 36 years," May 10, 2016
- ↑ Charleston Gazette-Mail, "Former Kanawha family judge Snyder dies," April 23, 2017
- ↑ www.wvgazette.com, "Family court judge charged with battery," accessed December 4, 2013
- ↑ 5.0 5.1 5.2 West Virginia Record, "Kanawha family judge sues nurse, others over arrest," November 13, 2014
- ↑ www.wowktv.com, "UPDATE: WV Supreme Court administrator files complaint against judge charged with battery," November 5, 2013
- ↑ The Charleston Gazette, "Hearing set for Kanawha family court judge," November 14, 2013
- ↑ WOWK-TV, UPDATE: Kanawha County, WV Family Court Judge found not guilty of battery," August 21, 2014
- ↑ Letter from James M. Cagle, attorney of Judge D. Mark Snyder
- ↑ West Virginia Judicial Investigation Commission, "Annual Report 2014," accessed October 23, 2015
- ↑ West Virginia Hospital Association, "Kanawha family judge Snyder sues nurse, police over battery accusation," accessed October 23, 2015
Federal courts:
Fourth Circuit Court of Appeals • U.S. District Court: Northern District of West Virginia, Southern District of West Virginia • U.S. Bankruptcy Court: Northern District of West Virginia, Southern District of West Virginia
State courts:
Supreme Court of Appeals of West Virginia • West Virginia Intermediate Court of Appeals • West Virginia Circuit Courts • West Virginia Family Courts • West Virginia Magistrate Courts • West Virginia Municipal Courts
State resources:
Courts in West Virginia • West Virginia judicial elections • Judicial selection in West Virginia
