State v. Brown

WORKMAN, Justice:

The State of West Virginia appeals from an order of the Circuit Court of Marion County dismissing seventeen felony embezzlement counts against the appellee, Jay Montgomery Brown, the former prosecuting attorney of Marion County. The trial court dismissed the felony embezzlement counts based on its determination that embezzlement by a public official is a crime requiring proof of specific intent. The circuit court ruled that the State’s failure to aver intent rendered the embezzlement counts fatally defective. Having fully reviewed the facts of the case in conjunction with the…