Legal Opinion
Wanstreet v. Bordenkircher
West Virginia Supreme Court
Decided March 10, 1981No. 14968PublishedCited by 231 opinions
1Opinion of the Court
Miller, Justice:
In this original habeas corpus proceeding, we are asked to find that the life sentence imposed after a third felony conviction violates the proportionality clause in Article III, Section 5 of the West Virginia Constitution.
Relator Wanstreet was indicted in Doddridge County in 1951 for forging a check in the amount of $18.62. At the time he was indicted, he was eighteen years old. Upon his guilty plea, he was sentenced to two to ten years and placed on probation. In 1955, he pled guilty to arson for burning a hay barn. The total value of the barn was $490. This crime resulted…
2Cases cited49 opinions
- Gregg v. GeorgiaSupreme Court of the United States · 1976
- Furman v. GeorgiaSupreme Court of the United States · 1972
- Greenholtz v. Inmates of the Nebraska Penal & Correctional ComplexSupreme Court of the United States · 1979
- Ingraham v. WrightSupreme Court of the United States · 1977
- Robinson v. CaliforniaSupreme Court of the United States · 1962
44 more not listed; retrieve them via the Exa API.
3Cited by231 opinions
- State v. BrueggerSupreme Court of Iowa · 2009
- State v. JamesWest Virginia Supreme Court · 2011
- State v. CooperWest Virginia Supreme Court · 1983
- State v. BeckWest Virginia Supreme Court · 1981
- State v. AllenWest Virginia Supreme Court · 2000
226 more not listed; retrieve them via the Exa API.