What is the standard of review for post-conviction relief?

The standard of review for post-conviction relief in West Virginia is the “clearly erroneous” test. This means that a court reviewing a post-conviction relief claim will not overturn a lower court’s decision unless it finds it to be “clearly erroneous” after examining the facts and legal arguments of the case. In other words, the court must show that the lower court made an error in its judgment or decision to the point of it being objectively unreasonable. If the court finds that the lower court’s ruling was not unreasonable under the law and facts, the ruling will be upheld. The “clearly erroneous” standard is more deferential than the “de novo” standard which requires a court to review a case and its decisions independent of the lower court’s ruling. The “clearly erroneous” standard allows for the lower court’s judgment to stand if it is found to be reasonable even if the court reviewing the post-conviction relief claim may have made a different decision. It is important to note that the standard of review is only applicable to rulings that affect the merits of a criminal case. Issues such as discovery, procedural questions, and relevancy of evidence are typically reviewed using the “de novo” standard.

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What is the standard of review for post-conviction relief?

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