Anstey v. Ballard (Signed Opinion)
Annotate this CaseIn 1995, Anstey was convicted first-degree murder, without a recommendation of mercy, in the death of his 81-year-old grandmother during a 1994 fire. There was extensive testimony about Anstey's physical and financial abuse of the victim; both sides presented extensive expert testimony about the cause of the fire. In his 2014 habeas petition, Anstey asserted he was entitled to a new trial because the advancement in fire science and arson investigation during the last 20 years constituted newly-discovered evidence which demonstrated the fundamental and unconstitutional unfairness of his trial. The court considered the affidavits of his new fire experts, and the underlying trial record, then denied the petition without holding an evidentiary hearing. The Supreme Court of Appeals of West Virginia affirmed. The circuit court’s decision was adequately supported by its 36-page order that recounted the evidence from the trial, over which it presided, and its “careful review” of the parties’ briefs and the new expert affidavits, which led it to conclude that “the relevant facts of the case . . . have been sufficiently and adequately developed” for the court to rule as a matter of law.
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