State v. Tewalt (Signed Opinion)
Annotate this Case
The Supreme Court affirmed Defendant's conviction of one count of strangulation but reversed in part the circuit court's sentencing order insofar as it imposed a lifetime no-contact protective order, holding that the circuit court lacked the authority to impose the lifetime protective order.
Defendant was convicted of strangling his then-wife. The circuit court sentenced Defendant to five years in prison and imposed a lifetime protective order so that Defendant would "never have any contact with the victim." The Supreme Court affirmed in part and reversed in part, holding (1) there was sufficient evidence to support Defendant's conviction; (2) the circuit court properly admitted evidence of Defendant's prior conduct under W. Va. R Evid. 404(b); and (3) the circuit court committed clear error in imposing a lifetime protective order in the victim's favor.
Some case metadata and case summaries were written with the help of AI, which can produce inaccuracies. You should read the full case before relying on it for legal research purposes.
This site is protected by reCAPTCHA and the Google Privacy Policy and Terms of Service apply.