Latest / WCHS Network Podcasts / 10/29/2026 Ask the Lawyer with Harvey Peyton

Transcript

10/29/2026 Ask the Lawyer with Harvey Peyton · WCHS Network Podcasts

• 0:00
  Speaker 1: The views and opinions expressed on this program do not
• 0:02
  Speaker 1: necessarily reflect the views and opinions of 580 WCHS, its employees,
• 0:07
  Speaker 1: or WVRC Media.
• 0:09
  Speaker 2: In our courts, all men.
• 0:11
  Speaker 3: Are created equal.
• 0:12
  Speaker 4: We're mass communicating.
• 0:19
  Speaker 5: Breaking rocks in a hot sun.
• 0:19
  Speaker 1: I'm all for.
• 0:26
  Speaker 3: Law and no one.
• 0:35
  Speaker 1: And a very pleasant good morning to you. You are
• 0:37
  Speaker 1: listening to Ask the Lawyer, 580 WCHS, The Voice of Charleston.
• 0:40
  Speaker 1: I'm Dale Cooper. Thanks for tuning in on this Thursday
• 0:43
  Speaker 1: morning and in studio with me this morning. It's Harvey
• 0:45
  Speaker 1: Payton from the Payton Law Firm online, paytonlawfirm.com. Harvey, good morning.
• 0:49
  Speaker 1: How are you doing this morning?
• 0:49
  Speaker 2: I'm doing quite well, Coop. Once again, the public gets
• 0:53
  Speaker 2: the second team here, the older team. Tom and his wife, Marianne,
• 0:58
  Speaker 2: are actually taking a little mini getaway for a couple
• 1:01
  Speaker 2: of days, Christmas. Oh, a couple of Christmases ago, I
• 1:05
  Speaker 2: got him a gift certificate to a place called the
• 1:07
  Speaker 2: Billy Motel in Davis. Nice. It's a really great sort
• 1:13
  Speaker 2: of little location that they cater to bikers and skiers.
• 1:17
  Speaker 2: And a lady from Morgantown who made her money in
• 1:20
  Speaker 2: Philadelphia came back and bought an old open entry motel
• 1:23
  Speaker 2: and redid it and built this really exclusive small bar, restaurant,
• 1:30
  Speaker 2: music venue. It's fantastic. about halfway between downtown Davis and
• 1:35
  Speaker 2: downtown Thomas. So they diddled around and didn't use the
• 1:39
  Speaker 2: gift certificate. So that's where they are, I guess, yesterday
• 1:42
  Speaker 2: and today. They'll be back tomorrow. If anybody's looking for
• 1:46
  Speaker 2: a nice experience in the area, it's right across from
• 1:48
  Speaker 2: the entrance to Blackwater Falls State Park. Oh, very cool.
• 1:52
  Speaker 2: And it's changed hands. The lady from Philly, she was
• 1:55
  Speaker 2: there and revitalized the place. I think probably ran it
• 1:58
  Speaker 2: for eight or ten years and then sold it. I mean,
• 2:01
  Speaker 2: she's getting a little bit of age on her and, uh,
• 2:04
  Speaker 2: to a new fairly dynamic. It sounds to me like
• 2:07
  Speaker 2: couple from, uh, somewhere in the area. I've got to
• 2:11
  Speaker 2: do it some remodeling and, uh, it's a really great,
• 2:13
  Speaker 2: I mean, I don't know what the story is about
• 2:15
  Speaker 2: this data center near Thomas. Uh, I guess we can't
• 2:19
  Speaker 2: find out the story because the legislature says that those
• 2:22
  Speaker 2: things are secret. Uh, but then, you know, For a
• 2:27
  Speaker 2: mountain experience in West Virginia, for folks from the East Coast,
• 2:31
  Speaker 2: there's a lot, a lot of tourism, a lot of
• 2:34
  Speaker 2: traffic in that area, a lot of music, traditional music,
• 2:39
  Speaker 2: contemporary music, a place called the Purple Fiddle. You've got,
• 2:43
  Speaker 2: I think, Stumptown Ales is the name of the brew
• 2:45
  Speaker 2: house there in Davis, and then you go over to Thomas,
• 2:48
  Speaker 2: and you're right close to really beautiful territory when a
• 2:54
  Speaker 2: couple of years ago, our little beagle was still with
• 2:56
  Speaker 2: us and we would go and break the rules because
• 2:59
  Speaker 2: she never ran off much. So when we would take
• 3:02
  Speaker 2: hikes over in the National Preserve there in Blackwater Falls,
• 3:08
  Speaker 2: we'd get away from the boardwalk and then let her
• 3:11
  Speaker 2: off the leash so she could run around and run.
• 3:14
  Speaker 2: Strange thing, she would only chase a deer until she
• 3:16
  Speaker 2: couldn't see it anymore. And then we'd turn around and
• 3:18
  Speaker 2: come back. So things have perked along quite well at
• 3:21
  Speaker 2: the Peyton Law Firm. We've been Quite busy, actually. You know,
• 3:27
  Speaker 2: it's the point where you have to start telling folks
• 3:31
  Speaker 2: it's going to be a few weeks. If someone calls,
• 3:34
  Speaker 2: if there's some urgency, if it's someone who suffered an
• 3:38
  Speaker 2: injury or a loss in an occurrence, it's an immediate investigation.
• 3:43
  Speaker 2: It's called for. That's one thing. It's almost like elective surgery.
• 3:47
  Speaker 2: If someone is not in dire straits health-wise but needs
• 3:51
  Speaker 2: a little light estate planning, they may have to wait
• 3:52
  Speaker 2: a bit. Although if someone is in extremis, that sort
• 3:58
  Speaker 2: of falls to be usually to meet those needs. People
• 4:01
  Speaker 2: need peace of mind if they're sick or going to
• 4:03
  Speaker 2: have surgery. While the likelihood that anything is going to
• 4:07
  Speaker 2: happen to them is slim, they feel better. And that's
• 4:11
  Speaker 2: what lawyers are here for, to help people and hopefully
• 4:13
  Speaker 2: make them feel better. Went to the ball game last
• 4:19
  Speaker 2: night in Morgantown, the exhibition game. I think things are
• 4:23
  Speaker 2: Looking up, again, there's only one player on the roster
• 4:26
  Speaker 2: for the Mountaineers that was there last year. It's the
• 4:28
  Speaker 2: young man, Lorient. But they've got good size, extremely fast.
• 4:33
  Speaker 1: And they've got some highly regarded talent they brought in
• 4:35
  Speaker 1: this year.
• 4:35
  Speaker 2: They do, and they're extremely quick. What are they? I mean,
• 4:39
  Speaker 2: my only impression, Wheeling and Wheeling University had number 13,
• 4:46
  Speaker 2: Quincy Pinstoggle. They're seated right behind us in our floor-level seats.
• 4:50
  Speaker 2: Here's Kevin and Obviously, two more of his sons because
• 4:54
  Speaker 2: they look just like him. They're watching. And guess what
• 4:58
  Speaker 2: this kid did? He's not nearly the size of his father.
• 5:01
  Speaker 2: He's slim. And he's about 6'8, 6'9, and pops three-pointers.
• 5:08
  Speaker 2: There you go. Just like you've been pit-snoggled.
• 5:10
  Speaker 1: He's standing at the top of the key and hit three-pointers, right?
• 5:13
  Speaker 2: I saw Hoppy there. I didn't get a chance to
• 5:16
  Speaker 2: talk to him. I talked a bit with Caridi. Hoppy
• 5:18
  Speaker 2: left at halftime because the noise was too bad for him.
• 5:20
  Speaker 2: He says, I'm too old and I can't stand the noise.
• 5:25
  Speaker 2: which I guess is a signal of the reunification of
• 5:27
  Speaker 2: the Western Radio Corporation and the University Athletics because the
• 5:32
  Speaker 2: last two football games where I had a field pass,
• 5:35
  Speaker 2: you know, I ran into Hoppy on the sidelines. But
• 5:38
  Speaker 2: I always look forward to Thursdays because I read his commentary.
• 5:42
  Speaker 2: And this morning it was about the Amendment 1, which
• 5:45
  Speaker 2: is on the ballot. It's the end of the ballot.
• 5:47
  Speaker 2: It is an amendment to the state constitution proposed by
• 5:50
  Speaker 2: the legislature. Uh, I've already voted. I voted the first
• 5:54
  Speaker 2: day of early voting. I voted no, which seemed to
• 5:59
  Speaker 2: be the recommendation or at least the implication from Hoppe's commentary.
• 6:04
  Speaker 2: It says that no person shall vote in any election
• 6:09
  Speaker 2: who's not a citizen of the United States and of
• 6:11
  Speaker 2: the state of West Virginia. Well, that's already against the law.
• 6:14
  Speaker 2: I mean, we have a very specific statute that not
• 6:17
  Speaker 2: only says, you know, state elections, but it talks about
• 6:22
  Speaker 2: municipal elections and other elections like nonpartisan Board of Education.
• 6:27
  Speaker 2: I mean, non-citizens of the United States cannot vote in
• 6:31
  Speaker 2: any election in West Virginia. Now, that's not the case
• 6:34
  Speaker 2: in every state. I'll say this, you know, the United
• 6:41
  Speaker 2: States as statute prohibits voting by non-citizens in federal elections,
• 6:49
  Speaker 2: but elections are essentially a matter of state law. So if,
• 6:55
  Speaker 2: for instance, the city of Morgantown wanted to define qualified
• 7:00
  Speaker 2: voters as any resident within their more than 30 days, well,
• 7:04
  Speaker 2: a resident is something less than a citizen. And so
• 7:07
  Speaker 2: a non-citizen of the United States could vote under those circumstances,
• 7:11
  Speaker 2: but not now because the legislature is supreme over all
• 7:15
  Speaker 2: the political subdivisions under it. I mean, there is a
• 7:18
  Speaker 2: law which To his absolute credit, Chris Warner points out
• 7:24
  Speaker 2: to people who ask, you know, this is– we get
• 7:27
  Speaker 2: calls and calls about this. What does it mean to
• 7:30
  Speaker 2: our office? Well, I don't know what it means except
• 7:34
  Speaker 2: the legislature chose to put this on the ballot probably
• 7:38
  Speaker 2: out of that– the man who's on the stairway, right?
• 7:43
  Speaker 2: You know, as I was walking up the stairs, I
• 7:45
  Speaker 2: met a man who wasn't there.
• 7:46
  Speaker 4: Mm-hmm.
• 7:47
  Speaker 2: He wasn't there again today. Oh, God, I wish he'd
• 7:49
  Speaker 2: go away. That's the fear of the unknown, that people
• 7:51
  Speaker 2: somehow have an idea that there's a vast army of
• 7:55
  Speaker 2: the amorphous they out there who are waiting to vote
• 7:59
  Speaker 2: in elections and take over the country and, let's just
• 8:03
  Speaker 2: be frank, impose Sharia law because it's largely an anti-Muslim,
• 8:08
  Speaker 2: anti-Islamic shift that I mean, I see people interviewed online
• 8:13
  Speaker 2: all the time who talk about, you know, I don't
• 8:15
  Speaker 2: want to be forced to wear a hijab. Well, the
• 8:18
  Speaker 2: fact is no one in the United States is forced
• 8:22
  Speaker 2: to wear a hijab. There are women who are practicing
• 8:27
  Speaker 2: followers of Islam who, after puberty, choose to wear a
• 8:33
  Speaker 2: hijab or a veil, just like there are women in
• 8:36
  Speaker 2: Amish communities who wear a bonnet and Mennonites who wear
• 8:40
  Speaker 2: a bonnet and a long dress. And in other communities
• 8:45
  Speaker 2: of evangelical Christian faith who don't cut their hair and
• 8:49
  Speaker 2: wear long dresses, but nobody's making anybody do anything.
• 8:52
  Speaker 1: Coolots instead of shorts. In the Baptist community I grew
• 8:56
  Speaker 1: up in, you couldn't wear shorts or skirts. You had
• 8:58
  Speaker 1: to wear coolots, which were segmented pants, basically.
• 9:01
  Speaker 2: Like a skort. Right. So, you know, I see these
• 9:07
  Speaker 2: horrible screens online, which... There's no sense in responding to that.
• 9:11
  Speaker 2: Someone who posts a racist, abhorrent screed about people who
• 9:17
  Speaker 2: follow the practice of Islam or Muslim majority countries, it's
• 9:22
  Speaker 2: just an unfounded, hateful bias. The percentage of people in
• 9:29
  Speaker 2: the United States who self-identify as practitioners of Islam is
• 9:36
  Speaker 2: about 1.2% of the population of this country, roughly equal
• 9:41
  Speaker 2: to the population of this country that are Buddhists and Hindus.
• 9:45
  Speaker 2: About three times the population that are Amishmen or Mennonites,
• 9:52
  Speaker 2: you know, or Orthodox Jews in certain areas of New
• 9:55
  Speaker 2: York who follow dietary practices that are, to many people,
• 10:00
  Speaker 2: considered wacky. And the idea that even though it's 1.2%
• 10:09
  Speaker 2: of the population, 5% of the physicians that practice in
• 10:16
  Speaker 2: this country are from... Muslim-majority countries. Now, that number is
• 10:22
  Speaker 2: shrinking because we have imposed this embargo on folks who
• 10:28
  Speaker 2: simply come from countries where the Muslim religion is the
• 10:33
  Speaker 2: majority of the population. So now we're having trouble finding
• 10:38
  Speaker 2: vascular surgeons, general practitioners, anybody who's ever been a patient
• 10:43
  Speaker 2: of Dr. Wazir in South Charleston, one of the renowned
• 10:48
  Speaker 2: cardiologists in the area. When I was sick with a
• 10:51
  Speaker 2: dissecting aorta, in the middle of the night, I thought
• 10:56
  Speaker 2: I was going to die. I was face-to-face with Abraham
• 11:00
  Speaker 2: Moussa from Egypt, and I'm certainly happy. I'm personally happy.
• 11:05
  Speaker 2: Some people are probably sad that he was there to
• 11:08
  Speaker 2: save me, but he was there not reacting to some
• 11:12
  Speaker 2: unfounded hatred and just went back where he came from,
• 11:14
  Speaker 2: to Egypt, and It's just, to me, that's the whole purpose.
• 11:19
  Speaker 2: It's the divisive nature of this amendment to drive people
• 11:24
  Speaker 2: out of fear of the unknown to the polls and
• 11:27
  Speaker 2: increase hatred for they. And I agree with Hoppe's commentary today.
• 11:31
  Speaker 2: I would advise those folks who care about freedom and
• 11:36
  Speaker 2: voting and unanimity in this state to vote no on this.
• 11:40
  Speaker 2: It's fraught with peril. You know, residency and citizenship are
• 11:46
  Speaker 2: a different thing. We're going to see lawsuits about whether
• 11:49
  Speaker 2: students at universities, even though they may live 10 months
• 11:53
  Speaker 2: in a city or a county, well, you're not a citizen,
• 11:56
  Speaker 2: you just reside here. So you can't vote. And that's just,
• 12:00
  Speaker 2: it's coming. Just wait and see. It's a stalking horse,
• 12:05
  Speaker 2: number one, to get people charged up for this election,
• 12:09
  Speaker 2: and number two, to spread the by powers greater than us,
• 12:13
  Speaker 2: to spread dissent and distrust among ourselves so we lose
• 12:18
  Speaker 2: sight of the fact that we're being skimmed by the
• 12:21
  Speaker 2: richest people in the world. Do you think Elon Musk
• 12:24
  Speaker 2: cares who votes in an election in Reevesville? I seriously
• 12:30
  Speaker 2: doubt it, but he wants to be a triple trillionaire.
• 12:33
  Speaker 2: And to do that, it requires a certain submissiveness by
• 12:36
  Speaker 2: the people of the government of the United States. What
• 12:39
  Speaker 2: you can achieve, you know, there's a Well, I digress,
• 12:46
  Speaker 2: so I'm going to stop there. Last week, we did
• 12:51
  Speaker 2: discuss on a legal matter the reaction to Judge Hardy's
• 12:55
  Speaker 2: handling of the case of the young woman, the Kanawha
• 12:59
  Speaker 2: County ambulance driver, who is alleged to have and has
• 13:03
  Speaker 2: been indicted for the crime of voluntary manslaughter. which would
• 13:08
  Speaker 2: mean the state has to prove beyond a reasonable doubt
• 13:11
  Speaker 2: that she deliberately and intentionally but not maliciously struck Mr. Lucas,
• 13:18
  Speaker 2: I believe that's the victim's name, John Lucas, with an
• 13:21
  Speaker 2: ambulance and killed him. The indictment was quickly returned. There
• 13:27
  Speaker 2: was the unfortunate circumstance where out of fear or guilt
• 13:31
  Speaker 2: or lack of responsibility, the young lady apparently not, obviously
• 13:38
  Speaker 2: just fabricated some facts about what had happened that turned
• 13:42
  Speaker 2: out quickly to be disproven. And we talked about how
• 13:47
  Speaker 2: the commentary online and posts and comments to your station
• 13:52
  Speaker 2: were always adverse to the driver and almost like kangaroo
• 13:57
  Speaker 2: justice was required here. Well, this week we see, and
• 14:02
  Speaker 2: this is really, it all depends on how you look
• 14:04
  Speaker 2: at it, you know, the Prosecutor Rusnick in Kanawha County
• 14:11
  Speaker 2: ran for the office to enforce the law to be
• 14:17
  Speaker 2: the agency of the state of West Virginia operating in
• 14:19
  Speaker 2: Kanawha County who would prosecute the evil, do justice to all.
• 14:25
  Speaker 2: This week filed a motion, improperly by the way, with
• 14:30
  Speaker 2: the wrong judge, asking to be removed from the case
• 14:35
  Speaker 2: and and a special prosecutor appointed to take this case
• 14:40
  Speaker 2: because she had been receiving and her office staff had
• 14:44
  Speaker 2: been receiving threats and disagreeable communication from the friends and
• 14:49
  Speaker 2: family of the victim. And, you know, I looked at
• 14:53
  Speaker 2: that and thought about it and thought, oh, wait a minute.
• 14:55
  Speaker 2: So the motion, if you look at it in its essence,
• 14:58
  Speaker 2: is judge, let me out of the job I was
• 15:02
  Speaker 2: elected to do and let's appoint somebody else to be
• 15:06
  Speaker 2: threatened and deal with these disagreeable people instead of me.
• 15:09
  Speaker 2: I mean, what else is it? I mean, that's why U.S.
• 15:15
  Speaker 2: attorneys are assigned the marshal service when they're disrupted or
• 15:20
  Speaker 2: when they're the target of threats. Jack Smith, who made
• 15:26
  Speaker 2: a fool out of John Kennedy and the other senator
• 15:30
  Speaker 2: with their idea that he was attending a game in
• 15:31
  Speaker 2: Atlanta when he was attending a game in College Park, Maryland,
• 15:35
  Speaker 2: I mean, he was at the game with members of
• 15:38
  Speaker 2: the U.S. Marshal Service because they were assigned to him
• 15:41
  Speaker 2: because people who opposed his viewpoint were threatening his life.
• 15:45
  Speaker 2: I mean, I don't know, Mr. Resnick. I just think
• 15:50
  Speaker 2: it's unusual and perhaps would be a bad precedent for
• 15:53
  Speaker 2: a prosecutor just to say, well, I'm having trouble with
• 15:56
  Speaker 2: this victim's family and I don't feel comfortable, so let
• 16:00
  Speaker 2: me out of the job I saw it was elected
• 16:03
  Speaker 2: to do and Let's bring in somebody from the prosecutor's
• 16:05
  Speaker 2: institute and let them be threatened for a while. I
• 16:09
  Speaker 2: don't know what Dave Hardy will do with that. I mean,
• 16:12
  Speaker 2: I know David Hardy is a good man, a conscientious
• 16:15
  Speaker 2: person who's held elective office twice. He was a county
• 16:19
  Speaker 2: commissioner and now he's a judge. What his response will be.
• 16:24
  Speaker 2: I certainly look forward to seeing how that plays out.
• 16:31
  Speaker 1: It's been a– I mean, the– the amount of attention
• 16:35
  Speaker 1: that's on that story from the, from the very, from
• 16:37
  Speaker 1: the community and people with the eyeballs and what I mean, it's,
• 16:39
  Speaker 1: it's highly charged.
• 16:40
  Speaker 2: There's no question. And obviously it's one of those cases where,
• 16:44
  Speaker 2: you know, there was, uh, it's just like when you
• 16:49
  Speaker 2: see an ice agent file a report after physically assaulting
• 16:58
  Speaker 2: perhaps an American citizen on the thought that because of
• 17:01
  Speaker 2: their appearance, they may be a, an unlawful, undocumented alien
• 17:07
  Speaker 2: who says, well, this person resisted arrest and then you
• 17:10
  Speaker 2: get a videotape across the street that proves that's just
• 17:14
  Speaker 2: a flat-out lie. Well, that gets people charged up. You
• 17:17
  Speaker 2: don't like misconduct by the police, by the authorities, especially
• 17:22
  Speaker 2: when they lie about it. And that's what happened here.
• 17:29
  Speaker 2: But that doesn't make the person any more or less
• 17:31
  Speaker 2: guilty of the crime. It may call into question their credibility.
• 17:36
  Speaker 2: And the young woman who is the accused in Kanawha
• 17:39
  Speaker 2: County is certainly entitled to a fair trial, and she's
• 17:42
  Speaker 2: entitled to all the rights that are accorded to her
• 17:44
  Speaker 2: by the Constitution. She's already enjoyed the right of, which
• 17:49
  Speaker 2: is guaranteed in our Constitution, of presentment to a grand
• 17:52
  Speaker 2: jury and an indictment prior to any felony conviction. That
• 18:00
  Speaker 2: leads to... The Fifth Amendment of the Constitution of the
• 18:04
  Speaker 2: United States says that for all matters, capital offenses and
• 18:09
  Speaker 2: all other felonies, I don't think it actually uses the
• 18:12
  Speaker 2: word felony, but it's considered to apply to felony that
• 18:16
  Speaker 2: the only way you can be prosecuted is by presentment
• 18:20
  Speaker 2: to a grand jury and indictment. And you can say, well,
• 18:23
  Speaker 2: wait a minute. The Justice Department, probably acting at the
• 18:28
  Speaker 2: direction of the President of the United States, filed an
• 18:30
  Speaker 2: information not an indictment, an information charging a former FBI
• 18:36
  Speaker 2: director with some sort of 11-year-old misconduct. Why did they
• 18:43
  Speaker 2: do that? Well, it's going to have to be presented
• 18:48
  Speaker 2: to a grand jury. Prosecutors generally file information when there
• 18:53
  Speaker 2: is a plea deal worked out. You don't want to
• 18:55
  Speaker 2: go through a grand jury with it, so you file information.
• 18:58
  Speaker 2: But the defendant then agrees that on the record, to
• 19:02
  Speaker 2: waive presentment and indictment pursuant to the Fifth Amendment before
• 19:07
  Speaker 2: they can proceed. Well, Comey's not going to agree to that.
• 19:11
  Speaker 2: They're going to go back to, they did this because
• 19:13
  Speaker 2: they can't get indictments. You know, the U.S. Attorney's Office
• 19:17
  Speaker 2: in D.C. tried to indict Cassidy, what's her name, the
• 19:20
  Speaker 2: woman who testified from the White House about what went
• 19:22
  Speaker 2: on on January 6th, told the truth. They just got
• 19:26
  Speaker 2: mad at her and indicted her for some sort of
• 19:28
  Speaker 2: bogus crime. or tried to indict her for some sort
• 19:31
  Speaker 2: of bogus disclosure of information and a grand jury would
• 19:35
  Speaker 2: indict her. And they've had like six cases over in D.C.
• 19:38
  Speaker 2: where the Justice Department has presented these bogus political alleged
• 19:43
  Speaker 2: crimes to grand juries. They just won't indict them, which
• 19:47
  Speaker 2: is almost unheard of.
• 19:48
  Speaker 1: Trevor Burrus I don't know if this is the goal
• 19:52
  Speaker 1: of these types of things, but I can tell you
• 19:53
  Speaker 1: from being an observer of– I get to see all
• 19:55
  Speaker 1: of the messages that we get into our various shows,
• 19:57
  Speaker 1: especially to talk on political show and things along those lines.
• 20:00
  Speaker 1: The one thing that I'm seeing is you're explaining kind
• 20:04
  Speaker 1: of the genesis and the conclusion of what happens to
• 20:06
  Speaker 1: these things. You hear about– charges being brought against somebody
• 20:11
  Speaker 1: or memo being issued about charges or something like that,
• 20:14
  Speaker 1: it gets into all the headlines. A week later or
• 20:16
  Speaker 1: even days later, sometimes it gets dismissed, gets thrown out,
• 20:19
  Speaker 1: no charges there, there's nothing to it. But what happens is,
• 20:22
  Speaker 1: of course, is people only hear the first headline. And
• 20:24
  Speaker 1: so I see this all the time with people that
• 20:27
  Speaker 1: are texting into like TalkLine, for example, talking about things
• 20:31
  Speaker 1: about what happened that's a charge that's already been surfaced, dismissed,
• 20:35
  Speaker 1: and has been buried, but they still talk about it
• 20:37
  Speaker 1: like This happened and it's impending. And I guess that's
• 20:40
  Speaker 1: part of the strategy is you just put all this
• 20:42
  Speaker 1: stuff so it gets into the headlines. You get favorable
• 20:44
  Speaker 1: media to cover it in a certain way. And despite
• 20:46
  Speaker 1: the fact that it disappears and there's no merit to it,
• 20:49
  Speaker 1: it's in the cultural zeitgeist that this happened and it didn't.
• 20:53
  Speaker 2: Well, that's the case of trying to make the process
• 20:57
  Speaker 2: the punishment. Let's make the process the punishment. Let's embarrass
• 21:01
  Speaker 2: these people. It's disgusting. And I don't care what anybody says.
• 21:06
  Speaker 2: I've been practicing law for 52 years. I've seen U.S.
• 21:09
  Speaker 2: attorneys come and go here in Charleston. I worked as
• 21:12
  Speaker 2: a law clerk for a federal judge. And if these
• 21:16
  Speaker 2: kind of shenanigans, I mean, these people that talk about weaponization,
• 21:20
  Speaker 2: was Jack Smith, did he weaponize the law? Well, he's
• 21:22
  Speaker 2: a prosecutor. He's a prosecuting attorney charged with an investigation.
• 21:27
  Speaker 2: So if he suspects that criminal conduct, what do you
• 21:31
  Speaker 2: want him to do? Quit? Be a sissy? Say, no,
• 21:34
  Speaker 2: now we're his... Investigatory tactics.
• 21:38
  Speaker 1: Go to the people he thought was criminals with his
• 21:39
  Speaker 1: hat in his hand and say, please, sirs, will you
• 21:41
  Speaker 1: do this for me?
• 21:42
  Speaker 2: Now, I don't agree with all the tactics that Jack
• 21:45
  Speaker 2: Smith used. He's an over-exuberant federal prosecutor. I mean, everybody
• 21:50
  Speaker 2: that has been on my side of the equation who
• 21:54
  Speaker 2: knows some of the lawyers, the U.S. attorneys who've had
• 21:57
  Speaker 2: here in the past will agree they can be overzealous.
• 22:02
  Speaker 2: But that doesn't mean that that's the weaponization of the
• 22:05
  Speaker 2: Justice Department because you go out and you get credible
• 22:07
  Speaker 2: information that a crime may have been committed. I mean,
• 22:11
  Speaker 2: like somebody sitting in a bar in a resort in Mar-a-Lago, Florida,
• 22:16
  Speaker 2: showing people maps and pictures and letters that are property
• 22:21
  Speaker 2: of the people of the United States that are somehow
• 22:25
  Speaker 2: in a box in a closet. I mean, if you
• 22:27
  Speaker 2: see that, you've got a duty to investigate. So, but
• 22:32
  Speaker 2: You know, this is disgusting. Well, let's take a break, chill,
• 22:37
  Speaker 2: and when we come back, we'll talk about the comments
• 22:40
  Speaker 2: online on URLs. Yeah, yeah.
• 22:43
  Speaker 1: Just as an idea, in the last 90 days, I
• 22:46
  Speaker 1: think four of our most popular stories have all been
• 22:51
  Speaker 1: that has to do with the Kanawha County ambulance driver.
• 22:54
  Speaker 1: And we're talking, in some cases, hundreds of thousands of
• 22:56
  Speaker 1: impressions and then hundreds of comments on a lot of these.
• 22:59
  Speaker 1: I mean– Of a lot of things, we're just balls
• 23:00
  Speaker 1: and strikes here. I mean we don't do any editorial
• 23:03
  Speaker 1: content at all. It's just we take the report and
• 23:06
  Speaker 1: our news reports on it. So these are just people
• 23:08
  Speaker 1: that are commenting on it and the impressions are going
• 23:11
  Speaker 1: on it. One way or the other, it's just that's
• 23:13
  Speaker 1: the thing that's got people's attention right now. There's no
• 23:15
  Speaker 1: question about it.
• 23:17
  Speaker 2: That's the kind of thing that gets attention. That's true.
• 23:19
  Speaker 2: Somebody's dead. Somebody in a position of authority, a first responder,
• 23:24
  Speaker 2: lied about it. They got caught. They've been indicted. It's
• 23:27
  Speaker 2: kind of got a little sizzle to it, but that
• 23:29
  Speaker 2: doesn't make the person any more or less innocent of
• 23:32
  Speaker 2: the crime, guilty or innocent of the crime.
• 23:35
  Speaker 1: Let's go ahead and take our break. When we come back,
• 23:36
  Speaker 1: we still have plenty of time left. If you want
• 23:37
  Speaker 1: to squeeze in here with a phone call, you're more
• 23:39
  Speaker 1: than welcome to do that. Been looking at the phone
• 23:40
  Speaker 1: lines this morning. Hasn't rang yet. 304-345-5858. 304-345-5858. You can
• 23:45
  Speaker 1: text over your comments as well if you'd like to.
• 23:46
  Speaker 3: 304-935-5008.
• 23:47
  Speaker 2: 304-935-5008.
• 23:47
  Speaker 1: Payton Law Firm online. PaytonLawFirm.com.
• 23:53
  Speaker 2: P-E-Y-T-O-N.
• 23:54
  Speaker 1: PaytonLawFirm.com in Nitro, West Virginia. We'll take a break and
• 23:57
  Speaker 1: be back right after this. You're listening to Ask the
• 23:58
  Speaker 1: Lawyer with Harvey Payton from the Payton Law Firm on
• 24:01
  Speaker 1: 580 WCHS, The Voice of Charleston.
• 24:03
  Speaker 6: If you've been injured, you deserve a lawyer who knows
• 24:05
  Speaker 6: West Virginia, not just one who advertises here. Tom and
• 24:09
  Speaker 6: Harvey Payton were born and raised right here. For decades,
• 24:13
  Speaker 6: they fought for injury victims across the state, and they
• 24:16
  Speaker 6: know how to win. At the Payton Law Firm, you
• 24:18
  Speaker 6: get strong representation and attorneys who care. Call 755-5556 or
• 24:24
  Speaker 6: visit PaytonLawFirm.com.
• 24:26
  Speaker 1: The attorneys referenced in this ad are lifelong residents and
• 24:29
  Speaker 1: are licensed to practice law in the state of West Virginia.
• 24:32
  Speaker 5: The Hussins Pizza Special for October, a large 18-inch pepperoni pizza,
• 24:37
  Speaker 5: and an order of cinnamon bites for just $ 20. 99. Visit
• 24:42
  Speaker 5: your nearest Hussins for dine-in, pickup, or delivery. Order now
• 24:45
  Speaker 5: at husbandspizza.com.
• 24:47
  Speaker 2: The latest in news, talk, and sports on 580 WCHS
• 24:51
  Speaker 2: is brought to you by Jarrett Construction.
• 24:53
  Speaker 6: Visit jarrett-construction.com for more information.
• 24:56
  Speaker 3: 12 minutes now to the top of the hour.
• 25:19
  Speaker 1: You're listening to Ask the Lawyer, 580 WCHS. The voice
• 25:22
  Speaker 1: of Charles and Harvey Payton is in studio with us
• 25:23
  Speaker 1: this morning. If you want to talk to Harvey, you
• 25:27
  Speaker 1: can give us a call, 304-345-5858, 345-5858. You can text
• 25:28
  Speaker 1: over any questions you have of us as well to 304-935-5008. Online, PaytonLawFirm.com, PaytonLawFirm.com.
• 25:35
  Speaker 2: Well, you know, it's the Payton Law Firm. As I
• 25:37
  Speaker 2: said earlier, things are just quite busy. And one of the,
• 25:43
  Speaker 2: you know, there's a bifurcation. The biggest part of our
• 25:48
  Speaker 2: practice by far is car wrecks, insurance claims, social security disability,
• 25:56
  Speaker 2: reviewing some workers' compensation claims, employment law, things where people
• 26:03
  Speaker 2: who work and live at sea level are confronted by
• 26:05
  Speaker 2: denials or perceived abuses by the establishment or those who
• 26:12
  Speaker 2: have the money and the power. like if you're in
• 26:14
  Speaker 2: a car wreck, you may be with just one of
• 26:16
  Speaker 2: your neighbors, but behind them may be one of the
• 26:18
  Speaker 2: biggest insurance companies in the world, and you need a
• 26:22
  Speaker 2: lawyer to help you navigate that, and that's what we do,
• 26:24
  Speaker 2: and we do it really well and have been for decades.
• 26:28
  Speaker 2: But at the same time, lawyers ought to be here
• 26:31
  Speaker 2: to help people, and our office is in the suburbs.
• 26:35
  Speaker 2: It's in Nitro. If I make it until next May,
• 26:38
  Speaker 2: I'll have practiced law in Nitro within the same about
• 26:41
  Speaker 2: 100-yard area. Cause I had an office on one corner
• 26:45
  Speaker 2: and now it's on the other for 50 years. And
• 26:49
  Speaker 2: if you think about nitro was only incorporated in 1932,
• 26:52
  Speaker 2: that means I've been there more than half the time
• 26:54
  Speaker 2: they have. And so if people call and say, well,
• 26:58
  Speaker 2: we know, you know, we need, I called the courthouse
• 27:01
  Speaker 2: and there's something wrong with my deed. Can you look
• 27:04
  Speaker 2: at this for me? Well, what do you say? No,
• 27:06
  Speaker 2: I can't do that. If you have a car wreck,
• 27:08
  Speaker 2: call me back, but otherwise pish posh, you're out of here. And, and, Unfortunately,
• 27:14
  Speaker 2: that's sort of the prevalent effect of lawyer advertising. It
• 27:19
  Speaker 2: was intended to make consumer services more available and more prolific,
• 27:25
  Speaker 2: and it's had the opposite effect. It's just taught everyone that,
• 27:28
  Speaker 2: you know, here's what you need to think about is
• 27:30
  Speaker 2: only big money and only million-dollar cases, and you ought
• 27:33
  Speaker 2: to get a class action. And certainly we're not adverse
• 27:36
  Speaker 2: to that. People who are injured should get fair and
• 27:38
  Speaker 2: reasonable and just compensation, and we can do that for you.
• 27:41
  Speaker 2: But at the same time, You know, if you're worried
• 27:44
  Speaker 2: because your mother-in-law passed away and you don't understand what's
• 27:47
  Speaker 2: going to happen with the heirs, you can call us.
• 27:51
  Speaker 2: And speaking of calling us, we've got a call right now.
• 27:53
  Speaker 1: I believe we have a phone call online. Caller, what's
• 27:55
  Speaker 1: your first name online with Harvey?
• 27:58
  Speaker 4: This is Eric.
• 27:59
  Speaker 1: Hey, Eric, you have a question for Harvey?
• 28:01
  Speaker 4: Yeah, I sent Harvey and or Tom an email regarding
• 28:06
  Speaker 4: an employment situation, and they Really, he said that he
• 28:13
  Speaker 4: couldn't take the case, but I just wondered if maybe
• 28:16
  Speaker 4: he could talk me through it a little bit while
• 28:18
  Speaker 4: we're on the air.
• 28:19
  Speaker 2: Well, you know, Eric, it was more than one email.
• 28:22
  Speaker 2: It was a series of emails and narratives, and I
• 28:26
  Speaker 2: don't want to be disrespectful. I understand how you feel
• 28:30
  Speaker 2: about what happened, but when we get those emails, Tom
• 28:34
  Speaker 2: and I look at them, we talk about them, and
• 28:37
  Speaker 2: just given the circumstance that... We have right now, as
• 28:42
  Speaker 2: I told you, we're just really, and I think I
• 28:44
  Speaker 2: explained that to you in the last email, I probably
• 28:47
  Speaker 2: put in there, please don't contact us again, not meaning
• 28:51
  Speaker 2: to be rude, but just look, we've read these several times.
• 28:54
  Speaker 4: Well, whether you meant to be rude or not, when
• 28:57
  Speaker 4: you tell somebody never to contact you again, that's rude.
• 29:00
  Speaker 2: Well, I mean, it could be perceived, but after you've
• 29:03
  Speaker 2: been told several times that we can't help you and
• 29:06
  Speaker 2: you continue to, you know, we take time to read
• 29:09
  Speaker 2: those and our staff screens them and It's just not
• 29:12
  Speaker 2: fair to keep bombarding.
• 29:14
  Speaker 4: I didn't personally send them. My AI agent sent them.
• 29:17
  Speaker 2: I apologize.
• 29:21
  Speaker 4: You were on a list of approved lawyers for that
• 29:24
  Speaker 4: kind of case, and I just thought, you know, since
• 29:28
  Speaker 4: you're a local guy, I'm a local guy, that you
• 29:30
  Speaker 4: would look into it. That's all. I mean, I think
• 29:33
  Speaker 4: you're a great guy. I've met you several times, and
• 29:37
  Speaker 4: I know you're a great lawyer. I just... found that
• 29:40
  Speaker 4: to be an odd response.
• 29:42
  Speaker 2: Well, maybe it was because it's the end of a
• 29:44
  Speaker 2: long day, and I've got a lot going on, and
• 29:47
  Speaker 2: it's just one of those things. I apologize if it
• 29:50
  Speaker 2: sounded rude. It didn't mean it to be. It probably was.
• 29:52
  Speaker 2: I thought about it after I got your response, but
• 29:55
  Speaker 2: it doesn't change the circumstances at the office. We just
• 29:58
  Speaker 2: really can't help you with that. But if you want
• 30:00
  Speaker 2: to call the office, uh, perhaps this afternoon, I will
• 30:04
  Speaker 2: try and take some time and talk to you.
• 30:06
  Speaker 3: Okay.
• 30:07
  Speaker 4: It would be wonderful. I appreciate that.
• 30:08
  Speaker 2: Thank you. Thank you.
• 30:09
  Speaker 1: Appreciate the phone call. Thanks for calling in this morning.
• 30:13
  Speaker 2: And it's, you know, everybody has a, everybody's human. I mean,
• 30:18
  Speaker 2: lawyers are human. Doctors are human. Um, I had a
• 30:21
  Speaker 2: long time, not a long time client, but a client
• 30:24
  Speaker 2: that I, really liked, and we did some more, a
• 30:28
  Speaker 2: lot of work on a case. It was quite a
• 30:31
  Speaker 2: complicated estate matter. And, you know, perhaps sometime later, another
• 30:40
  Speaker 2: member of our family called the office with a question,
• 30:43
  Speaker 2: which is one that we get quite frequently. Somebody, they
• 30:47
  Speaker 2: had bought a piece of property, and they questioned how
• 30:50
  Speaker 2: the taxes were prorated, the property taxes. And Call the courthouse. Well,
• 30:56
  Speaker 2: the assessor's office tells them, well, the taxes are, you know,
• 31:00
  Speaker 2: July 1, June 30. Well, that's not how these are prorated. Well,
• 31:04
  Speaker 2: that's how the taxes are. Well, no, they're not prorated
• 31:07
  Speaker 2: July 1, June 30, because the practice is in West Virginia,
• 31:11
  Speaker 2: and all the real estate sales contracts say you prorate
• 31:14
  Speaker 2: them on a calendar year basis based upon the most recent.
• 31:17
  Speaker 2: It's simply a matter of convenience. That's the way it
• 31:21
  Speaker 2: was done for years before the fiscal year was changed.
• 31:24
  Speaker 2: It's Well, you know, so the person got a hold
• 31:27
  Speaker 2: of Tom who had had a long, busy day. And,
• 31:29
  Speaker 2: you know, after explaining that to him, the response was, well,
• 31:32
  Speaker 2: that's not what they told me at the courthouse. Well,
• 31:35
  Speaker 2: if you spend, you know, it's just human nature. You
• 31:38
  Speaker 2: spend five minutes trying to be nice to somebody and explain, well,
• 31:42
  Speaker 2: here's the difference. It's not wrong. It's a difference in
• 31:47
  Speaker 2: a way. The assessor's office doesn't prorate taxes. And then
• 31:52
  Speaker 2: give them a straight honest answer and it's like well
• 31:54
  Speaker 2: that's not what they told me at the courthouse well
• 31:57
  Speaker 2: you know sometimes you just say well buddy i don't
• 31:59
  Speaker 2: care what they told you at the courthouse go up
• 32:01
  Speaker 2: the courthouse i mean it might have gotten out of
• 32:04
  Speaker 2: hand i got some blowback on it but i mean
• 32:06
  Speaker 2: people are only human and uh i don't think i've
• 32:10
  Speaker 2: ever had an occasion like with eric if there's some
• 32:13
  Speaker 2: misunderstanding i'll try and work it out but you can't
• 32:16
  Speaker 2: be you can't tell people what they want to hear
• 32:17
  Speaker 2: all the time some people don't understand that i mean
• 32:20
  Speaker 2: we get Folks, even on the simpler things like estate planning, well,
• 32:25
  Speaker 2: I want to do this. I don't want this property
• 32:27
  Speaker 2: to ever go outside my family. Well, you can't do that. Well,
• 32:30
  Speaker 2: why not? Can I form a trust? No, you cannot
• 32:33
  Speaker 2: do that. You cannot make property inalienable in perpetuity. There
• 32:37
  Speaker 2: is a rule against that. But here's what we can do.
• 32:41
  Speaker 2: And so I looked on the Internet. Well, you just
• 32:44
  Speaker 2: have to sort of bite your lip and say, okay, well,
• 32:47
  Speaker 2: let me talk you through that. Here's why you can't
• 32:49
  Speaker 2: do it here. I mean everybody gets some complaints. I
• 32:56
  Speaker 2: think we probably get fewer or I hear fewer than–
• 33:03
  Speaker 2: I just– I mean– yeah.
• 33:07
  Speaker 1: I got a text message that just came through. A
• 33:09
  Speaker 1: question for Harvey from the 304549. Harvey, what methods do
• 33:12
  Speaker 1: you use for evaluation of real property for the appraisal
• 33:16
  Speaker 1: of a descendant's estate? I guess that would be what's
• 33:19
  Speaker 1: acceptable because you wouldn't do the appraisal.
• 33:21
  Speaker 2: Of a decedent's estate. Well, right. An appraisal. Here's the
• 33:24
  Speaker 2: thing about real property and an estate. You don't need
• 33:28
  Speaker 2: to go hire– now, in some circumstances, you do. You're
• 33:31
  Speaker 2: talking about a piece of commercial property, maybe an estate
• 33:35
  Speaker 2: that's up in the six, seven, high six, but maybe
• 33:39
  Speaker 2: in the seven-figure range. You might want to get a
• 33:42
  Speaker 2: commercial appraisal if you're dealing with a great number of
• 33:45
  Speaker 2: heirs and there may be some dispute about the division
• 33:49
  Speaker 2: of the proceeds that you foresee, sure. But if it's
• 33:52
  Speaker 2: a piece of property that you own within the family,
• 33:55
  Speaker 2: it's siblings or children, well, you can do a little
• 34:00
  Speaker 2: online research. You can say, you know, what's this property worth?
• 34:03
  Speaker 2: What's this thing going to sell for in today's market?
• 34:06
  Speaker 2: You can look at what the assessor has on it.
• 34:08
  Speaker 2: You can figure whatever the assessed value is, divide by three,
• 34:12
  Speaker 2: multiply by five, and that's the appraised value. In their eyes,
• 34:15
  Speaker 2: it's probably low. And I always tell folks, you know,
• 34:19
  Speaker 2: what do you think this house will sell for? Look
• 34:21
  Speaker 2: at it. You got a friend that's a realtor, say, hey,
• 34:24
  Speaker 2: if we're going to sell this house after it's closed,
• 34:26
  Speaker 2: what do you think it can sell for? That's good enough.
• 34:29
  Speaker 2: And always bump that a little bit. You want to
• 34:34
  Speaker 2: be sure that when you appraise that real estate, you
• 34:37
  Speaker 2: get in there a value that, somewhat represents just a
• 34:42
  Speaker 2: little more than you anticipate the sale price to be,
• 34:45
  Speaker 2: because when you inherit real estate, you get what's called
• 34:47
  Speaker 2: a stepped-up cost basis. So, for instance, if your parents
• 34:53
  Speaker 2: bought a house in Nitro in the 1960s and paid $ 18, 000,
• 34:57
  Speaker 2: which would have been a really nice house in the 60s,
• 35:01
  Speaker 2: they've now unfortunately passed away, the realtor looks at it
• 35:04
  Speaker 2: and says, well, this house is worth about $ 190, 000. Well,
• 35:06
  Speaker 2: that leaves a gap of $ 172, 000. That's theoretically gain, the
• 35:17
  Speaker 2: difference between the cost and what you sell it for.
• 35:19
  Speaker 2: But because you inherit the property, you take it at
• 35:23
  Speaker 2: the value it had in the hands of your decedent
• 35:26
  Speaker 2: on the date of death. So if you sell it
• 35:29
  Speaker 2: for that $ 190, 000, it's not even reportable. It's just a wash.
• 35:35
  Speaker 2: There's no tax. So you don't need a formal appraisal,
• 35:39
  Speaker 2: but you really should put that property on there at
• 35:41
  Speaker 2: about a fudge above. It's just a smidge above what
• 35:46
  Speaker 2: either a realtor or a friend or somebody who knows
• 35:49
  Speaker 2: something about the property. I mean, a lawyer can help you.
• 35:53
  Speaker 2: I do a lot of that. I mean, I look,
• 35:54
  Speaker 2: I've done enough work to know, you know, this land
• 35:56
  Speaker 2: down here is worth $ 10, 000 an acre. And that down there,
• 36:00
  Speaker 2: if you can't run a tractor over, it's about 750
• 36:02
  Speaker 2: or a thousand dollars an acre. It was got the
• 36:04
  Speaker 2: minerals might be worth a little more, you know, you
• 36:08
  Speaker 2: just see enough transactions and you're a part of the
• 36:10
  Speaker 2: community and you notice things. So I don't know if
• 36:12
  Speaker 2: that answers your question, but that's the way I look
• 36:15
  Speaker 2: at it. You don't need a formal appraisal.
• 36:17
  Speaker 1: That's good stuff with Harvey Payton from the Payton Law Firm.
• 36:19
  Speaker 1: About a minute left in the program today. Payton Law
• 36:21
  Speaker 1: Firm online, paytonlawfirm.com if you want to get us out
• 36:24
  Speaker 1: of here in a minute, Harvey.
• 36:25
  Speaker 2: Well, I'll try. You know, the Payton Law Firm, we're
• 36:27
  Speaker 2: here to help people. We've been here a long time.
• 36:31
  Speaker 2: I think we enjoy an excellent reputation as delivering quality
• 36:35
  Speaker 2: legal services, both in folks who are suffered an injury
• 36:39
  Speaker 2: or loss, and for those who just need some help
• 36:42
  Speaker 2: in day-to-day affairs, Tom's going to be here for the
• 36:46
  Speaker 2: next few weeks. Sure, I don't think I'm going to be.
• 36:52
  Speaker 2: I'm actually going to be off a couple of weeks,
• 36:53
  Speaker 2: so hopefully I'll be back.