Fort Gay is a town in Wayne County, West Virginia, along the Tug Fork and Big Sandy Rivers. The town adjoins Louisa, Kentucky. The population was 819 at the 2000 census. Originally chartered in 1875 as Cassville. Its name was changed to Fort Gay in 1932, at the instigation of Wardy Lovely, who was a member of the city council as well as a local educator. The story goes that he was fed up with local wags smearing mud on the initial C from city signs, changing it to "assville". Name selected because of the location prior to the Civil War of a fort (Fort Gallup) on a hill at Louisa, Kentucky, opposite the community. Fort Gay is a part of the Huntington-Ashland, WV-KY-OH, Metropolitan Statistical Area. As of the 2000 census, the MSA had a population of 288,649. The Norfolk Southern Railway's Kenova District goes through the western edge of town.

What is criminal appeals law?

A criminal appeal is a formal request to rehear a case that has already been decided -- a request that a new court reconsider the decision of the first court. When one or both sides of a case that has already been decided think there was a mistake made at trial, they can file an appeal. An appeal is entirely different than a jury trial. There is no testimony taken. The court of appeals decides the case entirely upon the written briefs filed by your attorney and the offie of the Attorney General who represents the prosecution and asks that the conviction be upheld.

Answers to criminal appeals law issues in West Virginia

After conviction and sentencing, a defendant has the opportunity to file an appeal of his sentence. If the conviction...