Kanawha County's domestic violence court program, which was put in place more than five years ago as a way to monitor those cases more closely, was disbanded Wednesday by order of the West Virginia Supreme Court.
Gary Johnson, the Supreme Court's administrative director, said complaints had been received about the Kanawha domestic violence program. He did not describe those complaints.
"Because of the nature of the complaints and because the Domestic Violence Court is such an important program, we want to make sure the cases are being handled in a proper manner," Johnson said. "The complaints we received were referred to the Judicial Investigation Commission, and I cannot comment further."
Under the program, Kanawha Magistrate Julie Yeager handled all of the county's domestic violence cases. Those cases will again be distributed among Kanawha County's 10 magistrates.
"These changes will better serve domestic violence victims," Johnson said in an email.
Yeager said Wednesday she was called to a meeting earlier in the day with Johnson and Kanawha Chief Circuit Judge Jennifer Bailey. She thought it was because she had asked for more office space, because her domestic violence caseload continued to grow.
"I was told by Mr. Johnson that justices had decided to dissolve the court," Yeager said. "Of course, I was shocked, but there's so many changes going on.
"I've not heard about complaints. I'm not aware of any investigation," Yeager said. "All I can say is that the court has been so successful."
Kanawha Prosecuting Attorney Charles Miller and Kanawha Chief Public Defender Diana Panucci would not comment on the domestic violence court's end.
Kanawha's domestic violence court was put in place to streamline cases involving allegations of domestic violence, with one magistrate and one family court judge handling those cases.
The program began in Kanawha County in 2012 as an experiment by the Supreme Court. Yeager has handled the domestic violence caseload in magistrate court since then and, initially, Family Judge Mike Kelly oversaw those cases in family court.
In 2014, though, Kelly retired. His replacement, Joe Zak, wouldn't agree to handle only domestic violence cases. Since then, cases in family court have been shared among the county's five judges.
Yeager, and the three assistants assigned to her, maintained the domestic violence caseload in magistrate court. It was taken off pilot-status last year and five additional counties were permitted to open their own domestic violence courts. No other county in the state has done so.
Supreme Court officials explained in 2015 that, while the program experienced incredible success under Yeager and Kelly, it hadn't yet been determined if the court would prove beneficial with only a single magistrate dedicated to it.
The cases served as a point of contention during last year's Kanawha magistrate race, as several candidates expressed frustration over the arrangement.
"It's nothing personal, but I feel a change is needed," said Melanie Rucker, a longtime magistrate assistant who ran against Yeager.
Rucker, along with Magistrate Tim Halloran, said the domestic violence cases shouldn't all be assigned to one magistrate.
"A magistrate is supposed to handle the entire caseload," Halloran said at the time. Others complained that Yeager was given special treatment by handling only one type of case. She had been taken out of the night-shift rotation and doesn't have to work weekends or holidays, Halloran said last year.
Some have been critical that Yeager has a staff of three assistants, when other magistrates have one. Yeager said Wednesday that two of her assistants no longer will work in magistrate court. They were hired with grant money for the domestic violence program, she said.
"With about 6,000 cases a year, we've had a staff of three," Yeager said. "It's taken years to perfect what we have - it's not something that can be done overnight. It's just a huge, huge loss. This is a sad day for Kanawha County."
Reach Kate White at kate.white@wvgazettemail.com, 304-348-1723 or follow @KateLWhite on Twitter.