State of West Virginia v. Brian Elisha Ballard, 17-1008

Ballard was arrested April 20, 2017 on multiple charges including driving while revoked for DUI (third offense). He made an initial magistrate appearance the same day.
He executed a waiver of the preliminary hearing timeframe (within 20 days); a later rescheduled preliminary hearing was continued at defense counsel’s request citing that waiver/conflict. No preliminary hearing occurred before indictment.
A grand jury indicted Ballard July 18, 2017; the case was then transferred to circuit court.
On September 25, 2017 Ballard agreed to a plea deal: no contest to driving while revoked for DUI (third offense) in exchange for dismissal of the other charges. The court accepted the plea after advising Ballard of rights he would waive.
The circuit court sentenced Ballard to 1–3 years’ incarceration (to run concurrently with a Monroe County sentence) and memorialized the sentence September 26, 2017; Ballard appealed claiming denial of a preliminary hearing and judicial bias at sentencing.

Issue	Ballard's Argument	State's/Respondent's Argument	Held
Was Ballard denied his right to a preliminary hearing?	Ballard: he waived only the timeframe (not the hearing itself) and executed the timeframe waiver after the 20-day period expired.	The State: a preliminary hearing is not constitutionally required, and indictment renders a preliminary hearing unnecessary; Ballard also waived pretrial defects by pleading no contest.	Court: No error. Preliminary hearings are not constitutionally required and are unnecessary after indictment; plea waived any pretrial non-jurisdictional defects.
Was the sentencing judge biased, rendering sentence invalid?	Ballard: judge was not unbiased (same judge had sentenced him in another matter; alleged officer testimony connections).	The State: sentence is within statutory limits and Ballard points to no impermissible sentencing factor.	Court: No merit. Sentence within statutory limits; unsupported bias allegation fails to identify any impermissible factor, so sentence stands.

State v. Adams, 211 W.Va. 231, 565 S.E.2d 353 (W. Va. 2002) (standard of review for sentencing—abuse of discretion unless statutory or constitutional violation)
State v. Goodnight, 169 W.Va. 366, 287 S.E.2d 504 (W. Va. 1982) (sentences within statutory limits and not based on impermissible factors are not subject to appellate review)
State ex rel. Rowe v. Ferguson, 165 W.Va. 183, 268 S.E.2d 45 (W. Va. 1980) (preliminary hearing is not constitutionally required)
State v. Davis, 236 W.Va. 550, 782 S.E.2d 423 (W. Va. 2016) (grand jury indictment supplies probable cause, making preliminary hearing unnecessary)
Call v. McKenzie, 159 W.Va. 191, 220 S.E.2d 665 (W. Va. 1975) (guilty plea waives pretrial and non-jurisdictional defects)
Humphries v. Detch, 227 W.Va. 627, 712 S.E.2d 795 (W. Va. 2011) (no contest plea has same consequences as guilty plea)