4th Cir. rejects ex-pastor’s murder appeal

Posted: 7:25 pm Mon, August 30, 2010
By Associated Press

CHARLESTON, W.Va. — A former West Virginia minister serving life for his wife’s 1996 murder has lost his latest appeal in the case.

A panel of the 4th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals rejected the petition from James Michael Flippo Sr. on Monday.

A 1997 jury convicted Flippo of bludgeoning Cheryl Flippo to death with a piece of firewood the previous year in an isolated cabin at Babcock State Park.

Flippo was pastor of Nitro’s Landmark Church of God. He is serving a life sentence with no chance for parole.

As grounds for appeal, Flippo argued that the introduction of certain expert testimony violated his right to due process because it was “objectively false.” That claim failed because Flippo failed to demonstrate that the expert’s testimony was, in fact, false, the court held.

Flippo also claimed he was “denied effective assistance of counsel when his trial lawyer opened the door to questions about his sexuality.” However, he failed to carry his burden of showing the trial lawyer’s decision was not a matter of strategy, the 4th Circuit said.

West Virginia’s Supreme Court had previously affirmed Flippo’s conviction and sentence.