The Kanawha County Commission made
plans Wednesday during a special meeting to replace embattled Kanawha County
Prosecuting Attorney Mark Plants.
A three-judge panel handed down a
44-page order Tuesday that said Plants should be removed from office for
malfeasance and neglect of duty. Less than 24 hours later, the commission met
to formulate their plan for the future of the prosecutor’s office.
The judges’ order gives Plants 30
days to respond.
Plants has three different options:
he could resign from office, he could appeal the decision to the state Supreme
Court or take no action at all. Depending on which decision Plants makes, it
will trigger action from the commission.
If he resigns, one code section
kicks in. If he waits out the 31 days, another code section kicks in. At some
point this commission will have the responsibility, in all likelihood, to
appoint a successor.
