CHARLESTON, W.Va. (AP) -- A former state Supreme Court official believes he was fired last week over the European vacation photos that contributed to the primary election defeat of Chief Justice Elliott "Spike'' Maynard.

Administrative Director Steve Canterbury accused Pancho Morris of leaking details about Maynard's Monaco rendezvous with Massey Energy Chief Executive Don Blankenship, a lawyer for Morris claimed in a Monday letter to Canterbury.

"They're basically retaliating against me,'' Morris said Tuesday. "They don't have any proof, but they suspected me so they singled me out.''

Massey had multimillion-dollar cases at or headed to the justices at the time of the 2006 trip. When photos from the vacation surfaced in January, they attracted national headlines.

Canterbury also targeted Morris "because he blew the whistle to state officials on your use of the 'N' word and other racially derogatory language in the administrative office,'' his lawyer, Katherine Dooley, said in her letter to Canterbury.

Morris, who is black, told The Associated Press those allegations stem partly from information he provided in a discrimination case brought by a Cabell County Circuit Court law librarian. Morris said he had also told Canterbury he believes the court discriminates against its black employees.

"We don't have any comment on this personnel matter,'' Supreme Court spokeswoman Jennifer Bundy said Tuesday.

Maynard denied any wrongdoing after the photos became public, citing a longtime friendship with Blankenship. He also recused himself from all subsequent Massey-related cases. He lost in the May Democratic primary.

Morris tied the timing of his Friday firing to Maynard's departure from the bench at the end of the year. But he also said his termination letter gave no reason for his firing, nor did Canterbury at a Friday meeting.

A former Kanawha County assistant prosecutor, Morris had supervised the state's magistrate court system since 2004. State law allows the firing of such "at-will'' employees without cause, as long as it does not involve discrimination.

Staff in Morris' office included Brenda Magann, a paralegal who had accompanied Maynard on the 2006 vacation. Morris said he was also suspected because he associated with both Justice Larry Starcher, a critic of Blankenship and the Monaco trip, and Justice-elect Menis Ketchum.

Former Justice Margaret Workman and Ketchum displaced Maynard in the two-seat Supreme Court primary, and the pair won on Nov. 4.

Canterbury had been Maynard's campaign consultant in 1996, when Maynard won his court seat, and was hired as administrative director in 2005. Dooley's letter said Morris plans to challenge his firing, claiming it was "retaliatory in nature, and politically and racially motivated.''

CHARLESTON, W.Va. (AP) -- A former state Supreme Court official believes he was fired last week over the European vacation photos that contributed to the primary election defeat of Chief Justice Elliott "Spike'' Maynard.

Administrative Director Steve Canterbury accused Pancho Morris of leaking details about Maynard's Monaco rendezvous with Massey Energy Chief Executive Don Blankenship, a lawyer for Morris claimed in a Monday letter to Canterbury.

"They're basically retaliating against me,'' Morris said Tuesday. "They don't have any proof, but they suspected me so they singled me out.''

Massey had multimillion-dollar cases at or headed to the justices at the time of the 2006 trip. When photos from the vacation surfaced in January, they attracted national headlines.

Canterbury also targeted Morris "because he blew the whistle to state officials on your use of the 'N' word and other racially derogatory language in the administrative office,'' his lawyer, Katherine Dooley, said in her letter to Canterbury.

Morris, who is black, told The Associated Press those allegations stem partly from information he provided in a discrimination case brought by a Cabell County Circuit Court law librarian. Morris said he had also told Canterbury he believes the court discriminates against its black employees.

"We don't have any comment on this personnel matter,'' Supreme Court spokeswoman Jennifer Bundy said Tuesday.

Maynard denied any wrongdoing after the photos became public, citing a longtime friendship with Blankenship. He also recused himself from all subsequent Massey-related cases. He lost in the May Democratic primary.

Morris tied the timing of his Friday firing to Maynard's departure from the bench at the end of the year. But he also said his termination letter gave no reason for his firing, nor did Canterbury at a Friday meeting.

A former Kanawha County assistant prosecutor, Morris had supervised the state's magistrate court system since 2004. State law allows the firing of such "at-will'' employees without cause, as long as it does not involve discrimination.

Staff in Morris' office included Brenda Magann, a paralegal who had accompanied Maynard on the 2006 vacation. Morris said he was also suspected because he associated with both Justice Larry Starcher, a critic of Blankenship and the Monaco trip, and Justice-elect Menis Ketchum.

Former Justice Margaret Workman and Ketchum displaced Maynard in the two-seat Supreme Court primary, and the pair won on Nov. 4.

Canterbury had been Maynard's campaign consultant in 1996, when Maynard won his court seat, and was hired as administrative director in 2005. Dooley's letter said Morris plans to challenge his firing, claiming it was "retaliatory in nature, and politically and racially motivated.''