Chapter 51, Chapter 51

As used in this article: (1) "State" means a state of the United States, the District of Columbia, the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico or any territory or insular possession subject to the jurisdiction of the United States. (2) "Tribe" means a native American tribe, band or village r…

The Supreme Court of Appeals shall consist of five justices, elected and qualified according to the Constitution and the laws of this state, any three of whom shall constitute a quorum. Effective with the primary election of 2016, all elections for justices will be on a nonpartis…

The court may, at any regular or special term, adjourn from day to day or from time to time, as the court may order, until its close.

Fees and costs are the same as in civil appeals docketed before the Supreme Court of Appeals of West Virginia and shall be equally divided between the parties unless otherwise ordered by the certifying court.

The salary of each of the justices of the Supreme Court of Appeals shall be $95,000 per year: Provided, That beginning July 1, 2005, the salary of each of the justices of the Supreme Court shall be $121,000: Provided, however, That beginning July 1, 2011, the annual salary of a j…

The justices of the Supreme Court of Appeals may appoint a clerk. Notwithstanding any code provision to the contrary, no bond shall be required to be posted by the clerk. The justices of the Supreme Court of Appeals may also appoint any other full-time and part-time professional …

If any provision of this article or its application to any person, court or circumstance is held invalid, the invalidity does not affect other provisions or applications of this article which can be given effect without the invalid provision or application, and to this end the pr…

This article shall be construed as to effectuate its general purpose to make uniform the law of those jurisdictions which enact it.

It shall be the duty of the Clerk of the Supreme Court of Appeals to attend in person, or by designated staff, all the sessions of the court, to obey its orders and directions, to preserve all digital and physical court records, and to perform such other duties as may be prescrib…

This article may be cited as the "Uniform Certification of Questions of Law Act".

The administrative office of the Supreme Court of Appeals heretofore established is hereby continued. The court shall appoint a director thereof and such assistants and secretaries as it deems necessary to perform the duties of the office as specified in section seventeen of this…

During his employment in the administrative office, no director or assistant director shall engage directly or indirectly in the practice of law in any of the courts of this state.

The director shall, when authorized by the Supreme Court of Appeals, be the administrative officer of said court and shall have charge, under the supervision and direction of the Supreme Court of Appeals, of: (a) All administrative matters relating to the offices of the clerks of…

The director shall submit annually to the Supreme Court of Appeals a report of the activities of the administrative office and of the state of business of the courts, together with the statistical data compiled by him with his recommendations.

The Supreme Court of Appeals of West Virginia, on the motion of a party to a pending cause or its own motion, may certify a question of law to the highest court of another state or of a tribe or of Canada, a Canadian province or territory, Mexico or a Mexican state if: (1) The pe…

The court shall designate one of its justices to be chief justice of the court for such term as the court may determine by order made and entered of record. In the absence of the chief justice, any other justice designated by the justices present shall act as chief justice. Any r…

The Supreme Court of Appeals shall conduct a study to determine the feasibility of a system of jury selection for petit juries in West Virginia wherein those prospective jurors who are called for jury duty are required to report for duty for not more than one day or until the com…

(a) The West Virginia Supreme Court of Appeals is hereby authorized to maintain a domestic violence database containing copies of protective orders entered by the courts of this state and granted pursuant to the provisions of article twenty-seven, chapter forty-eight of this code…

(a) There is created within the State Treasury a special revenue fund designated the Court Advanced Technology Subscription Fund to be administered by the West Virginia Supreme Court of Appeals. (b) The fund shall consist of moneys received from subscribers using the court’s adva…

(a) There is created within the State Treasury a special revenue fund designated the Court Facilities Maintenance Fund to be administered by the West Virginia Supreme Court of Appeals. (b) The fund shall consist of moneys received from rent or other payments from tenants leasing …

The Supreme Court of Appeals shall have original jurisdiction in cases of habeas corpus, mandamus and prohibition. It shall have appellate jurisdiction in civil cases where the matter in controversy, exclusive of costs, is of greater value or amount than $100; in controversies co…

The Supreme Court of Appeals of West Virginia may answer a question of law certified to it by any court of the United States or by the highest appellate court or the intermediate appellate court of another state or of a tribe or of Canada, a Canadian province or territory, Mexico…

The Supreme Court of Appeals may, from time to time, make and promulgate general rules and regulations governing pleading, practice and procedure in such court and in all other courts of record of this state. All statutes relating to pleading, practice and procedure shall have fo…

The Supreme Court of Appeals of West Virginia may reformulate a question certified to it.

(a) The Supreme Court of Appeals of West Virginia shall, from time to time, prescribe, adopt, promulgate, and amend rules: (1) Defining the practice of law; (2) Prescribing a code of ethics governing the professional conduct of attorneys at law and the practice of law, and prescr…

Two terms of the Supreme Court of Appeals shall be held every year at Charleston, in Kanawha county, the first commencing on the second Tuesday in January, the second on the first Wednesday in September, and shall continue until the business is dispatched. But when, in the judgme…

The court certifying a question shall issue a certification order and shall forward it to the designated receiving court. Before responding to a certified question, the receiving court may require the certifying court to deliver its record, or any portion of the record, to the re…

(a) A certification order must contain: (1) The question of law to be answered; (2) The facts relevant to the question, showing fully the nature of the controversy out of which the question arose; (3) A statement acknowledging that the receiving court may reformulate the question…

Special terms of the Supreme Court of Appeals may be held for the trial and decision of causes at Charleston, in Kanawha county, specially designated as the place for holding the regular terms thereof, and under extraordinary circumstances at such other times and places as the co…

The judges of said court, or a majority of them, may, by warrant signed by them, directed to the clerk, appoint a special term to be held for the trial and decision of causes at Charleston, or, under extraordinary circumstances, at any other point within the state designated by t…

The Supreme Court of Appeals of West Virginia, acting as the receiving court, shall notify the certifying court of its acceptance or rejection of the question; and in accordance with notions of comity and fairness, it shall respond to an accepted certified question as soon as pra…

At any special term of the court, any cause, the record of which has been previously printed, may, in the discretion of the court, be heard and decided by consent of parties or their counsel, entered of record, or upon at least thirty days' notice in writing, given by the party d…

After the Supreme Court of Appeals of West Virginia has accepted a certified question, proceedings are governed by the rules and statutes of this state governing briefs, arguments and other appellate procedures. Procedures for certification from this state to a receiving court sh…

The court may, at any regular or special term, decide any cause or proceeding which may have been previously heard by the court at any regular or special term thereof.

The Supreme Court of Appeals of West Virginia shall state in a written opinion the law answering the certified question and send a copy of the opinion to the certifying court, to counsel of record and to unrepresented parties.

There is hereby created in each county in this state a family court to be designated as "The Family Court of _________ County, West Virginia."

(a) Beginning on the effective date of this subsection and until December 31, 2024, the state shall be divided into the following judicial circuits with the following number of judges: (1) The counties of Brooke, Hancock, and Ohio shall constitute the first circuit and shall have…

(a) Any party may file a motion for reconsideration of a temporary or final order of the family court for the following reasons: (1) Mistake, inadvertence, surprise, excusable neglect or unavoidable cause; (2) newly discovered evidence which by due diligence could not have been a…

(a) Within thirty days following the entry of a final order of a family court judge or the entry of a final order of any senior status circuit judge, circuit judge or other judicial officer appointed to serve pursuant to the provisions of section nineteen of this article, any par…

(a) Any person desiring to file a petition for appeal from a final order of the family court may file a motion for a stay of proceedings to the family court in which the order was entered. The motion for a stay shall be filed with the clerk of the circuit court and served on the …

The salaries of the judges of the various circuit courts shall be paid solely out of the State Treasury. No county, county commission, board of commissioners, or other political subdivision shall supplement or add to such salaries. The annual salary of all circuit judges shall be…

At any time following the filing of a petition for appeal of a final order of a family court, either party may move the circuit court to dismiss the appeal on any of the following grounds: (1) A joint agreement of the parties to the dismissal; (2) failure to properly perfect the …

Notwithstanding any provision in this code to the contrary, terms of circuit court may be held in two or more counties in the same circuit at the same time and a term of court in one county of a circuit need not be adjourned sine die or otherwise terminated as a condition of or p…

(a) The circuit court may refuse to consider the petition for appeal may affirm or reverse the order, may affirm or reverse the order in part or may remand the case with instructions for further hearing before the family court judge. (b) In considering a petition for appeal, the …

(a) The West Virginia Legislature finds that, due to the complex nature of litigation involving highly technical commercial issues, there is a need for a separate and specialized court docket to be maintained in West Virginia's most populated circuit court districts with specific…

(a) If both of the parties file, either jointly or separately, within fourteen days following the entry of the final order of a family court judge, a notice of intent to file an appeal from the final order of the family court directly to the Supreme Court of Appeals and to waive …

(a) The provisions of sections eleven, twelve, thirteen, fourteen and fifteen of this article shall expire and be of no force and effect after June 30, 2011, except as otherwise provided by subsection (b) of this section. (b) Appeals that are pending before a circuit court or the…

A family court judge may be censured, temporarily suspended or retired as provided for in section eight, article VIII of the West Virginia Constitution. A family court judge may be removed from office only by impeachment in accordance with the provisions of section nine, article …

If a vacancy occurs in the office of family court judge, the Governor shall fill the vacancy by appointment as provided in section three, article ten, chapter three of this code.

(a) Upon the occurrence of a vacancy in the office of family court judge, the disqualification of a family court judge or the inability of a family court judge to attend to his or her duties because of illness, temporary absence or any other reason, the chief justice of the Supre…