Chapter 61, Chapter 61

If the keeper of a hotel or tavern permit unlawful gaming at his house, or at any outhouse, booth, arbor, or other place appurtenant thereto or held therewith, he shall be guilty of a misdemeanor, and, upon conviction, be fined not less than $20 nor more than $100, and shall forf…

In a prosecution under the preceding section, if the gaming be proved, it shall be presumed it was permitted by the keeper of the hotel, unless it appear that he did not know of or suspect such gaming, or that he endeavored to prevent it, and gave information of it, with the name…

If the keeper of a hotel or tavern let or hire to another person any outhouse or other place, which has been at any time appurtenant to or held with the house kept by him with intent that unlawful gaming be permitted thereat, he shall suffer the same punishment and incur the same…

If any person playing at any game, or making a wager, or having a share in any stake or wager, or betting on the hands or sides of others playing at any game or making a wager, shall cheat, or by fraudulent means win or acquire for himself or another, money or other valuable thin…

Offenses are either felonies or misdemeanors. Such offenses as are punishable by confinement in the penitentiary are felonies; all other offenses are misdemeanors. The word “penitentiary” as used in this section shall mean and include any and all institutions provided by the stat…

(a) The Legislature finds and declares that without the cooperation of victims and witnesses, the criminal justice system would cease to function, yet too often these individuals are either ignored by the criminal justice system or simply used as tools to identify and punish offe…

Prosecutions for offenses committed, wholly or in part, without, and made punishable within, this state, may be in any county in which the offender may be found, or to which he may be sent by any judge, justice, or court.

An offense committed on the boundary of any two counties may be alleged to have been committed, and may be prosecuted and punished, in either county.

When an offense is committed partly in one county and partly in one or more other counties within this state, it may be alleged that the offense was committed and the accused may be tried in any one county in which any substantial element of the offense occurred.

A person acquitted by the jury upon the facts and merits on a former trial may plead such acquittal in bar of a second prosecution for the same offense, notwithstanding any defect in the form or substance of the indictment or accusation on which he was acquitted.

A person acquitted of an offense, on the ground of a variance between the allegations and the proof of the indictment or other accusation, or upon an exception to the form or substance thereof, may be arraigned again upon a new indictment or other proper accusation, and tried and…

No person shall be convicted of felony, unless by his confession in court, or by his plea or demurrer, or by the verdict of a jury accepted and recorded by the court.

Every sentence to the penitentiary of a person convicted of a felony for which the maximum penalty prescribed by law is less than life imprisonment, except offenses committed by convicts in the penitentiary punishable under chapter sixty-two, article eight, section one of the cod…

The term of confinement in jail of a person found guilty of a misdemeanor, where that punishment is prescribed, shall, unless otherwise provided, be ascertained by the court, and the amount of the fine, where the punishment is by fine, shall, except where it is otherwise provided…

(a) For purposes of this section, "qualifying offense" means any offense or an attempt or conspiracy to commit any of the offenses in the following provisions of this code: (1) §17C-5-1(c): Aggravated vehicular homicide; (2) §17C-5-2(b): Driving under the influence causing death;…

A prosecuting attorney, when he or she has knowledge of a former sentence or sentences to the penitentiary of any person convicted of an offense punishable by confinement in the penitentiary, may give information thereof to the court immediately upon conviction and before sentenc…

Upon conviction of a female for a felony and, subsequent sentence of confinement, the trial court shall sentence her to the custody of the state department of corrections.

(a) For the purposes of this section, “victim” means a person who is a victim of a felony, or, where a death occurs during the commission of a felony or a misdemeanor, the following persons shall be notified if known by the prosecutor: A member of the deceased victim's immediate …

Capital punishment is hereby abolished for all offenses against the laws of the State of West Virginia, and no person heretofore or hereafter convicted of any offense in violation of said laws shall be executed, irrespective of whether the crime was committed, the conviction had,…

When any person is convicted of two or more offenses, before sentence is pronounced for either, the confinement to which he may be sentenced upon the second, or any subsequent conviction, shall commence at the termination of the previous term or terms of confinement, unless, in t…

(a) A prosecuting attorney of any county of this state or a person acting as a special prosecutor may enter into a pretrial diversion agreement with a person charged with an offense against the State of West Virginia, when he or she considers it to be in the interests of justice.…

(a) Upon the entry of a guilty plea to a felony or misdemeanor before a circuit or magistrate court of this state entered in compliance with the provisions of Rule 11 of the West Virginia Rules of Criminal Procedure or Rule 10 of the West Virginia Rules of Criminal Procedure for …

(a) Notwithstanding any other provision of law to the contrary, a sentence of life imprisonment without the possibility of parole may not be imposed on a person who: (1) Is convicted of an offense punishable by life imprisonment; and (2) Was less than 18 years of age at the time …

Whenever any person is convicted of an offense in a court of this state having jurisdiction thereof, and sentenced to confinement in jail or the penitentiary of this state, or by a justice of the peace having jurisdiction of the offense, such person may, in the discretion of the …

(a) Any person who has been charged with a criminal offense under the laws of this state and who has been found not guilty of the offense, or against whom charges have been dismissed, and not in exchange for a guilty plea to another offense resulting in a conviction, may file a c…

(a) Eligibility for expungement. — (1) Misdemeanors. — Subject to the limitations set forth in this section, a person convicted of a misdemeanor offense or offenses may, pursuant to the provisions of this section, petition the circuit court in which the conviction or convictions …

(a) Notwithstanding any provisions of §61-11-26 of this code to the contrary, any person who has been convicted of a nonviolent felony offense or multiple misdemeanors and that would be eligible for expungement pursuant to the provisions of §61-11-26 of this code and who: (1) Has…

(a) Notwithstanding the provisions of §61-11-26, §61-11-26a, and §62-16-1 et seq. of this code, no court or other tribunal has the authority to: (1) Order the expungement of a conviction for a motor vehicle traffic control violation for a person who held a commercial driver’s lic…

For purposes of §61-2-10b, §61-5-17, and §61-5-17a, "law-enforcement officer" has the same definition as this term is defined in §30-29-1 and shall additionally include individuals defined as "chief executive", "law-enforcement official", and "pre-certified law-enforcement office…

Whenever the prosecuting attorney's office presents a case to a grand jury or proceeds in the circuit court on an information, the prosecutor or assistant prosecutor shall within thirty days following said presentment or information notify in writing each victim of the alleged of…

A common-law offense for which punishment is prescribed by statute shall be punished only in the mode so prescribed.

(a) In every case in which a presentence report is ordered by the court, such presentence report shall contain a victim impact statement unless the court orders otherwise, if the defendant, in committing a felony or misdemeanor, caused physical, psychological or economic injury o…

(a) The court, when sentencing a defendant convicted of a felony or misdemeanor causing physical, psychological, or economic injury or loss to a victim, shall order, in addition to or in lieu of any other penalty authorized by law, that the defendant make restitution to any victi…

No suicide or attainder of felony shall work corruption of blood or forfeiture of estate.

The commission of a felony shall not stay or merge any civil remedy.

(a) The court, in determining whether to order restitution under this article, and in determining the amount of such restitution, shall consider the amount of the loss sustained by any victim as a result of the offense, the financial resources of the defendant, the financial need…

(a) In the case of every felony, every principal in the second degree and every accessory before the fact shall be punishable as if he or she were the principal in the first degree; and every accessory after the fact shall be confined in jail not more than one year and fined not …

(a) No later than July 1, 1984, the Attorney General shall promulgate rules and regulations in accordance with the provisions of chapter twenty-nine-a of this code, establishing guidelines for law-enforcement agencies and prosecuting attorneys' offices consistent with the purpose…

An accessory, either before or after the fact, may, whether the principal felon be convicted or not, or be amenable to justice or not, be indicted, convicted, and punished in the county in which he became accessory, or in which the principal felon might be indicted. Any such acce…

The provision of subsection (cc), section ten, article two, chapter two of this code shall apply to the provisions of this article to the same extent as if the provision of said subsection were set forth in extenso herein.

(a) At the time a criminal prosecution is commenced by the filing of a complaint, if the complaint charges a person with committing an offense described in subsection (e) of this section, then the prosecuting attorney is required to provide notice, in writing or by telephone, to …

Every person who attempts to commit an offense, but fails to commit or is prevented from committing it, shall, where it is not otherwise provided, be punished as follows: (1) If the offense attempted be punishable with life imprisonment, the person making such attempt shall be gu…

(a) Any person who solicits another to commit a violation of the law which constitutes a felony crime of violence against the person is guilty of a felony and, upon conviction thereof, shall be: (1) Confined in a state correctional facility for not less than three nor more than f…

A prosecution for committing or procuring another person to commit perjury shall be commenced within three years next after the perjury was committed. A prosecution for a misdemeanor shall be commenced within one year after the offense was committed: Provided, That whenever the i…

(a) In addition to those rights afforded victims of crime by other provisions of this code, a sexual assault victim has the following rights: (1) The right to a personal representative of the victim’s choice to accompany him or her to a hospital or other health care facility and …

The Critical Incident Review Team is created under the Department of Human Services for the purpose of reviewing fatalities and near fatalities involving children involved in the child welfare system and making recommendations to identify effective prevention and intervention pro…

(a) The Fatality and Mortality Review Team is continued under the Department of Health. The Fatality and Mortality Review Team is a multidisciplinary team created to oversee and coordinate the examination, review, and assessment of The deaths resulting from suspected domestic vio…

(a) If in the opinion of the chief medical examiner, or of the county medical examiner of the county in which the death in question occurred, it is advisable and in the public interest that an autopsy be made, or if an autopsy is requested by either the prosecuting attorney or th…

Whenever an examination of a body is ordered pursuant to §61-12-8 and §61-12-10 of this code and the body of the deceased is transported to the central laboratory or other place of examination, the reasonable cost of the transportation shall be paid by the state out of funds appr…

If, in any case of sudden, violent or suspicious death, the body is buried without any investigation by the chief medical examiner, or by a county medical examiner or coroner, it is the duty of the chief medical examiner or the county medical examiner or coroner, upon being advis…