Chapter 61, Chapter 61

Pursuant to rules promulgated by the Secretary of the Department of Health, the facilities of the Office of the Chief Medical Examiner and its laboratory, and the services of its professional staff, shall be made available to the county medical examiners and coroners in their inv…

Reports of investigations and autopsies, and the records thereof, on file in the Office of the Chief Medical Examiner or in the office of any county medical examiner, shall be received as evidence in any court or other proceeding, and copies of records, photographs, laboratory fi…

The county commission of every county may appoint a coroner for the county, who shall hold the office at the pleasure of the commission and shall take the oath of office prescribed for other county officers. The county coroners shall be certified in medicolegal investigations, be…

(a) The Office of the Chief Medical Examiner shall cremate unclaimed and unidentified human remains from its facilities. (b) The Office of the Chief Medical Examiner, with the assistance of the city of Charleston, shall locate an appropriate cemetery. (c) Unidentified remains sha…

The Office of the Chief Medical Examiner shall propose rules for legislative approval in accordance with the provisions of §29A-3-1 et seq. of this code which provide for the disposition of unidentified or unclaimed remains in the possession of the Office of the Chief Medical Exa…

As used in this article: "Epidemiological analysis" means an analysis of demographic factors related to the child’s fatality or near fatality including, but not limited to, an analysis of the following factors: the date of birth of the child; the sex of the child; the county of t…

(a) The Fatality and Mortality Review Team shall: (A) Review and analyze the deaths resulting from suspected domestic violence, the deaths of all infants and all women who die during pregnancy, at the time of birth or within one year of the birth of a child, and the deaths of chi…

(a) The Office of Chief Medical Examiner is continued within the department. The office shall be directed by a Chief Medical Examiner, who may employ pathologists, toxicologists, other forensic specialists, laboratory technicians, and other staff members as needed to fulfill the …

(a) Notwithstanding any other provision of this code to the contrary, the Fatality and Mortality Review Team may request information and records as necessary to carry out its responsibilities. Records and information that may be requested under this section include: (1) Medical, …

(a) The Critical Incident Review Team is created under the Office of the Inspector General and is a multidisciplinary team created to oversee and coordinate the examination, review, and assessment of: (1) The fatality or near fatality of a child in the custody of the Department o…

(a) The Critical Incident Review Team shall: (1) The team shall meet at least quarterly: Provided, That in the event of a fatality or near fatality, the team shall meet within 45 days of such fatality or near fatality to conduct the review required by this article; (2) Review and…

(a) Proceedings, records, and opinions of the Fatality and Mortality Review Team are confidential and are not subject to discovery, subpoena, or introduction into evidence in any civil or criminal proceeding. This section does not limit or restrict the right to discover or use in…

The office of the chief medical examiner shall establish and maintain a central office and a laboratory having adequate professional and technical personnel and medical and scientific facilities for the performance of the duties imposed by this article. In order to secure facilit…

(a)(1) The Critical Incident Review Team shall submit an initial report within 75 days of the fatality or near fatality to the Legislative Oversight Commission on Health and Human Resources Accountability with updated reports every 90 days. (2) Any initial reports submitted mid-y…

The salaries of the chief medical examiner, the salaries of all assistants and employees employed in the central office and laboratory, the expenses of maintaining the central office and laboratory and the cost of pathological, bacteriological and toxicological services rendered …

(a) Notwithstanding any other provision of this code to the contrary, the Critical Incident Review Team may request information and records as necessary to carry out its responsibilities. Records and information that may be requested under this section include: (1) Medical, denta…

The chief medical examiner may employ and pay qualified pathologists and toxicologists to make autopsies and such pathological and chemical studies and investigations as he or she considers necessary. Qualified pathologists shall hold board certification or board eligibility in f…

(a) The chief medical examiner shall appoint for each county in the state a county medical examiner to serve for a term of three years under the supervision of the chief medical examiner. A county medical examiner shall be medically trained and licensed by the State of West Virgi…

(a) Proceedings and records of the Critical Incident Review Team established pursuant to this article are confidential and are not subject to discovery, subpoena, or the introduction into evidence in any civil or criminal proceeding. This section does not limit or restrict the ri…

(a) When any person dies in this state from violence, or by apparent suicide, or suddenly when in apparent good health, or when unattended by a physician, or when an inmate of a public institution, or from some disease which might constitute a threat to public health, or in any s…

(a) It is the duty of any person cremating, or causing, or requesting the cremation of, the body of any dead person who died in this state, to secure a permit for the cremation from the Chief Medical Examiner, the county medical examiner, or county coroner of the county wherein t…

(a) The Legislature hereby finds that there is evidence of an increasing incidence of larger scale organized criminal activity and gang activity in various parts of this state and that new statutes are necessary to protect the lives and property of the overwhelming majority of We…

As used in this article: (1) “Gang” means any ongoing organization, association, or group of three or more persons, whether formal or informal, having as one of its activities the commission of one or more qualifying offenses, and whose members engage in or have engaged in qualif…

(a) Any person who knowingly and willfully becomes a member of a gang or an organized criminal enterprise, and who knowingly promotes, furthers, or assists in the commission of any qualifying offense himself or herself or in combination with another member of an organized crimina…

(a) Every private building or place used by members of an organized criminal enterprise for the commission of qualifying offenses is a nuisance and may be the subject of an injunction or cause of action for damages or for abatement of the nuisance as provided for in article nine …

(a) The following are declared to be contraband and no person shall have a property interest in them: (1) All property which is directly or indirectly used or intended for use in any manner to facilitate a violation of this article; and (2) Any property constituting or derived fr…

Nothing in this section shall be construed to prevent lawful assembly and petition for the lawful redress of grievances, including, but not limited to, any labor or employment relations issue; demonstration at the seat of federal, state, county, or municipal government; or activi…

When used in this article, the following words and terms shall have the meaning specified unless the context clearly indicates a different meaning: (1) "Adult" means an individual 18 years of age or older. (2) "Coercion" means: (A) The use or threat of force against, abduction of…

Notwithstanding any other provision of this code, this article does not apply to any person providing medical or mental health services to an illegal alien, or to any licensed attorney or their support staff who maintain an active attorney-client relationship with an illegal alie…

(a) Any person who knowingly and willfully traffics an adult, or who knowingly and willfully aids, assists, or abets in any manner in the trafficking of an adult, is guilty of a felony and, upon conviction, shall be confined in a state correctional facility for an indeterminate s…

(a) Any person who knowingly uses an adult in forced labor is guilty of a felony and, upon conviction thereof, shall be imprisoned in a state correctional facility for an indeterminate sentence of not less than three nor more than 15 years. (b) Any person who knowingly uses a min…

(a) Any person who knowingly uses an adult in debt bondage is guilty of a felony and, upon conviction thereof, shall be imprisoned in a state correctional facility for an indeterminate sentence of not less than three nor more than 15 years. (b) Any person who knowingly uses a min…

(a) Any person who knowingly uses coercion to compel an adult to engage in commercial sexual activity is guilty of a felony and, upon conviction thereof, shall be imprisoned in a state correctional facility for a determinate sentence of not less than 25 years. (b) Any person who …

(a) Any person who knowingly patronizes another in commercial sexual activity and who knows that such person patronized is a victim of sexual servitude, is guilty of a felony and, upon conviction thereof, shall be imprisoned in a state correctional facility for an indeterminate s…

(a) Separate violations. — For purposes of this article, each adult or minor victim constitutes a separate offense. (b) Aggravating circumstance. — (1) Notwithstanding any provision of this code to the contrary, if an individual is convicted of an offense under this article and t…

(a) In a prosecution or a juvenile proceeding for an offense of prostitution in violation of §61-8-5(b) of this code, a minor may not be held criminally liable if the court determines that the minor is a victim of an offense under this article: Provided, That subject to proof, a …

(a) Notwithstanding the age and criminal history limitations set forth in §61-11-26 of this code or the provisions in §49-4-103 of this code, an individual convicted of prostitution in violation of §61-8-5(b) of this code as a direct result of being a victim of trafficking, may a…

As used in this article, unless the context clearly indicates otherwise: (1) “Conducts” includes, but is not limited to, initiating, concluding, participating in, or assisting in a transaction. (2) “Criminal activity” means a violation of: (A) The felony provisions of section ele…

(a) It is unlawful for any person to conduct or attempt to conduct a financial transaction involving the proceeds of criminal activity knowing that the property involved in the financial transaction represents the proceeds of, or is derived directly or indirectly from the proceed…

(a) Any property or monetary instruments involved in a violation of this article, and any property or monetary instruments traceable to the violation, may be seized and forfeited consistent with the procedures in the West Virginia Contraband Forfeiture Act, as provided in article…

(a) Notwithstanding any other provision to the contrary, each transaction committed in violation of this article constitutes a separate offense.

As used in this article: (1) "Aircraft" means any device now known or subsequently invented, used, or designed for flight in the air, including, but not limited to, unmanned aerial vehicles; (2) "Targeted facility" means a critical infrastructure facility, as defined in §61-10-34…

(a) Except as authorized by the provisions of this article, it is unlawful for any person to operate an unmanned aerial vehicle: (1) To knowingly and intentionally capture or take photographs, images, video, or audio of another person or the private property of another, without t…