Chapter 62, Chapter 62

It is declared, as a matter of legislative determination, that it is necessary to grant subpoena powers in aid of criminal investigations of certain crimes against minors involving electronic communications systems or services or remote computing services.

The court for cause may direct the prosecuting attorney to file a bill of particulars. A bill of particulars may be amended at any time subject to such conditions as justice requires.

This act shall be known and may be cited as the "West Virginia Wiretapping and Electronic Surveillance Act."

For the purposes of this article: (1) "Administrator" means the person conducting the live lineup, photo lineup or showup. (2) "Suspect" means the person believed by law enforcement to be the possible perpetrator of the crime. (3) "Blind" means the administrator does not know the…

A search warrant authorized by this article may be issued by a judge of a court having jurisdiction to try criminal cases in the county, or by a justice of the county, or by the mayor or judge of the police court of the municipality, wherein the property sought is located.

(a) A person arrested for an offense not punishable by life imprisonment shall be admitted to bail by the court or magistrate. A person arrested for an offense punishable by life imprisonment may, in the discretion of the court that will have jurisdiction to try the offense, be a…

The complaint is a written statement of the essential facts constituting the offense charged. It shall be made upon oath before a justice of the peace.

(a) For the purposes of this article, the following terms have the following meanings: (1) "Body wire" means: (a) An audio and/or video recording device surreptitiously carried on or under the control of an investigative or law-enforcement officer or informant to simultaneously r…

Where the forfeiture has been declared by a justice or by a court of limited jurisdiction of bail in excess of the jurisdictional limit of justice or of the particular court, such forfeiture shall be certified to a court of the county having sufficient jurisdiction, which court s…

(a) Except as provided in this section, no person may install or use a pen register or a trap and trace device without first obtaining permission to do so from the designated judge by order granted in the same manner as is required for an order granting permission to intercept an…

(a) A law-enforcement officer who stops a motor vehicle for an alleged violation of a traffic misdemeanor law or ordinance may not search the vehicle unless he or she: (1) Has probable cause or another lawful basis for the search; (2) Obtains the written consent of the operator o…

A judge of a court having jurisdiction to try criminal offenses shall have the same power to issue warrants as conferred upon a justice of the peace by this article. A mayor or judge of a police court acting in the capacity of a justice of the peace shall have all the powers and …

All provisions of this code which are inconsistent with the provisions of this article are hereby repealed to the extent and only to the extent of such inconsistency: Provided, That under no circumstances shall the foregoing repealer provision or the provisions of this article be…

(a) Each application for an order authorizing the interception of a wire, oral or electronic communication shall be made only to a designated judge by petition in writing upon oath or affirmation and shall state the applicant's authority to make the application. Each application …

After entry of such judgment, the court or justice may remit the penalty in whole or in part under the conditions applying to the setting aside of forfeiture in section eight of this article.

(a) To facilitate the implementation of section ten of this article the Governor's Committee on Crime, Delinquency and Corrections shall promulgate emergency and legislative rules in accordance with article three, chapter twenty-nine-a of this code to establish the requirements f…

(a) Any person whose wire, oral or electronic communication is intercepted, disclosed, used or whose identity is disclosed in violation of this article shall have a civil cause of action against any person who so intercepts, discloses, or uses, or procures any other person to int…

(a) When the condition of the bond has been satisfied or the forfeiture thereof has been set aside or remitted, the court or magistrate shall exonerate the surety and release any bail and, if the bail be in a form other than a recognizance, the deposit shall be returned to the pe…

(a) Notwithstanding any provision of this code to the contrary, a law-enforcement officer may not install any surveillance camera on private land for purposes of gathering information or evidence of criminal activity of the owner or occupant of the private land without first obta…

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

(a) Law-enforcement agencies in the state shall register with the department of public safety all electronic, mechanical or other devices whose design renders them primarily useful for the purposes of the surreptitious interception of wire, oral or electronic communications which…

No action or judgment for forfeiture of bail shall be defeated or arrested by the neglect or omission to record the declaration of forfeiture or by reason of any defect in the form of the bail, if it appear to have been taken by a court or justice authorized to take it, and be su…

(a) A bailpiece is a certificate stating that the bail became such for the accused in a particular case and the amount thereof. Upon demand therefor, the court, magistrate, or clerk shall issue to the bail bondsperson a bailpiece. Any officer having authority to execute a warrant…

Any person who trespasses upon any premises with the intent to place, adjust or remove wiretapping or electronic surveillance or eavesdropping equipment without an order from the designated judge authorizing the same is guilty of a felony, and, upon conviction thereof, shall be i…

The bail for a witness for or against the accused shall be conditioned upon his appearance at such time and place as the court or justice shall direct.

The superintendent of the department of public safety shall establish a course of training in the legal and technical aspects of wiretapping and electronic surveillance, shall establish such regulations as he or she deems necessary and proper for such training program, and shall …

The various provisions of this article shall be construed as separable and severable, and should any of the provisions or parts thereof be construed or held unconstitutional or for any reason be invalid, the remaining provisions of this article shall not be thereby affected.

For a misdemeanor violation of any motor vehicle law of the state or any municipality, except reckless driving or driving while intoxicated, the guaranteed arrest bond certificate of any surety company licensed to do business by the Insurance Commissioner, when presented by the p…

Bail for a person accused of an offense against a municipality shall be governed by the provisions of this article applicable to a justice, except that the bail may be deposited with the mayor or with such other officer of the municipality as may be designated by the mayor or oth…

(a) When the offense charged is an offense defined in article eight-d, chapter sixty-one of this code, it shall be a condition of bond that the defendant shall not live in the same residence as and shall have no contact with the victim of the alleged offense and the court may mak…

(a) Any person, who, having been released upon his or her personal recognizance pursuant to §62-1-1a of this code or having been otherwise admitted to bail and released in accordance with this article, and who shall willfully and without just cause fail to appear as and when it m…

(a) When the offense charged is a crime against a family or household member, it may be a condition of bond that the defendant shall not have any contact whatsoever, direct or indirect, verbal or physical, with the victim or complainant. (b) In determining conditions of release, …

All provisions of this code which are inconsistent with the provisions of this article are hereby repealed to the extent and only to the extent of such inconsistency.

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

(a) Subject to the provisions of §62-1C-1 of this code, when a person charged with a violation or violations of the criminal laws of this state first appears before a judicial officer: (1) Except for good cause shown, a judicial officer shall release a person charged with a misde…

Bail is security for the appearance of a defendant to answer to a specific criminal charge before any court or magistrate at a specific time or at any time to which the case may be continued. It may take any of the following forms: (a) The deposit by the defendant or by some othe…

As used in this article, unless the context in which used clearly requires otherwise, the following terms have the meanings indicated: (a) "Aggrieved person" means a person who was a party to any intercepted wire, oral or electronic communication or a person against whom the inte…

Upon motion of a defendant the court may order the prosecuting attorney to permit the defendant to examine and copy or photograph any relevant (1) written or recorded statements or confessions made by the defendant, or copies thereof, which are known by the prosecuting attorney t…

(1) A warrant may be issued under this article to search for and seize any property (a) Stolen, embezzled, or obtained by false pretenses; (b) Designed or intended for use or which is or has been used as a means of committing a criminal offense; or (c) Manufactured, sold, kept, c…

(a) Prior to engaging in electronic interception, as defined in section one of this article, an investigative or law-enforcement officer shall, in accordance with this article, first obtain from a magistrate or a judge of a circuit court within the county wherein the nonconsentin…

If it appears from the complaint that there is probable cause to believe that an offense has been committed and that the defendant has committed it, a warrant for the arrest of the defendant shall issue to any officer authorized by law to arrest persons charged with offenses agai…

(a) As used in this section: (1)(A) "Electronic communication" means any transfer of signs, signals, writing, images, sounds, data or intelligence of any nature transmitted, in whole or in part, by a wire, radio, electromagnetic, photoelectronic or photooptical system. (B) "Elect…

(a) Prior to a lineup or showup, law enforcement should record as complete a description as possible of the perpetrator provided by the eyewitness, in the eyewitness's own words. This statement should also include information regarding the conditions under which the eyewitness ob…

The amount of bail shall be fixed by the court or justice with consideration given to the seriousness of the offense charged, the previous criminal record of the defendant, his financial ability, and the probability of his appearance. When two or more charges are filed or are pen…

The warrant shall be signed by the justice and shall contain the name of the defendant or, if his name is unknown, any name or description by which he can be identified with reasonable certainty. It shall describe the offense charged in the complaint. It shall command that the de…

A motion under this article may be made at any time not later than ten days before trial, or at such reasonable later time as the court may permit.

The Superintendent of State Police may create educational materials and conduct training programs to instruct law-enforcement officers and recruits how to conduct lineups in compliance with this section. Any West Virginia law-enforcement agency, as defined in section one, article…

(a) Each application for an order authorizing electronic interception in accordance with the provisions of this article shall be made only to the magistrate or judge of the circuit court by petition in writing upon oath or affirmation and shall state the applicant's authority to …

A warrant shall issue only upon complaint on oath or affirmation supported by affidavit sworn to or affirmed before the judge or magistrate setting forth the facts establishing the grounds for issuing the warrant. If the judge or magistrate is satisfied that there is probable cau…

(a) Except as otherwise specifically provided in this article it is unlawful for any person to: (1) Intentionally intercept, attempt to intercept or procure any other person to intercept or attempt to intercept, any wire, oral or electronic communication; or (2) Intentionally dis…