Chapter 62, Chapter 62

The warrant may be executed and returned only within ten days after its date. The officer taking property under the warrant shall give to the person from whom or from whose premises the property is taken a copy of the warrant and a receipt for the property taken; or if the person…

(a) Upon application filed pursuant to the provisions of section three of this article, the magistrate or judge of the circuit court may enter an ex parte order, as requested or as modified or moulded, authorizing an electronic interception in a home if the magistrate or judge de…

The recognizance shall be signed by the defendant. It shall also be signed by one or more adult persons owning real property in the state. The court or justice may require that justification of surety be furnished. The assessed value of the real property as shown on the county la…

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,…

The warrant shall be executed by the arrest of the defendant. It may be executed at any time or place within the state. The officer need not have the warrant in his possession at the time of the arrest, but upon request by the defendant, the officer shall show the warrant to him …

(a) Except as otherwise specifically provided in this article, any person who manufactures, assembles, possesses or sells any electronic, mechanical or other device, knowing or having reason to know that the design of the device renders it primarily useful for the purpose of the …

(a) If recorded, the contents of any conduct or oral communications electronically intercepted shall be recorded on tape or wire or other comparable device and done in such a way or ways as will protect the recording from editing or alterations thereto. (b) Whenever practicable, …

The officer may break into a house, building or structure, or any part thereof, or anything therein, or any vehicle, vessel or other conveyance, to execute a search warrant, or commit such breaking as may be necessary to liberate himself or a person aiding him in the execution of…

The recognizance shall be returnable to and all deposits shall be held by the court before whom the defendant is to appear or does appear, and upon the transfer of the case to any other court the recognizance shall be returnable to and transmitted together with any deposits to su…

Any electronic, mechanical or other device used, manufactured, assembled, possessed or sold in violation of either sections three or four of this article may be seized by and forfeited to the department of public safety.

(a) (1) An officer making an arrest under a warrant issued upon a complaint, or any person making an arrest without a warrant for an offense committed in his presence or as otherwise authorized by law, shall take the arrested person without unnecessary delay before a magistrate o…

A law-enforcement officer may issue a citation instead of making an arrest for the following offenses, if there are reasonable grounds to believe that the person being cited will appear to answer the charge: (1) Any misdemeanor, not involving injury to the person, committed in a …

The justice shall in plain terms inform the defendant of the nature of the complaint against him of his right to counsel and, if the offense is to be presented for indictment, of his right to have a preliminary examination. He shall also inform the defendant that he is not requir…

The bail as initially given may continue in effect pending indictment, arraignment, continuance, trial and appeal after conviction, as the court may direct.

Applications made and orders granted under this article shall be ordered sealed by the magistrate or judge of the circuit court to whom the application is made, and maintained under seal in the custody of the magistrate court clerk or the circuit clerk of the county in where the …

A person aggrieved by an unlawful search and seizure may move for the return of the property and to suppress for use as evidence anything so seized on the ground that (1) the property was illegally seized without a warrant, or (2) the warrant is insufficient on its face, or (3) t…

Evidence obtained, directly or indirectly, by the interception of any wire, oral, or electronic communication shall be received in evidence only in grand jury proceedings and criminal proceedings in magistrate court, circuit court, and any other court of competent jurisdiction: P…

(a) Except as authorized by the provisions of this section, a law enforcement agency may not share on social media the booking photograph of an individual arrested for the alleged commission of a minor offense. (b) As used in this section, unless context clearly indicates, otherw…

In all cases where a person is arrested in a county other than where the indictment or charge is pending, an arraignment shall be held pursuant to the Rules of Criminal Procedure for Magistrate Courts in West Virginia. If the person remains incarcerated after the arraignment, he …

Property taken pursuant to the warrant shall be preserved as directed by the court or magistrate for use as evidence and thereafter shall be returned, destroyed or otherwise disposed of as the court or magistrate may direct.

(1) Whenever a person under bail serves as his or her own surety and he or she willfully and without just cause fails to appear as and when required or violates any other term or condition of bail, the circuit court or magistrate shall declare the bail forfeited. (2) Whenever a p…

(a) Any law-enforcement officer who has obtained knowledge of the contents of any electronic interception, or evidence derived therefrom, may disclose such contents or evidence to another law-enforcement officer to the extent that such disclosure is appropriate to the proper perf…

The chief justice of the Supreme Court of Appeals shall, on an annual basis, designate five active circuit court judges to individually hear and rule upon applications for orders authorizing the interception of wire, oral or electronic communications: Provided, That no designated…

The court or justice may direct that a forfeiture be set aside, upon such conditions as may be imposed, if it appears that justice does not require the enforcement of the forfeiture.

When a law-enforcement officer, while engaged in court authorized electronic interception in the manner authorized herein, intercepts communications relating to offenses other than those specified in the order of authorization, the contents thereof, and evidence derived therefrom…

It is intended that this article govern the issuance and execution of all search warrants, and no subsequent legislation shall be held to supersede or modify the provisions of this article except to the extent that such legislation shall do so specifically and expressly. It is re…

The prosecuting attorney of any county or duly appointed special prosecutor may apply to one of the designated circuit judges referred to in §62-1D-7 of this code and the judge, in accordance with the provisions of this article, may grant an order authorizing the interception of …

If the offense is to be presented for indictment, the preliminary examination shall be conducted by a justice of the county in which the offense was committed within a reasonable time after the defendant is arrested, unless the defendant waives examination. The defendant shall no…

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) Any investigative or law-enforcement officer who has obtained knowledge of the contents of any wire, oral, or electronic communication or evidence derived therefrom, may disclose the contents to another investigative or law-enforcement officer of any state or any political su…

Notwithstanding any other provision of this article, when (1) a situation exists with respect to engaging in electronic interception before an order authorizing such interception can with due diligence be obtained; (2) the factual basis for issuance of an order under this article…

The justice shall grant upon request of the defendant one continuance for a period not to exceed ten days. A continuance for a like period shall be granted on request of the state if the defendant has been admitted to bail. No other continuance shall be granted except for good ca…

When a forfeiture has not been set aside, the court or justice, upon motion of the state, shall enter a judgment of default and execution may issue thereon: Provided, That if the forfeiture is declared in a court of record, the order taking judgment shall be entered at the same t…

Prosecutions for offenses against the state, unless otherwise provided, shall be by presentment or indictment. The trial of a person on a charge of felony shall always be by indictment; and indictment may be found in the first instance, whether the accused has been examined or co…

No indictment or other accusation shall be quashed or deemed invalid for omitting to set forth that it is upon the oaths of the jurors, or upon their oaths and affirmation; or for the insertion of the words "upon their oath," instead of "upon their oaths"; or for not in terms all…

Judgment in any criminal case, after a verdict, shall not be arrested or reversed upon any exception to the indictment or other accusation, if the offense be charged therein with sufficient certainty for judgment to be given thereon, according to the very right of the case.

A person in jail, on a criminal charge, shall be discharged from imprisonment if he be not indicted before the end of the second term of the court, at which he is held to answer, unless it appear to the court that material witnesses for the state have been enticed or kept away, o…

When an indictment or presentment is found or made, the court shall award process against the accused to answer to the same, if he be not in custody. Such process, if for a felony, may be a capias or a summons, at the discretion of the court; in all misdemeanor cases, it shall be…

The fifth and eleventh sections of article three, chapter fifty-six of this code shall apply to process in criminal as well as in civil cases. Any summons to answer an indictment for a misdemeanor may be served as a notice is served under the first section of article two, chapter…

The clerk of every court shall forward by mail all process issued for the state, directed to the officer of any county other than his own, and pay the postage thereon, which, on being duly certified by the court, shall be paid out of the county treasury.

When process of arrest in a criminal prosecution is issued from a court during its session, either against a party accused or a witness, the officer to whom it is directed or delivered may execute it in any part of the state.

(a) An officer who, under a capias from a court, arrests a person accused of an offense other than murder in the first degree shall deliver the accused to such court, if sitting, and if such court is not sitting, the officer shall deliver the accused to a magistrate who may admit…

On any indictment or presentment founded on any provision of article twelve, chapter eleven, or article ten, chapter sixty-one of this code, or for any statutory misdemeanor for which no imprisonment may be inflicted, process may be issued immediately, returnable forthwith. If th…

In a prosecution for a misdemeanor, the name of the prosecutor, if there be one, and the county of his residence, shall be written at the foot of the presentment or indictment, when it is made or found; and, for good cause, the court may require a prosecutor to give security for …

No exceptions shall be allowed for any defect or want of form in any presentment or indictment founded on any provision of article twelve, chapter eleven, or article ten, chapter sixty-one of this code, but the court shall give judgment thereon according to the very right of the …

In prosecutions for misdemeanors, in cases not embraced in section nineteen of this article, if a capias be returned not found, after a summons is returned executed, or if the accused was admitted to bail and make default, the court may either award a new capias, or proceed to tr…

There shall be no discontinuance of any criminal prosecution by reason of the failure of the court to award process, or to enter a continuance on the record.

On any indictment or presentment against a corporation, if a summons be served according to the provisions of sections thirteen or fourteen, article three, chapter fifty-six of this code, and the defendant fail to appear, the court may proceed to trial and judgment without furthe…

A count for receiving stolen goods or for embezzlement may be joined with a count for larceny, in the same indictment; and a count for false swearing may be joined with a count for perjury, in the same indictment.

If any prosecuting attorney shall compromise or suppress any indictment or presentment without the consent of the court entered of record, he shall be deemed guilty of malfeasance in office, and may be removed therefrom in the mode prescribed by law.