Case Name: STATE of West Virginia, v. Chester CHANZE
Court: Supreme Court of Appeals of West Virginia
Jurisdiction: West Virginia
Decision Date: 1987-07-07
Citations: 178 W. Va. 309
Docket Number: No. 17029
Parties: STATE of West Virginia, v. Chester CHANZE.
Judges: 
Reporter: West Virginia Supreme Court
Volume: 178
Pages: 309–310

Head Matter:
359 S.E.2d 142
STATE of West Virginia, v. Chester CHANZE.
No. 17029.
Supreme Court of Appeals of West Virginia.
July 7, 1987.
Robert W. Kagler, Asst. Pros. Atty., Moundsville, for appellant.
Robert H. McWilliams, Edward Bullman, Public Defender Corp., Moundsville, for ap-pellee.

Opinion:
PER CURIAM:
In this appeal from Marshall County, we are confronted with an identical issue which arose recently from the same jurisdiction in State v. St. Clair, 177 W.Va. 629, 355 S.E.2d 418 (1987). There, a challenge was made to the "legality of taxing [the defendant] with the costs of room and board in the county jail while awaiting trial." 177 W.Va. at 630, 355 S.E.2d at 419 (Slip op. at 1). We held in the single Syllabus of St. Clair:
"Room and board in the county jail is a public charge on the county, and may not therefore be collected from a convicted criminal as a cost incident to the prosecution in the absence of statutory authority."
We reviewed in St. Clair the same statute cited by the county in this case, W.Va. Code, 62-5-7, and concluded that it contains no specific authority to impose room and board charges since it dealt with "expenses incident to the prosecution" of a criminal case.
We, therefore, order, as we did in St.Clair, that these costs be removed as a charge against the defendant and that the case be remanded to the circuit court for entry of an appropriate corrective order.
Reversed and Remanded.