reglab/statecodes huggingface dataset:
2023 West Virginia Code › Chapter 62. Criminal Procedure › Article 1D. Wiretapping and Electronic Surveillance Act › §62-1D-12. Civil Liability; Defense to Civil or Criminal Action

(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 intercept, disclose, or use the communications, and shall be entitled to recover from any such person or persons:
(1) Actual damages, but not less than $100 for each day of violation;
(2) Punitive damages, if found to be proper; and
(3) Reasonable attorney fees and reasonable costs of litigation incurred.
(b) A good faith reliance by a provider of electronic or wire communication services on a court order or legislative authorization constitutes a complete defense to any civil or criminal action brought under this article or any other law.
2023 West Virginia Code › Chapter 62. Criminal Procedure › Article 1D. Wiretapping and Electronic Surveillance Act › §62-1D-13. Registration of Intercepting Devices; Serial Number

(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 are owned by them or possessed by or in the control of the agency, their employees or agents. All such devices shall be registered within ten days from the date on which the devices come into the possession or control of the agency, its employees or agents.
(b) Such registration shall include the name and address of the agency as well as a detailed description of each device registered, the serial number thereof and such other information as the department may require.
(c) A registration number shall be issued for each device registered pursuant to this section, which number shall be permanently affixed or indicated upon such device.
2023 West Virginia Code › Chapter 62. Criminal Procedure › Article 1D. Wiretapping and Electronic Surveillance Act › §62-1D-14. Breaking and Entering, etc., to Place or Remove Equipment

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 imprisoned in the penitentiary for not more than five years.
2023 West Virginia Code › Chapter 62. Criminal Procedure › Article 1D. Wiretapping and Electronic Surveillance Act › §62-1D-15. Training and Certification of Law-Enforcement Officers Employed in the Interception of Wire, Oral or Electronic Communications Which Require a Court Order

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 establish minimum standards for certification and periodic recertification of investigative or law-enforcement officers as eligible to conduct wiretapping or electronic surveillance as authorized by this article.
2023 West Virginia Code › Chapter 62. Criminal Procedure › Article 1E. Eyewitness Identification Act › §62-1E-1. Definitions

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 identity of the suspect.
(4) "Blinded" means the administrator may know who the suspect is, but does not know which lineup member is being viewed by the eyewitness.
(5) "Eyewitness" means a person whose identification of another person may be relevant in a criminal proceeding.
(6) "Filler" means either a person or a photograph of a person who is not suspected of an offense and is included in an identification procedure.
(7) "Folder shuffle method" means a procedure for displaying a photo lineup with the following steps:
(A) Photos used in a photo lineup are placed in their own respective folder, and the folders are shuffled, numbered and then presented to an eyewitness such that the administrator cannot see or track which photo is being presented to the witness until after the procedure is completed;
(B) The procedure is completed only when the eyewitness has viewed the entire array of numbered folders, even if an affirmative identification is made prior to the eyewitness viewing all of the numbered folders;
(C) If an eyewitness requests a second viewing, the eyewitness must be shown all of the lineup members again, even if the eyewitness makes an identification during this second showing; and
(D) The eyewitness shall be allowed to review the folders only once after the initial viewing is complete.
(8) "Lineup" means a live lineup or photo lineup of persons or photographs of persons matching as close as possible the eyewitness's description of the perpetrator.
(9) "Live lineup" means a procedure in which a group of people is displayed to an eyewitness for the purpose of determining if the eyewitness is able to identify the perpetrator of a crime.
(10) "Photo lineup" means a procedure in which an array of photographs is displayed to an eyewitness for the purpose of determining if the eyewitness is able to identify the perpetrator of a crime.
(11) "Sequential presentation" means presenting live or photo lineup persons to the eyewitness one-by-one rather than all at once.
(12) "Showup" means an identification procedure in which an eyewitness is presented with a single suspect for the purpose of determining whether the eyewitness identifies this individual as the perpetrator.
2023 West Virginia Code › Chapter 62. Criminal Procedure › Article 1E. Eyewitness Identification Act › §62-1E-3. Training of Law-Enforcement Officers

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 twenty-nine, chapter thirty of this code, conducting eyewitness identification procedures shall adopt specific written procedures for conducting photo lineups, live lineups and showups that comply with this article on or before January 1, 2014.
2023 West Virginia Code › Chapter 62. Criminal Procedure › Article 1F. Electronic Interception of Person's Conduct or Oral Communications in Home by Law Enforcement › §62-1F-1. Definitions

(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 record a nonconsenting party's conduct or oral communications; or (2) radio equipment surreptitiously carried on or under the control of an investigative or law-enforcement officer or informant to simultaneously transmit a nonconsenting party's conduct or oral communications to recording equipment located elsewhere or to other law-enforcement officers monitoring the radio transmitting frequency.
(2) "Home" means the residence of a nonconsenting party to an electronic interception, provided that access to the residence is not generally permitted to members of the public and the non-consenting party has a reasonable expectation of privacy in the residence under the circumstances.
(3) "Informant" means a person acting in concert with and at the direction of a law-enforcement officer in the investigation of possible violations of the criminal laws of this state or the United States.
(4) "Investigative or law-enforcement officer" means any officer empowered by law to conduct investigations of or to make arrests for criminal offenses enumerated in this code or an equivalent offense in another jurisdiction.
(5) "Electronically intercept" or "electronic interception" mean the simultaneous recording with a body wire of a nonconsenting party's conduct or oral communications in his or her home by an investigative or law-enforcement officer or informant who is invited into the home and physically present with the nonconsenting party in the home at the time of the recording.
(b) Words and phrases that are not defined in this article, but which are defined in article one-d of this chapter, shall have the same meanings established in article one-d unless otherwise noted.
2023 West Virginia Code › Chapter 62. Criminal Procedure › Article 1F. Electronic Interception of Person's Conduct or Oral Communications in Home by Law Enforcement › §62-1F-2. Electronic Interception of Conduct or Oral Communications in the Home Authorized

(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 nonconsenting party's home is located an order authorizing said interception. The order shall be based upon an affidavit by the investigative or law-enforcement officer or an informant that establishes probable cause that the interception would provide evidence of the commission of a crime under the laws of this state or the United States.
(b) The Legislature hereby requests the Supreme Court of Appeals to promptly undertake all necessary actions and promulgate any requisite rules to assure a magistrate or circuit judge is available after normal business hours to authorize warrants.
2023 West Virginia Code › Chapter 62. Criminal Procedure › Article 1F. Electronic Interception of Person's Conduct or Oral Communications in Home by Law Enforcement › §62-1F-5. Recording of Intercepted Communications

(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 investigative or law-enforcement officer overseeing the recording of an electronic interception shall keep a signed, written record of:
(1) The date and hours of the surveillance;
(2) The time and duration of each electronic interception;
(3) The participants, if known, in each electronic interception; and
(4) A summary of the content of each intercepted communication.
(c) Immediately upon the expiration of the period of time during which interception and recording is authorized by the order, or extensions thereof, such recordings shall be made available, if requested, to the magistrate or judge issuing such order. Custody of the recordings shall be with the law-enforcement officer authorizing the application underlying the order. Such recordings may not be destroyed except upon an order of the magistrate or judge to whom application was made or a circuit judge presiding over any subsequent prosecution related to the electronic interception. The records shall be maintained by the magistrate court clerk or circuit clerk of the county where the application was filed. Duplicate recordings may be made for use or disclosure pursuant to the provisions of subsections (a) and (b), section nine, article one-d of this chapter for investigations by law-enforcement agencies.
2023 West Virginia Code › Chapter 62. Criminal Procedure › Article 1F. Electronic Interception of Person's Conduct or Oral Communications in Home by Law Enforcement › §62-1F-6. Sealing of Applications, Orders and Supporting Papers

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 application was filed. The applications and orders are discoverable and may be disclosed only in accordance with the applicable provisions of this code and the rules of criminal procedure for the State of West Virginia, and may not be destroyed except upon order of such magistrate or judge, and in any event shall be kept for not less than ten years.
2023 West Virginia Code › Chapter 62. Criminal Procedure › Article 1F. Electronic Interception of Person's Conduct or Oral Communications in Home by Law Enforcement › §62-1F-7. Investigative Disclosure or Use of Contents of Wire, Electronic or Oral Communications or Derivative Evidence

(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 performance of the official duties of the officer making or receiving the disclosure.
(b) Any law-enforcement officer who, by any means authorized by this article, has obtained knowledge of the contents of any electronic interception or any evidence derived therefrom may use such contents or evidence to the extent such use is appropriate to the proper performance of his or her official duties.
(c) Any person who by any means authorized by this article, has obtained knowledge of the contents of any electronic interception or evidence derived therefrom, may disclose such contents or evidence to a law-enforcement officer and may disclose such contents or evidence while giving testimony under oath or affirmation in any criminal proceeding in any court of this state or of another state or of the United States or before any state or Federal grand jury or investigating grand jury.
2023 West Virginia Code › Chapter 62. Criminal Procedure › Article 1F. Electronic Interception of Person's Conduct or Oral Communications in Home by Law Enforcement › §62-1F-8. Interception of Communications Relating to Other Offenses

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, may be disclosed or used as provided in section seven. Such contents and evidence may be disclosed in testimony under oath or affirmation in any criminal proceeding in any court of this state or of another state or of the United States or before any state or Federal grand jury when authorized by a judge who finds on subsequent application that the contents were otherwise intercepted in accordance with the provisions of this article. Such application shall be made as soon as practicable.
2023 West Virginia Code › Chapter 62. Criminal Procedure › Article 1F. Electronic Interception of Person's Conduct or Oral Communications in Home by Law Enforcement › §62-1F-9. Retroactive Authorization

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 exists; and (3) it is determined that exigent circumstances exist which prevent the submission of an application under section three of this article, conduct or oral communications in the person's home may be electronically intercepted on an emergency basis if an application submitted in accordance with section three of this article is made to a magistrate or judge of the circuit within the county wherein the person's home is located as soon as practicable, but not more than three business days after the aforementioned determination. If granted, the order shall recite the exigent circumstances present and be retroactive to the time of such determination. In the absence of an order approving such electronic interception, the interception shall immediately terminate when the communication sought is obtained or when the application for the order is denied, whichever is earliest.
2023 West Virginia Code › Chapter 62. Criminal Procedure › Article 2. Presentments and Indictments › §62-2-1. Prosecutions to Be by Presentment or Indictment

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 committed by a justice or not.
2023 West Virginia Code › Chapter 62. Criminal Procedure › Article 2. Presentments and Indictments › §62-2-2. When Name of Prosecutor, etc., to Be Affixed to Indictment, etc.; Requiring Security for Costs From Prosecutor

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 the costs, and, if he fail to do so, dismiss the prosecution at his costs.
2023 West Virginia Code › Chapter 62. Criminal Procedure › Article 2. Presentments and Indictments › §62-2-4. Indictment for Perjury; Admissibility of Certain Records, etc., as Evidence

In an indictment or accusation of perjury or subornation of perjury, it shall be sufficient to state the substance of the offense charged against the accused, and in what court or by whom the oath was administered which is charged to have been falsely taken, and to make an averment that such court or person had competent authority to administer the same, together with the proper averments to falsify the matter wherein the perjury is assigned, without setting forth any part of any record or proceeding at law or equity, or the commission or authority of the court or person before whom the perjury was committed; but nothing herein shall be construed to allow, without the consent of the accused, a part only of the record, proceeding or writing to be given in evidence on the trial of such indictment or accusation.
2023 West Virginia Code › Chapter 62. Criminal Procedure › Article 2. Presentments and Indictments › §62-2-5. Indictment for Embezzlement; Description and Proof of Money in Prosecutions for Embezzlement and Other Crimes

In a prosecution against a person accused of embezzling, or fraudulently converting to his own use, bullion, money, bank notes, or other security for money, it shall be lawful, in the same indictment, to charge and thereon to proceed against the accused, for any number of distinct acts of such embezzlement or fraudulent conversion which may have been committed by him within six months from the first of the last of such acts; and it shall be sufficient to allege the embezzlement or fraudulent conversion to be of money, bullion, bank notes, or security for money without specifying the particular kind of money, bank notes, bullion or security for money, as the case may be; and such allegation, so far as it regards the description of the property, shall be sustained, if the accused be proved to have embezzled or fraudulently converted to his own use, any bullion, money, bank notes, or security for money (although the particular item or thing embezzled or converted be neither alleged nor proved).
And in any indictment, warrant or information in which it is necessary to describe money current in this state, a description of such money as "United States currency" will be sufficient without specifying the number and denomination thereof, and such description shall be construed to mean national bank notes, United States treasury notes, federal reserve notes, certificates for either gold or silver coin, fractional coin, currency, or any other form of money issued by the United States government and current as money in this state.
2023 West Virginia Code › Chapter 62. Criminal Procedure › Article 2. Presentments and Indictments › §62-2-6. Indictment for Forgery

In a prosecution for forging, or altering, or attempting to employ as true, any forged instrument or other thing, and in a prosecution for any of the offenses mentioned in article four, chapter sixty-one of this code, it shall not be necessary to set forth any copy or facsimile of such instrument or other thing, but it shall be sufficient to describe the same in such manner as would sustain an indictment for stealing such instrument or other thing, supposing it to be the subject of larceny.
2023 West Virginia Code › Chapter 62. Criminal Procedure › Article 2. Presentments and Indictments › §62-2-7. Proof of Possession of or Title to Property

In a prosecution for an offense committed upon or relating to or affecting real estate, or for stealing, embezzling, destroying, injuring, or fraudulently receiving or concealing, any personal estate, it shall be sufficient to prove that when the offense was committed, the actual or constructive possession, or a general or special property in the whole or any part of such estate, was in the person or community alleged in the indictment or other accusation to be the owner thereof.
2023 West Virginia Code › Chapter 62. Criminal Procedure › Article 2. Presentments and Indictments › §62-2-8. Allegations of Intent to Injure, Cheat or Defraud

Where an intent to injure, defraud, or cheat is required to constitute an offense, it shall be sufficient, in an indictment or accusation therefor, to allege generally an intent to injure, defraud, or cheat, without naming the person intended to be injured, defrauded, or cheated, and it shall be sufficient, and not deemed a variance, if there appear to be any intent to injure, defraud, or cheat the United States, or any state, or any county, corporation, officer or person.
2023 West Virginia Code › Chapter 62. Criminal Procedure › Article 2. Presentments and Indictments › §62-2-10. Defects Not Invalidating Indictment

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 alleging that the offense was committed "within the jurisdiction of the court," when the averments show that the case is one of which the court has jurisdiction; or for the omission or misstatement of the title, occupation, estate or degree of the accused, or of the name or place of his residence; or for omitting the words "with force and arms," or the statement of any particular kind of force and arms; or for omitting to state, or stating imperfectly, the time at which the offense was committed, when time is not of the essence of the offense; or for failing to allege the value of an instrument which caused death, or to allege that it was of no value; or for omitting to charge the offense to be "against the form of the statute," or statutes; or for the omission or insertion of any other words of mere form or surplusage. Nor shall it be abated for any misnomer of the accused; but the court may, in case of misnomer appearing before or in the course of a trial, forthwith cause the indictment or accusation to be amended according to the fact.
2023 West Virginia Code › Chapter 62. Criminal Procedure › Article 2. Presentments and Indictments › §62-2-11. Defects Cured by Verdict

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.
2023 West Virginia Code › Chapter 62. Criminal Procedure › Article 2. Presentments and Indictments › §62-2-12. Discharge of Imprisoned Person Upon Failure to Indict Within Certain Time; Person Not Indicted by Reason of Insanity

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, or are prevented from attendance by sickness or inevitable accident, and except also that, when a person in jail, on a charge of having committed an indictable offense, is not indicted by reason of his insanity at the time of committing the act, the grand jury shall certify that fact to the court; whereupon the court may order him to be sent to a state hospital for the insane, or to be discharged.
2023 West Virginia Code › Chapter 62. Criminal Procedure › Article 2. Presentments and Indictments › §62-2-13. Process, Capias and Summons in Criminal Cases

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, in the first instance, a summons, but if a summons be returned executed, or be returned not found, and the defendant does not appear, the court may award a capias.
2023 West Virginia Code › Chapter 62. Criminal Procedure › Article 2. Presentments and Indictments › §62-2-14. Direction and Execution of Process; Several Writs Against Same Person

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 fifty-six of this code. The court may, in the same case against the same person, award at the same time, or different times, several writs of summons or capias, directed to officers of different counties.
2023 West Virginia Code › Chapter 62. Criminal Procedure › Article 2. Presentments and Indictments › §62-2-15. Mailing of Process by Clerk to Officer

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.
2023 West Virginia Code › Chapter 62. Criminal Procedure › Article 2. Presentments and Indictments › §62-2-17. Delivery of Prisoner to Court, Magistrate or Jailer

(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 the accused to bail:
Provided
, That any such bail granted by a magistrate shall be conditioned upon the appearance by the accused before the court on the date provided in the capias for such appearance, or, if no such date is provided in the capias, then such bail shall be conditioned upon the appearance of the accused on the next day on which such court is sitting.
(b) No magistrate shall admit to bail any person arrested under an alias capias.
(c) Bail set by a magistrate may be made and posted before the magistrate court clerk and the recognizance and record thereof, together with any money received therefor, shall be forthwith delivered to the clerk of the circuit court.
(d) An officer who, under a capias from a court, arrests a person accused of an offense not bailable, or for which bail is not given, shall deliver the accused to such court, if sitting, or to the jailer thereof, who shall receive and imprison him or her.
(e) In all cases where a defendant is arrested and held under a capias for failure to appear in the county wherein the charge or charges is pending, and he or she is entitled to admission to bail, an initial appearance shall be held as soon as practicable, or within five days whichever is sooner, and bail shall be considered pursuant to 62-1C-1a of this code.
(f) Upon the appearance of a defendant upon an indictment or complaint upon which a warrant or capias has been issued, the court shall provide written notice to the sheriff for his or her dissemination to all appropriate law-enforcement agencies that the warrant or capias is no longer active and order that it be immediately removed from all databases.
2023 West Virginia Code › Chapter 62. Criminal Procedure › Article 2. Presentments and Indictments › §62-2-19. Prosecutions Relating to License Taxes, Offenses Against Public Policy, etc.

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 the accused appear and plead to the charge, the trial shall proceed without delay. If, being summoned, he fail to appear and plead, the court may render judgment in the same manner as if he had confessed to the charge in court; and if the offense be punishable by a fine not fixed by law, a jury shall be impaneled to assess the same.
2023 West Virginia Code › Chapter 62. Criminal Procedure › Article 2. Presentments and Indictments › §62-2-20. Exceptions to Indictments Relating to License Taxes and Offenses Against Public Policy

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 case.
2023 West Virginia Code › Chapter 62. Criminal Procedure › Article 2. Presentments and Indictments › §62-2-21. Second Capias or Trial After Summons in Misdemeanor Cases Not Covered in §62-2-19

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 trial in the same manner as if the accused had appeared and pleaded not guilty.
2023 West Virginia Code › Chapter 62. Criminal Procedure › Article 2. Presentments and Indictments › §62-2-23. Prosecutions Against Corporations; Effect of Failure of Corporation to Appear

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 further process, as if the defendant had appeared and pleaded not guilty. And where, in any such case, the publication of a copy of the process is required according to said section, the expense of such publication may be certified by the court to the Auditor, and shall be paid out of the treasury of the state; but the same shall be taxed with other costs, and collected from the defendant, if judgment be for the state, and be paid into the treasury of the state by the officer collecting the same.
2023 West Virginia Code › Chapter 62. Criminal Procedure › Article 2. Presentments and Indictments › §62-2-25. Compromise or Suppression of Indictment or Presentment

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.
2023 West Virginia Code › Chapter 62. Criminal Procedure › Article 3. Trial of Criminal Cases › §62-3-1. Time for Trial; Depositions of Witnesses for Accused; Counsel, Copy of Indictment, and List of Jurors for Accused; Remuneration of Appointed Counsel

When an indictment is found in any county, against a person for a felony or misdemeanor, the accused, if in custody, or if he appear in discharge of his recognizance, or voluntarily, shall, unless good cause be shown for a continuance, be tried at the same term. If any witness for the accused be a nonresident of the state, or absent therefrom in any service or employment, so that service of a subpoena cannot be had upon him in this state, or is aged or infirm so that he cannot attend upon the court at the trial, the accused may present to the court in which the case is pending, or to the judge thereof in vacation, an affidavit showing such facts, and stating therein what he expects to prove by any such witness, his name, residence, or place of service or employment; and if such court or judge be of the opinion that the evidence of any such witness, as stated in such affidavit, is necessary and material to the defense of the accused on his trial, an order may be made by such court or judge for the taking of the deposition of any such witness upon such notice to the prosecuting attorney, of the time and place of taking the same, as the court or judge may prescribe; and in such order the court or judge may authorize the employment of counsel, practicing at or near the place where the deposition is to be taken, to cross-examine the witness on behalf of the state, the reasonable expense whereof shall be paid out of the treasury of the state, upon certificate of the court wherein the case is pending. Every deposition so taken may, on the motion of the defendant, so far as the evidence therein contained is competent and proper, be read to the jury on the trial of the case as evidence therein. A court of record may appoint counsel to assist an accused in criminal cases at any time upon request. A copy of the indictment and of the list of the jurors selected or summoned for his trial, as provided in section three of this article, shall be furnished him upon his request, at any time before the jury is impaneled. In every case where the court appoints counsel for the accused and the accused presents an affidavit showing that he cannot pay therefor, the attorney so appointed shall be paid for his services and expenses in accordance with the provisions of article twenty-one, chapter twenty-nine of this code.
2023 West Virginia Code › Chapter 62. Criminal Procedure › Article 3. Trial of Criminal Cases › §62-3-1a. Written Guilty Plea; Form; Right to Counsel; Effect of Plea; Failure of Plea to Be Signed or Witnessed

When a person under indictment for a crime indicates that he desires to plead guilty, he may be called upon to sign in open court a form acknowledging his plea to the indictment or to such count or counts thereof as he shall designate. Before accepting a plea of guilty, the court shall satisfy itself by interrogation of the defendant or his counsel that the defendant has received a copy of the indictment and understands the nature of the charges. If the defendant is without counsel, the court shall advise him of his Constitutional right to the assistance of counsel before pleading to the indictment. If the defendant is an indigent, the court shall offer to appoint counsel for him The plea when signed and witnessed shall become a part of the record of the case. The plea shall be sufficient if it is substantially in the following form:
A. If the defendant is represented by counsel:
STATE OF WEST VIRGINIA
vs.Indictment No.........................
...........................................................
(Defendant)
In the presence of ..............................................., my counsel, who has fully explained the charges contained in the indictment against me and having received a copy of the indictment before being called upon to plead, I hereby plead guilty to said indictment and each count thereof.
Date: ..............................
Witness:
...................................................
(Defendant)
.............................................................
(Counsel for Defendant)
B. If the defendant has waived counsel:
STATE OF WEST VIRGINIA
vs.Indictment No.......................................
..............................................................
(Defendant)
I certify that I have been advised of my Constitutional right to the assistance of counsel; that I have no money to employ counsel; that I have been offered counsel at no cost to me; and that I have given up my right to have counsel provided to assist me.
I have received a copy of the indictment before being called upon to plead. It has been read or explained to me and I fully understand the nature of the charges against me, including the penalties that the court may impose.
I hereby plead guilty to said indictment and each count thereof.
Date: ..........................................
Witness:
................................................
(Defendant)
......................................................
(Clerk)
The plea when signed and witnessed shall constitute prima facie evidence that the defendant was fully advised of his rights as herein provided, and that his plea was properly entered. The neglect or failure to cause a plea to be signed or witnessed shall not invalidate the plea or any judgment rendered thereon, provided the record otherwise discloses that the defendant was advised of his rights and that the plea was otherwise properly entered.
2023 West Virginia Code › Chapter 62. Criminal Procedure › Article 3. Trial of Criminal Cases › §62-3-2. Presence of Accused During Trial; Arraignment; Plea

A person indicted for felony shall be personally present during the trial therefor. If he refuse to plead or answer, and do not confess his guilt, the court shall have the plea of not guilty entered, and the trial shall proceed as if the accused had entered that plea, and judgment upon the verdict in any such trial shall be entered up as in cases of misdemeanor. The formal arraignment of the prisoner, the proclamation by the sheriff, and the charge of the clerk to the jury, as heretofore practiced, shall be dispensed with.
2023 West Virginia Code › Chapter 62. Criminal Procedure › Article 3. Trial of Criminal Cases › §62-3-3. Selection of Jury in Felony Cases; Striking Jurors; Alternate Jurors

In a case of felony, twenty jurors shall be drawn from those in attendance for the trial of the accused. If a sufficient number of jurors for such panel cannot be procured in this way, the court shall order others to be forthwith summoned and selected, until a panel of twenty jurors, free from exception, be completed, from which panel the accused may strike off six jurors and the prosecuting attorney may strike off two jurors. The prosecuting attorney shall first strike off two jurors, and then the accused six. If the accused failed to strike from such panel the number of jurors this section allows him to strike, the number not stricken off by him shall be stricken off by the prosecuting attorney, so as to reduce the panel to twelve, who shall compose the jury for the trial of the case.
Whenever, in the opinion of the court the trial is likely to be a protracted one, the court may direct that not more than four jurors, in addition to the regular jury, be called and impanelled to sit as alternate jurors. Alternate jurors in the order in which they are called shall replace jurors who, prior to the time the jury retires to consider its verdict, become unable or disqualified to perform their duties. Alternate jurors shall be drawn in the same manner, shall have the same qualifications, shall be subject to the same examination and challenges, shall take the same oath and shall have the same functions, powers, facilities and privileges as the regular jurors. An alternate juror who does not replace a regular juror shall be discharged after the jury retires to consider its verdict. Each side is entitled to one peremptory challenge in addition to those otherwise allowed by law if one or two alternate jurors are to be impanelled, and two peremptory challenges if three or four alternate jurors are to be impanelled. The additional peremptory challenges may be used against an alternate juror only, and the other peremptory challenges allowed by this section may not be used against an alternate juror.
2023 West Virginia Code › Chapter 62. Criminal Procedure › Article 3. Trial of Criminal Cases › §62-3-6. Custody of Jury; Board and Lodging of Jurors; Conversation With Jurors

After a jury in a case of felony is impaneled and sworn, the court, in its discretion, may order the jury to be placed in the custody of the sheriff or other officer or officers designated by the court until the jury agree upon a verdict or are discharged by the court. While a jury is in the custody of the sheriff or other officer or officers as herein provided, they shall be furnished with suitable board and lodgings by the sheriff or other officer. After a jury has been impaneled no sheriff or other officer shall converse with, or permit anyone else to converse with, a juror unless by leave of the court. When the court orders a jury to be placed in the custody of the sheriff or other officer or officers, the court shall, in its discretion, determine the manner in which such jury shall be kept in custody by the sheriff or other officer or officers until the jury agree upon a verdict or are discharged by the court.
2023 West Virginia Code › Chapter 62. Criminal Procedure › Article 3. Trial of Criminal Cases › §62-3-7. Filling Vacancy in Jury; Discharge of Jury

If a juror, after he is sworn, be unable, from any cause, to perform his duty, the court may, in its discretion, cause another qualified juror to be sworn in his place. And in any criminal case the court may discharge the jury, when it appears that they cannot agree in a verdict, or that there is manifest necessity for such discharge.
2023 West Virginia Code › Chapter 62. Criminal Procedure › Article 3. Trial of Criminal Cases › §62-3-8. Jury for Defendants Indicted and Tried Jointly; Jury for Separate Trials of Persons Jointly Indicted

Persons indicted and tried jointly, for a felony, shall be allowed to strike from the panel of jurors not more than six thereof, and only such as they all agree upon shall be stricken therefrom; and if they cannot agree upon the names to be so stricken off, the prosecuting attorney shall strike therefrom a sufficient number of names to reduce the panel to twelve. If persons jointly indicted elect to be, or are, tried separately, the panel in the case of each shall be made up as provided in the third section of this article.
2023 West Virginia Code › Chapter 62. Criminal Procedure › Article 3. Trial of Criminal Cases › §62-3-13. Change of Venue

A court may, on the petition of the accused and for good cause shown, order the venue of the trial of a criminal case in such court to be removed to some other county. When the venue is so changed, the court making the order shall recognize the witnesses and the accused (if the offense be bailable and bail be given) to appear on some certain day before the court to which the case is removed; if the offense be not bailable, or the bail required be not given, the court shall remand him to its own jail, and order its officer to remove him thence to the jail of the court to which the case is so removed, so that he shall be there before the day for the appearance of the witnesses. The clerk of the court that orders a change of venue shall certify copies of such recognizance, and of the record of the case, to the clerk of the court to which the case is removed; and such court shall proceed with the case as if the prosecution had been originally therein, and for that purpose the certified copies aforesaid shall be sufficient.
2023 West Virginia Code › Chapter 62. Criminal Procedure › Article 3. Trial of Criminal Cases › §62-3-14. Conviction of Part of Offense Charged in Indictment

If a person indicted for a felony be by the jury acquitted of part and convicted of part of the offense charged, he shall be sentenced by the court for such part as he is so convicted of, if the same be substantially charged in the indictment, whether it be felony or misdemeanor.
2023 West Virginia Code › Chapter 62. Criminal Procedure › Article 3. Trial of Criminal Cases › §62-3-15. Verdict and Sentence in Murder Cases

If a person indicted for murder be found by the jury guilty thereof, they shall in their verdict find whether he or she is guilty of murder of the first degree or second degree. If the person indicted for murder is found by the jury guilty thereof, and if the jury find in their verdict that he or she is guilty of murder of the first degree, or if a person indicted for murder pleads guilty of murder of the first degree, he or she shall be punished by imprisonment in the penitentiary for life, and he or she, notwithstanding the provisions of article twelve, chapter sixty-two of this code, shall not be eligible for parole: Provided, That the jury may, in their discretion, recommend mercy, and if such recommendation is added to their verdict, such person shall be eligible for parole in accordance with the provisions of said article twelve, except that, notwithstanding any other provision of this code to the contrary, such person shall not be eligible for parole until he or she has served fifteen years: Provided, however, That if the accused pleads guilty of murder of the first degree, the court may, in its discretion, provide that such person shall be eligible for parole in accordance with the provisions of said article twelve, and, if the court so provides, such person shall be eligible for parole in accordance with the provisions of said article twelve in the same manner and with like effect as if such person had been found guilty by the verdict of a jury and the jury had recommended mercy, except that, notwithstanding any provision of said article twelve or any other provision of this code to the contrary, such person shall not be eligible for parole until he or she has served fifteen years.
2023 West Virginia Code › Chapter 62. Criminal Procedure › Article 3. Trial of Criminal Cases › §62-3-16. Verdicts Jury May Find on Indictments for Homicide or Assault

On an indictment for felonious homicide, the jury may find the accused not guilty of the felony, but guilty of involuntary manslaughter. And on any indictment for maliciously shooting, stabbing, cutting, or wounding a person, or by any means causing him bodily injury, with intent to kill him the jury may find the accused not guilty of the offense charged, but guilty of maliciously doing such act with intent to maim, disfigure, or disable, or of unlawfully doing it, with intent to maim, disfigure, disable, or kill, such person.
2023 West Virginia Code › Chapter 62. Criminal Procedure › Article 3. Trial of Criminal Cases › §62-3-17. Verdicts Jury May Find in Prosecution for Larceny

In a prosecution for grand larceny, if it be found that the thing stolen is of less value than $50, the jury may find the accused guilty of petit larceny, except in cases where it is otherwise provided; and in a prosecution for petit larceny, though the thing stolen be of the value of $50 or more, the jury may find the accused guilty; and in either case he shall be sentenced for petit larceny.
2023 West Virginia Code › Chapter 62. Criminal Procedure › Article 3. Trial of Criminal Cases › §62-3-18. Conviction of Attempt on Trial for Felony; Effect of General Verdict of Not Guilty

On an indictment for felony, the jury may find the accused not guilty of the felony, but guilty of an attempt to commit such felony; and a general verdict of not guilty upon such indictment shall be a bar to a subsequent prosecution for an attempt to commit such felony.
2023 West Virginia Code › Chapter 62. Criminal Procedure › Article 3. Trial of Criminal Cases › §62-3-19. Faulty Counts in Indictment

Where there are several counts in an indictment, and a general verdict of guilty is found, judgment shall be entered against the accused, if any count be good, though others be faulty. But on the trial, the court may, on motion of the accused, instruct the jury to disregard any count that is faulty.