WEST virginia legislature

2020 regular session

Introduced

House Bill 4008

By Delegates Foster, Kump, Summers, Higginbotham, Toney, Waxman, D. Kelly, Espinosa, Maynard and Householder

[Introduced January 08, 2020; Referred to the Committee on the Judiciary]

A BILL to amend and reenact §62-1C-1a of the Code of West Virginia, 1931, as amended, relating to the authorization to release a defendant or a person arrested upon his or her own recognizance; requiring a court or magistrate to release a person charged with certain misdemeanor offenses on his or her own recognizance except for good cause shown and permitting a prosecuting attorney to bring a motion to set cash or surety bond.

Be it enacted by the Legislature of West Virginia:

ARTICLE 1C. BAIL.

§62-1C-1a. Release upon own recognizance authorized.

(a) Any other provision of this article to the contrary notwithstanding, when from all the circumstances, the court or magistrate is of the opinion that the defendant or person arrested will appear as may be required of him or her, either before or after conviction, such defendant or person arrested may be released upon his or her own recognizance.

(b) Except for good cause shown, a court or magistrate shall release a person charged with a misdemeanor offense on his or her own recognizance unless that person is charged with:

(1) A misdemeanor offense of actual violence or threat of violence against a person;

(2) A misdemeanor offense where the victim was a minor, as defined in §61-8C-1 of this code;

(3) A misdemeanor offense involving the use of a deadly weapon, as defined in §61-7-2 of this code;

(4) A misdemeanor offense of the Uniform Controlled Substances Act set forth in chapter 60A of this code; or

(5) A serious misdemeanor traffic offense set forth in §17C-5-1 and §17C-5-2 of this code.

(c) Within 10 days of the setting of bond or bail by the court or magistrate, a prosecuting attorney may bring a motion to set cash or surety bond. The presiding court shall hold a summary hearing upon the motion within five days, and make a finding based upon the evidence presented by the prosecuting attorney if good cause is shown to require cash or surety bond, and upon good cause shown, the presiding court shall set reasonable cash or surety bond in accordance with other provisions of this article.

NOTE: The purpose of this bill is to modify misdemeanor bail requirements.

Strike-throughs indicate language that would be stricken from a heading or the present law and underscoring indicates new language that would be added.