SB 745 Text

ENGROSSED
Senate Bill No. 745
(By Senators Kessler, Dempsey, Fanning, Foster, Hunter, Jenkins, Minard, Oliverio, White, Barnes, Caruth, Lanham, McKenzie and Weeks)
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[Originating in the Committee on the Judiciary;

reported March 24, 2005.]
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A BILL to amend and reeanct §62-1-5a of the Code of West Virginia, 1931, as amended, relating to authorizing use of citations in lieu of arrest warrants for certain offenses.

Be it enacted by the Legislature of West Virginia:
That §62-1-5a of the Code of West Virginia, 1931, as amended, be amended and reenacted to read as follows:
ARTICLE 1. PRELIMINARY PROCEDURE.
§62-1-5a. Citation in lieu of arrest; failure to appear.
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 law-enforcement officer's presence~~: Provided, That the officer may arrest the person and shall do so if he has reasonable grounds to believe that the person is likely to cause serious harm to himself or others; and
(2) When any person is being detained for the purpose of investigating whether such person has committed or attempted to commit shoplifting, pursuant to section four, article three-a, chapter sixty-one of this code.
(3) Any felony, other than those set forth in the provisions of articles two, three-e, seven, eight-b and eight-d, chapter sixty-one of this code: Provided, That the officer may arrest the person and shall do so if he or she has reasonable grounds to believe that the person is likely to cause serious harm to himself, herself or others.
The citation shall provide that the defendant shall appear within a designated time.
If the defendant fails to appear in response to the citation or if there are reasonable grounds to believe that he will not appear, a complaint may be made and a warrant shall issue. When a physical arrest is made and a citation is issued in relation to the same offense the officer shall mark on the citation, in the place specified for court appearance date, the word "arrested" in lieu of the date of court appearance.

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