Senate Bill No. 420

(By Senator Schoonover)

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[Introduced February 17, 1995; referred to the Committee
on the Judiciary.]
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A BILL to amend and reenact section three, article one-c, chapter sixty-two of the code of West Virginia, one thousand nine hundred thirty-one, as amended, relating to standardizing bail amounts.

Be it enacted by the Legislature of West Virginia:
That section three, article one-c, chapter sixty-two of the code of West Virginia, one thousand nine hundred thirty-one, as amended, be amended and reenacted to read as follows:
ARTICLE 1C. BAIL.

§62-1C-3. Fixing of amount; bail may cover two or more charges. (a) The amount of bail shall be fixed by the court or justice magistrate in conformity with the schedule set forth in this section. In setting the appropriate amount of bail, the court or magistrate shall determine whether to set such amount upon the personal recognizance of the defendant, or upon the requirement of adequate security in United States currency or real property. Such determination shall be made with consideration given to the seriousness of the offense charged, the previous criminal record of the defendant, his financial ability, and the probability of his appearance. In cases wherein the court or magistrate determines that United States currency is appropriate security, the court or magistrate shall have discretion to allow a defendant to post ten percent of the amount at which bail is set in lieu of the entire amount. When two or more charges are filed or are pending against the same person at or about the same time, the bail given may be made to include all offenses charged against the defendant.
(b) The following schedules shall be followed by the court or magistrate in setting bail, except as otherwise provided for herein:
(1) For misdemeanor offenses not involving violence, the threat of violence or the use of a deadly weapon, and which upon conviction would not entail a crime of moral turpitude, the amount of bail to be set shall be no less than one hundred dollars and no more than five hundred dollars: Provided, That, the court or magistrate shall not be required to require bail upon any charge or charges involving minor traffic offenses.
(2) For misdemeanor offenses involving fraud, theft or dishonesty but not involving violence, the threat of violence or the use of a deadly weapon, the amount of bail to be set shall be no less than five-hundred dollars and no more than two thousand five hundred dollars;
(3) For misdemeanor offenses involving violence, the threat of violence or the use of a deadly weapon, the amount of bail to be set shall be no less than two thousand dollars and no more than ten thousand dollars;
(4) For misdemeanor offenses involving driving an automobile under the influence of alcohol or controlled substances or permitting such driving of an automobile, the amount of bail upon a charge of first offense shall be no less than one thousand dollars and no more than five thousand dollars. Upon a charge of second or subsequent offense, the amount of bail shall be no less than five-thousand dollars and no more than one hundred thousand dollars;
(5) For felony offenses not involving violence, the threat of violence or use of a deadly weapon, the amount of bail to be set shall be no less than one thousand dollars and no more than twenty thousand dollars;
(6) For noncapital felony offenses involving violence, the threat of violence or use of a deadly weapon, the amount of bail to be set shall be no less than ten thousand dollars and no more than five hundred thousand dollars; and
(7) For capital felony offenses, the amount of bail to be set shall be no less than fifty thousand dollars.
Notwithstanding the provisions of this section, in cases involving special circumstances related to characteristics of a defendant, wherein a court or magistrate can articulate a clear rationale based on such characteristics that involve financial or other considerations, including the likelihood or unlikelihood such defendant is prone to violent acts or may commit further crimes, the court or magistrate may deviate from the schedule set forth herein.



NOTE: The purpose of this bill is to standardize bail amounts in most misdemeanor and some felony cases. The bill sets forth the ten percent bail rule as optional to a court or magistrate while setting forth a schedule comprised of monetary ranges within which to set bond for certain types of criminal charges.

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