Senate Bill No. 8
(By Senator Buckalew)
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[Introduced February 12, 1997; referred to the
Committee on the Judiciary.]
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A BILL to amend and reenact section one, article one-c, chapter
sixty-two of the code of West Virginia, one thousand nine
hundred thirty-one, as amended, relating to requiring the
denial of bail to those persons who pose a danger to the
physical well-being of others and who pose a danger of
committing a sexual offense.
Be it enacted by the Legislature of West Virginia:
That section one, 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-1. Right to bail; exceptions; review.
(a) A person arrested for an offense not punishable by life
imprisonment who does not present a substantial, clear and
abiding danger to the physical well-being of another individual or to the public at large and who does not pose a danger of
committing a sexual offense shall be admitted to bail by the
court or magistrate. A person arrested for an offense punishable
by life imprisonment may, in the discretion of the court that
will have jurisdiction to try the offense, be admitted to bail.
(b) Bail may be allowed pending appeal from a conviction,
except that bail shall may not be granted where the offense is
punishable by life imprisonment, the convicted person presents a
substantial, clear and abiding danger to the physical well-being
of an individual or the public at large, the convicted person
poses a danger of committing a sexual offense or where the court
has determined from the evidence at the trial or upon a plea of
guilty or nolo contendere that the offense was committed or
attempted to be committed with the use, presentment or
brandishing of a firearm or other deadly weapon, or by the use of
violence to a person: Provided, That the denial of bail under
one of these exceptions may be reviewed by summary petition to
the supreme court of appeals or any justice thereof, and the
petition for bail may be granted where there is a likelihood that
the defendant will prevail upon the appeal. The court or judge
allowing bail pending appeal may at any time revoke the order
admitting the defendant to bail.
(c) The amount of bail or the discretionary denial of bail at any stage of the proceedings may be reviewed by summary
petition first to the lower appellate court, if any, and
thereafter by summary petition to the supreme court of appeals or
any judge thereof.
NOTE: The purpose of this bill is to deny bail to those
persons who pose a danger to the physical well-being of others
and to those persons who pose a danger of committing a sexual
offense.
Strike-throughs indicate language that would be stricken
from the present law, and underscoring indicates new language
that would be added.