ADMINSTRATIVE RULES FOR MAGISTRATE COURTS


RULE 1. HOURS OF MAGISTRATE COURT
(a) Regular Office Hours. Every magistrate court shall be open on each judicial day except Saturday. The hours of magistrate court in each county shall be approved by the supervising circuit judge and submitted, in written form, to the Administrative Office of the Supreme Court of Appeals. These hours shall, as nearly as possible, correspond to the hours of the county courthouse.
The supervising circuit judge may, or at the direction of the Supreme Court of Appeals shall, also direct one magistrate, on a rotating basis, to be at the magistrate court offices at other designated evening, weekend and holiday hours, or at all times. Such evening, weekend and holiday hours shall be subject to the approval of the Supreme Court of Appeals through the Administrative Office of the Supreme Court of Appeals.
(b) On Call. One magistrate in each county, on a rotating basis, shall be on call at all times other than regular office hours. On-call duties shall extend, in criminal cases, to initial appearances; to taking bond for someone who is in jail; and to receiving and acting upon emergency search warrants, domestic violence matters, and juvenile abuse and neglect matters.
(1) Initial Appearances and Taking Bond in Criminal Cases. Within the time periods provided for below, the on-call magistrate shall contact the county or regional jail, whichever applies, and the juvenile detention facility that serves the county, and shall inquire whether any person has been arrested in the county since the close of regular business hours or since the last contact with the jail, or whether anyone confined to the jail is able to post bond. If an arrest has been made or if a prisoner is able to post bond, the magistrate shall proceed immediately to the magistrate court offices to conduct an initial appearance and to set bail for such person, or to accept bond for someone already in jail.
It shall be sufficient to comply with this rule if the on-call magistrate contacts the jail and juvenile detention facility:
(A) Between 10:00 p.m. and 11:00 p.m. Monday through Friday;
(B) Between 10:00 a.m. and 11:00 a.m. and between 10:00 p.m. and 11:00 p.m. on Saturdays and holidays; and
(C) Between 12:00 p.m. and 1:00 p.m. and between 10:00 p.m. and 11:00 p.m. on Sundays.
(2) Emergency Search Warrants, Domestic Violence Matters, and Juvenile Abuse and Neglect Matters. The on-call magistrate shall be available and responsible for receiving and acting upon applications for emergency search warrants and petitions for domestic violence protective orders. The on-call magistrate shall also respond at any time for the purpose of holding a temporary custody proceeding pursuant to W.Va. Code §49-6-3(c). When contacted concerning any of these matters, the on-call magistrate shall conduct such emergency action as may be necessary at the magistrate court offices or at any other appropriate location approved for such purpose by the supervising circuit judge.

[Effective July 1, 1988; amended effective January 1, 1990; January 1, 1991; September 1, 1993; July 1, 1994; June 22, 2000.]


RULE 1A. CONDUCT OF PROCEEDINGS; JUDICIAL DAY
(a) Except as provided in Rule 1, magistrates shall conduct all judicial proceedings in the magistrate court offices in the county.
(b) "Judicial day" for magistrate courts shall mean every day except Sunday and any legal holiday listed in or declared pursuant to W.Va. Code §2-2-1. A magistrate may not conduct any judicial proceeding or issue any order on any nonjudicial day except for proceedings expressly required by Rule 1(b).

[Adopted effective August 1, 1991; amended effective September 1, 1993.]


RULE 1B. DISQUALIFICATION
(a) Form of Motion. A party or attorney for a party to any magistrate court proceeding except an initial appearance may file a written motion for disqualification of a magistrate. The motion shall be in the form of an affidavit, and shall state that it is made in good faith and shall include specific facts and reasons supporting disqualification.
(b) Time for Filing Motion. Unless good cause is shown, the following time limits apply to motions to disqualify. A motion for disqualification shall be filed no later than 10 days before the first scheduled trial date except for cases in which a final hearing is to be held within 10 days of filing. In a case involving such an expedited proceeding, a motion for disqualification shall be filed before the hearing begins.
(c) Duties in Response to Disqualification Motion.
(1) All Proceedings. Upon the filing of a disqualification motion, the magistrate shall immediately forward to the supervising circuit judge a copy of the motion and any relevant evidence, along with a written statement as to why the magistrate believes there is or is not good cause for disqualification. The supervising circuit judge, applying the pertinent provision(s) of the Code of Judicial Conduct, shall grant or deny the disqualification motion. The filing of a disqualification motion shall not be, in and of itself, a ground for disqualification. Until the issue of disqualification is decided, the magistrate shall proceed no further in the case and as necessary shall, with notice to the parties, continue any earlier-scheduled proceeding in the case.
(2) Time Limit for Ruling. When a motion to disqualify is filed in a case involving non-expedited proceedings, the supervising judge shall by order rule on the motion within 5 days of receiving the materials from the magistrate. When a motion to disqualify is filed in a case involving expedited proceedings, the supervising circuit judge shall by order rule on the motion within 3 days of receiving the materials from the magistrate.
(3) The supervising judge may, by administrative order, establish supplemental procedures consistent with this Rule for the purpose of preventing the undue delay of expedited proceedings that could otherwise result from disqualification or recusal requests.
(d) Voluntary Recusal. A magistrate wishing to recuse himself or herself voluntarily from any case or proceeding other than an initial appearance shall submit a written request to the supervising circuit judge along with a statement of reasons why the magistrate believes recusal is required. The supervising circuit judge shall review and rule on any request by a magistrate for voluntary recusal within the same time limits and in the same manner as for a disqualification motion filed by a party. Neither the magistrate seeking voluntary recusal nor the magistrate court clerk shall take any action toward reassignment of a case until the supervising circuit judge has, by order, ruled on the request.
(e) Case and Assignment.
(1) When a magistrate is disqualified or recused, the magistrate shall immediately transfer all matters relating to the case to the magistrate court clerk, who shall forthwith assign the case to another magistrate within the county pursuant to Rule 2 of these rules or, if no other magistrate is available, shall forthwith notify the supervising circuit judge of the need for the assignment of a magistrate from another county to hear the case.
(2) The magistrate to whom the case is reassigned shall, within 5 days of receiving the case, set a new return date and notify all parties thereof.
(3) The magistrate court clerk shall assign to a recused magistrate another case to replace the case transferred as the result of a recusal.
(f) Challenge to Disqualification Rulings. All rulings relating to disqualification or recusal of a magistrate shall be interlocutory in nature and are not subject to direct or immediate appeal. The sole remedy shall be appeal of the final magistrate court judgment in the case.

[Adopted effective March 1, 1997.]


RULE 2. CASELOAD ASSIGNMENT AND DISTRIBUTION
(a) Caseload Assignment. Caseload assignment shall be conducted in such manner that, to the greatest extent possible, a plaintiff, petitioner, or complainant shall be unable to select a magistrate. All cases shall be centrally assigned by the magistrate clerk regardless of the magistrate before whom the civil or criminal complaint is filed. No magistrate may conduct hearings or enter orders in a case assigned to another magistrate, except upon consent of the magistrate to whom such case is assigned or upon order of the Circuit Court or the Supreme Court of Appeals; Provided, however, that any magistrate shall entertain a motion for a change of bail or bond and shall accept an appeal if the assigned magistrate is off duty or otherwise unavailable to do so.
(b) Caseload Distribution. Caseload shall be distributed as evenly and randomly as possible among magistrates in a county. The magistrate court clerk shall identify substantial discrepancies in work load and bring such discrepancies to the attention of the supervising circuit judge. The supervising circuit judge, as administrative head of the magistrate court, shall devise a case rotation system for each county to alleviate such case-load discrepancies.

[Effective July 1, 1988; amended effective August 1, 1991.]


RULE 3. BAILIFF
(a) At any time the magistrate requests a bailiff, the magistrate court clerk shall notify the sheriff in writing, if possible, not less than 5 days in advance of this need. When the request is made less than 48 hours before the time for the bailiff's service, the sheriff may deny such request if adequate personnel are not available. Where circumstances arise that in the judgment of the magistrate jeopardize the safety of the magistrate court, the sheriff shall provide bailiff service forthwith.
(b) The supervising circuit judge may promulgate such further guidelines as may be deemed necessary regarding the service of sheriffs and their deputies as bailiffs in magistrate court.

[Effective July 1, 1988.]


RULE 4. JURIES
(a) When a case will be tried before a jury, the magistrate clerk shall forthwith, but no later than five days before the scheduled trial date, inform the circuit clerk of the need for 14 qualified jurors for magistrate court or more than 14 if the magistrate, with the concurrence of the supervising circuit judge, deems such additional jurors necessary to assure that a panel of 10 jurors will be available following examination and dismissal of jurors for cause.
(b) If, before the trial date, it becomes known that the jury panel will not be needed, the magistrate clerk shall forthwith so inform the circuit clerk.
(c) Each time a jury panel is called, more than one jury trial should be scheduled, if possible, in order to minimize costs.
(d) Upon completion of service by a jury in magistrate court, the magistrate clerk shall forthwith certify to the circuit clerk the number of days on which each juror appeared as required.

[Effective July 1, 1988; amended effective January 1, 1990; August 1, 1991; July 1, 1994.]