H. B. 2692
(By Delegate Browning)
[Introduced March 24, 1993; referred to the
Committee on the Judiciary then Finance.]
A BILL to amend and reenact section five, article three, chapter
fifty-one of the code of West Virginia, one thousand nine
hundred thirty-one, as amended, relating to courts; creating
court bailiffs to replace sheriffs as attending officers by
the first day of January, one thousand nine hundred ninety-
four; providing that the court bailiff be hired and
supervised by the circuit court; and requiring court
bailiffs to be certified as law-enforcement officers.
Be it enacted by the Legislature of West Virginia:
That section five, article three, chapter fifty-one of the
code of West Virginia, one thousand nine hundred thirty-one, as
amended, be amended and reenacted to read as follows:
ARTICLE 3. COURTS IN GENERAL.
§51-3-5. Attending officer.
The supreme court of appeals shall not be attended by any
sheriff, but every circuit court, county court commission, and
other court of record of any county shall be attended by thesheriff of the county in which it is held, who shall act as the
officer thereof through the thirty-first day of December, one
thousand nine hundred ninety-three.
There is hereby created an attending officer to be known as
the court bailiff, who on and after the first day of January, one
thousand nine hundred ninety-four, shall attend every circuit
court, county commission and other court of record of any county.
The court bailiff shall be hired, supervised and paid by the
circuit court and shall be certified as a law-enforcement officer
as provided in article twenty-nine, chapter thirty of this code:
Provided,
That those deputy sheriffs who are currently serving as
bailiff for the court shall be transferred to the new position.
NOTE: The purpose of this bill is to replace sheriffs, or
their deputies, as attending officers in courts of record and to
replace them with court bailiffs by the first day of January, one
thousand nine hundred ninety-four. The court bailiffs are to be
hired and supervised by the circuit courts and must be certified
as law-enforcement officers.
Strike-throughs indicate language that would be stricken
from the present law, and underscoring indicates new language
that would be added.