H. B. 2743
(By Delegates Webster, Proudfoot, Stemple,
Longstreth, Varner, Kominar, Mahan, Ellem and Schadler)
[Introduced January 30, 2007; referred to the
Committee on the Judiciary then Finance.]
A BILL to amend and reenact §62-11C-9 of the Code of West Virginia,
1931, as amended, relating to assessing court costs for
pretrial diversions.
Be it enacted by the Legislature of West Virginia:
That §62-11C-9 of the Code of West Virginia, 1931, as amended,
be amended and reenacted to read as follows:
ARTICLE 11C. THE WEST VIRGINIA COMMUNITY CORRECTIONS ACT.
§62-11C-9. Use of community corrections programs for those not
under court supervision.
(a) Subject to the availability of community corrections
programs in the county, a written pretrial diversion agreement,
entered into pursuant to the provisions of section twenty-two,
article eleven, chapter sixty-one of this code, may require
participation or supervision in a community corrections program as
part of the prosecution and resolution of charges.
(b) Any pretrial diversion program for a defendant charged
with a violation of the provisions of section twenty-eight, article
two, chapter sixty-one of this code, subsection (b) or (c), section
nine, article two of said chapter where the alleged victim is a
family or household member or the provisions of section two,
article five, chapter seventeen-c of this code is to require the
person charged to appear before the presiding judge or magistrate
and either acknowledge his or her understanding of the terms of the
agreement or tender a plea of guilty or nolo contendere to the
charge or charges. Upon the defendant's motion, the court shall
continue the matter for the period of time necessary for the person
charged to complete the pretrial diversion program. If the person
charged successfully completes the pretrial diversion program, the
matter is to be resolved pursuant to the terms of the pretrial
diversion agreement. If the person charged fails to successfully
complete the pretrial diversion program, the matter, if no plea of
guilty or nolo contendere has been tendered, is to be returned to
the court's docket for resolution. If the person charged has
tendered a plea of guilty or nolo contendere and fails to
successfully complete the pretrial diversion program, the court
shall accept the tendered plea of guilty or nolo contendere and
proceed to sentencing.
(c) No provision of this article may be construed to limit the
prosecutor's discretion to prosecute an individual who has not fulfilled the terms of a written pretrial diversion agreement by
not completing the required supervision or participation in a
community corrections program.
(d) Notwithstanding any provision of this code to the
contrary, any person whose case is disposed of by entering into a
pretrial diversion agreement pursuant to this section is liable for
any applicable court costs. Payment of the court costs shall be a
condition of the pretrial diversion agreement.
NOTE: The purpose of this bill is to authorize judges to
assess court costs in cases disposed of by a pretrial diversion
agreement. This stipulation is similar to §60A-4-407(c) relating
to conditional discharge for first offense of possession.
Strike-throughs indicate language that would be stricken from
the present law, and underscoring indicates new language that would
be added.