Senate Bill No. 559
(By Senators Unger and Kessler)
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[Introduced February 12, 2010; referred to the Committee on the
Judiciary.]
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A BILL
to amend and reenact §17C-19-3 of the Code of West Virginia,
1931, as amended, relating to procedure upon arrest in
criminal cases; requiring the arrested person be taken
immediately before a magistrate or judge in certain instances;
and providing for issuance of a citation in certain instances
in lieu of taking the arrested person immediately before a
magistrate or judge
when a magistrate or judge is not
reasonably available.
Be it enacted by the Legislature of West Virginia:
That §17C-19-3 of the Code of West Virginia, 1931, as amended,
be amended and reenacted to read as follows:
ARTICLE 19. PARTIES, PROCEDURE UPON ARREST AND REPORTS IN
CRIMINAL CASES.
§17C-19-3. When person arrested must be taken immediately before
a magistrate or court.
(a) Whenever any person is arrested for any violation of this
chapter punishable as a misdemeanor, the arrested person shall be
immediately taken before a magistrate or court within the county in
which the offense charged is alleged to have been committed and who
has jurisdiction of the offense and is nearest or most accessible
with reference to the place where the arrest is made, in any of the
following cases:
(1) When a person arrested demands an immediate appearance
before a magistrate or court;
(2) When the person is arrested upon a charge of negligent
homicide;
(3) When the person is arrested upon a charge of driving while
under the influence of alcohol, or under the influence of any
controlled substance, or under the influence of any other drug, or
under the combined influence of alcohol and any controlled
substance or any other drug;
(4) When the person is arrested upon a charge of failure to
stop in the event of an accident causing death, personal injury or
damage to property;
(5) When the person is arrested upon a charge of violating
section fourteen, article seventeen of this chapter relating to
weight violations, except as otherwise provided in that section;
(6) When the person arrested is a resident of a state that has
not entered into a nonresident violator compact with this state;
(7) In any other event when the person arrested refuses to accept the written notice to appear in court as his or her promise
to appear in court or to comply with the terms of the written
notice to appear in court as provided in section four of this
article;
(8) When the person is arrested for driving with a suspended
or revoked driver's license: Provided, That when a person arrested
for driving with a revoked or suspended driver's license for
miscellaneous reasons, the arresting officer may issue a charge by
citation should a magistrate or judge not be reasonably available.
(b) When the person arrested is a resident of a state that has
entered into a nonresident violator compact with this state, the
arresting officer shall issue the person a written notice as
provided for in section four of this article and may not take the
person immediately before a magistrate or court, except under the
terms of the compact or under the circumstances set forth in
subsection (a) of this section.
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(NOTE: The purpose of this bill is to provide that an
arresting officer of a person who is arrested for driving with a
revoked or suspended drivers license for miscellaneous reasons may
issue a charge by citation if a magistrate or judge is not
reasonably available in lieu of being taken immediately before a
magistrate or judge.
Strike-throughs indicate language that would be stricken from
the present law, and underscoring indicates new language that would
be added.)
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JUDICIARY COMMITTEE AMENDMENT
By striking out the title and substituting therefor a new
title, to read as follows:
Eng. Senate Bill No. 559--A Bill
to amend and reenact §17C-19-
3 of the Code of West Virginia, 1931, as amended, relating to
procedure upon arrest in criminal cases; requiring the arrested
person be taken immediately before a magistrate or judge in certain
instances; and providing for issuance of a citation in certain
instances
in lieu of taking the arrested person immediately before
a magistrate or judge
when a magistrate or judge is not reasonably
available.