H. B. 2432
(By Delegates Ashley and Greear)
[Introduced January 10, 1996; referred to the
Committee on the Judiciary.]
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 right to bail;
exceptions; review; providing that the right to bail for
offenses punishable by life imprisonment, felonies committed
or attempted by the use of deadly weapon or by the use of
violence to the person and first degree sexual assault shall
be in the discretion of the court.
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 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.
(a) A person arrested for an offense: (1) Punishable by
life imprisonment; or (2) which is a felony 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; or (3) is an offense of first degree sexual
assault as set forth in article eight-b, section three of this
chapter may, in the discretion of the court that will have
jurisdiction to try the offense in the case of subdivision (1)
above, or, in the discretion of the court or magistrate for
offenses set forth in subdivisions (2) and (3) above, be admitted
to bail.
(b) A person convicted for an offense not set forth in
subsection (a) of this section shall be admitted to bail by the
court or magistrate.
(b) (c) Bail may be allowed pending appeal from a
conviction, except that bail shall not be granted: (1) Where the
offense is punishable by life imprisonment; 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 (2) for an offense set forth in subsection
(a) of this section: 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) (d) 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: Present law provides that the granting of bail is
mandatory for persons charged with any offense except for
offenses subject to life imprisonment, bail for which is in the
court's discretion.
This bill makes the granting of pretrial bail discretionary
for persons charged with crimes punishable by life imprisonment,
felonies committed with deadly weapons or violence to the person
and for first degree sexual assault.
Present law prohibits post conviction bail for offenses
subject to life imprisonment and offenses committed with firearms
or violence to a person. This bill adds first degree sexual
assault to the list of offenses for which post conviction bail
cannot be granted.
Strike-throughs indicate language that would be stricken
from the present law, and underscoring indicates new language
that would be added.