Senate Bill No. 33
(By Senator Oliverio)
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[Introduced January 11, 1996 ; referred to the Committee
on Health and Human Resources; and then to the Committee on the
Judiciary.]
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A BILL to amend and reenact section fourteen, article one,
chapter fifty of the code of West Virginia, one thousand
nine hundred thirty-one, as amended, relating to execution
of civil and criminal process by the sheriff; sheriff or
designated deputy to serve as bailiff of magistrate court;
enforcement; and service of civil process by person other
than sheriff or deputy limited to summonses, complaints,
petitions, subpoenas and subpoenas duces tecum.
Be it enacted by the Legislature of West Virginia:
That section fourteen, article one, chapter fifty of the
code of West Virginia, one thousand nine hundred thirty-one, as
amended, be amended and reenacted to read as follows:
ARTICLE 1. COURTS AND OFFICERS.
§50-1-14. Duties of sheriff; service of process; bailiff.
(a) It shall be the duty of each sheriff to execute all
civil and criminal process from any magistrate court which may be
directed to such sheriff. Process shall be served in the same
manner as provided by law for process from circuit courts.
Subject to the supervision of the chief justice of the
supreme court of appeals or of the judge of the circuit court, or
the chief judge thereof if there is more than one judge of the
circuit court, it shall be the duty of the sheriff, or his or her
designated deputy, to serve as bailiff of a magistrate court upon
the request of the magistrate. Such service shall also be
subject to such administrative rules as may be promulgated by the
supreme court of appeals. A writ of mandamus shall lie on behalf
of a magistrate to enforce the provisions of this section.
(b) The sheriff of any county may employ, by and with the
consent of the county commission, one or more persons whose sole
duties shall be the service of civil process limited to
summonses, complaints and petitions, and the service of subpoenas
and subpoenas duces tecum. Any such person shall may not be
considered a deputy or deputy sheriff within the meaning of subdivision (2), subsection (a), section two, article fourteen,
chapter seven of this code, nor shall may any such person be
authorized to carry deadly weapons in the performance of his or
her duties.
NOTE: The purpose of this bill is to limit service of civil
process by persons other than sheriffs or deputies to summonses,
complaints and petitions.
Strike-throughs indicate language that would be stricken
from the present law, and underscoring indicates new language
that would be added.