H. B. 4432
(By Delegates Stemple, Coleman, Fletcher,
Cann, Kominar, Shelton and Martin)
[Introduced February 7, 2000; referred to the
Committee on the Judiciary.]
A BILL to amend article five, chapter sixty-one of the code of
West Virginia, one thousand nine hundred thirty-one, as
amended, by adding thereto a new section, designated section
seventeen-a, relating to defining the misdemeanor offense of
making a false statement to a law-enforcement officer; and
providing penalties therefor.
Be it enacted by the Legislature of West Virginia:
That article five, chapter sixty-one of the code of West
Virginia, one thousand nine hundred thirty-one, as amended, be
amended by adding thereto a new section, designated section
seventeen-a, to read as follows:
ARTICLE 5. CRIMES AGAINST PUBLIC JUSTICE.
§61-5-17a. Making a false statement to a law-enforcement
officer; penalty.
(a) A person is guilty of making a false statement to a law-enforcement officer when:
(1) Such person, with the intent to impede the
law-enforcement officer in the lawful exercise or discharge of
his or her official duty, knowingly and willfully makes any
false, fictitious or fraudulent statement or representation, or
makes or uses any false writing or document knowing the same to
contain any false, fictitious or fraudulent statement or entry;
(2) Such statement, representation, writing or document is
made or given to the law-enforcement officer when the officer is
in the lawful exercise or discharge of his or her official duties
and is conducting an investigation of an alleged criminal
offense; and
(3) The misrepresentation is material.
(b) The provisions of subsection (a) of this section are
not applicable to an accused in any criminal case who, under the
provisions of article three, section five of the constitution of
the state of West Virginia could not be compelled to be a witness
against himself or herself, unless such accused shall have
voluntarily waived the right to remain silent prior to making or
giving such statement, representation, writing or document.
(c) The provisions of subsection (a) of this section are
not applicable to a person in the relation of husband and wife,
parent or grandparent, child or grandchild, brother or sister, by
consanguinity or affinity, of an accused in any criminal case, when such person, after the commission of an offense, shall aid
or assist the accused to avoid or escape from prosecution or
punishment.
(d) Any person who violates the provisions of this section
shall be guilty of a misdemeanor and, upon conviction thereof,
shall be fined not less than twenty-five dollars nor more than
two hundred dollars, or confined in jail for not more than sixty
days, or both, in the discretion of the court.
(e) For purposes of this section, "law-enforcement officer"
means any duly authorized member of a law-enforcement agency who
is authorized to maintain public peace and order, prevent and
detect crime, make arrests, and enforce the laws of the state or
any county or municipality thereof, other than parking
ordinances. As used in this section, the term "law-enforcement
officer" does not apply to any watchman, college campus security
personnel or special conservation officer, nor does it apply to
members of the West Virginia state police, who are governed by
the provisions of section sixteen, article two, chapter fifteen
of this code.
NOTE: The purpose of this bill is to impose misdemeanor
penalties for interfering with or misleading a law-enforcement
officer.
This section is new; therefore, strike-throughs and
underscoring have been omitted.