ENGROSSED
COMMITTEE SUBSTITUTE
FOR
Senate Bill No. 388
(By Senators Kessler, Craigo, Wooton, Prezioso, Bowman, Plymale,
Ross, Mitchell, Caldwell, Love, Rowe, Edgell, McCabe and Sharpe)
____________
[Originating in the Committee on the Judiciary;
reported March 9, 2001.]
____________
A BILL to amend article eleven, 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
twenty-two, relating to codifying prosecutorial authority to
enter into preprosecution or pretrial agreements with
individuals; and specifying conditions.
Be it enacted by the Legislature of West Virginia:
That article eleven, 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 twenty-
two, to read as follows:
ARTICLE 11. GENERAL PROVISIONS CONCERNING CRIMES.
§61-11-22. Diversion agreements; conditions; drug court programs.
(a) A prosecuting attorney of any county of this state or a
person acting as a special prosecutor may enter into a diversion
agreement with a person under investigation or charged with an
offense against the state of West Virginia when he or she considers
it to be in the interests of justice. The agreement shall be in
writing and shall be executed in the presence of the person's
attorney, unless the person has executed a waiver of counsel.
(b) Any agreement entered into pursuant to the provisions of
subsection (a) of this section shall be for a period not to exceed
twenty-four months. The length of the period must be specified in
the agreement. The terms of any agreement entered into pursuant to
the provisions of this section may be similar in nature to those
for probationers as set forth in section nine, article twelve,
chapter sixty-two of this code. The agreement may include
supervision by a probation officer of the circuit court with the
consent of the court. An agreement entered into pursuant to this
section must include a provision that the applicable statute of
limitations be tolled for the period of the agreement.
(c) A person who has entered into an agreement for diversion
with a prosecuting attorney and who has successfully complied with
the terms of the agreement is not subject to prosecution for the
offense or offenses described in the agreement or for the underlying conduct or transaction constituting the offense or
offenses described in the agreement unless the agreement includes
a provision that upon compliance the person agrees to plead guilty
or nolo contendere to a specific related offense, with or without
a specific sentencing recommendation by the prosecuting attorney.
______
(NOTE: The purpose of this bill is to codify prosecutorial
authority to enter into preprosecution or pretrial agreements with
individuals.
This section is new; therefore, strike-throughs and
underscoring have been omitted.)