H. B. 4318
(By Mr. Speaker, Mr. Kiss, and Delegates
Trump, Amores and Michael)
[Introduced January 30, 2002; referred to the
Committee on the Judiciary then Finance.]
A BILL to amend and reenact section four hundred seven, article
four, chapter sixty-a of the code of West Virginia, one
thousand nine hundred thirty-one, as amended, relating to
permitting the assessment of court costs as a condition of
probation in certain circumstances.
Be it enacted by the Legislature of West Virginia:
That section four hundred seven, article four, chapter sixty-a
of the code of West Virginia, one thousand nine hundred thirty-one,
as amended, be amended and reenacted to read as follows:
ARTICLE 4. OFFENSES AND PENALTIES.
§60A-4-407. Conditional discharge for first offense of possession.
(a) Whenever any person who has not previously been convicted
of any offense under this chapter or under any statute of the United States or of any state relating to narcotic drugs,
marihuana, or stimulant, depressant, or hallucinogenic drugs,
pleads guilty to or is found guilty of possession of a controlled
substance under section 401(c), the court, without entering a
judgment of guilt and with the consent of the accused, may defer
further proceedings and place him or her on probation upon terms
and conditions. Upon violation of a term or condition, the court
may enter an adjudication of guilt and proceed as otherwise
provided. Upon fulfillment of the terms and conditions, the court
shall discharge the person and dismiss the proceedings against him
or her. Discharge and dismissal under this section shall be
without adjudication of guilt and is not a conviction for purposes
of this section or for purposes of disqualifications or
disabilities imposed by law upon conviction of a crime, including
the additional penalties imposed for second or subsequent
convictions under section 408. The effect of
such the
dismissal
and discharge shall be to restore
such the
person in contemplation
of law to the status he or she occupied prior to
such arrest and
trial. No person as to whom such a dismissal and discharge have
been effected shall be thereafter held to be guilty of perjury,
false swearing, or otherwise giving a false statement by reason of his or her failure to disclose or acknowledge such his or her
arrest or trial in response to any inquiry made of him or her for
any purpose. There may be only one discharge and dismissal under
this section with respect to any person.
After a period of not less than six months which shall begin
to run immediately upon the expiration of a term of probation
imposed upon any person under this chapter, such the person may
apply to the court for an order to expunge from all official
records all recordations of his or her arrest, trial, and
conviction, pursuant to this section. If the court determines
after a hearing that such the person during the period of such his
or her probation and during the period of time prior to his or her
application to the court under this section has not been guilty of
any serious or repeated violation of the conditions of such his or
her probation, it shall enter such order the expungement.
(c) The court may order as a condition of the probation
entered pursuant to subsection (a) of this section the payment of
court costs which would be assessed if the person placed on
probation were found guilty of the offense charged. These costs
are to be imposed and distributed as other court costs in
accordance with section two, article three, chapter fifty; section four, article two-a, chapter fourteen; section four, article
twenty-nine, chapter thirty; and sections two, seven and ten,
article five, chapter sixty-two of this code.
Strike-throughs indicate language that would be stricken from
the present law, and underscoring indicates new language that would
be added.