ENROLLED
Senate Bill No. 204
(By Senators Kessler, Oliverio, Chafin, Foster, Green,
Hunter, Jenkins, Minard, Stollings, Wells, White, Barnes, Caruth, Deem,
Hall, McKenzie and Yoder)
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[Passed March 10, 2007;
in effect ninety days from passage.]
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AN ACT to amend and reenact §52-1-17 of the Code of West Virginia,
1931, as amended, relating to assessing the cost of petit
juries in magistrate court.
Be it enacted by the Legislature of West Virginia:
That §52-1-17 of the Code of West Virginia, 1931, as amended,
be amended and reenacted to read as follows:
ARTICLE 1. PETIT JURIES.
§52-1-17. Reimbursement of jurors.
(a) A juror shall be paid mileage, at the rate set by the
Secretary of the Department of Administration, for travel expenses
to and from the juror's residence to the courthouse or other place
where the court is convened and shall be reimbursed for other
expenses incurred as a result of his or her required attendance at
sessions of the court at a rate of not less than fifteen dollars
nor more than forty dollars, set at the discretion of the circuit
court or the chief judge of the circuit court, for each day of
required attendance. The reimbursement shall be based on vouchers submitted to the sheriff and shall be paid out of the State
Treasury.
(b) When a jury in any case is placed in the custody of the
sheriff, he or she shall provide the jury with meals and lodging
while they are in the sheriff's custody at a reasonable cost to be
determined by an order of the court. The costs of the meals and
lodging shall be paid out of the State Treasury.
(c) Any time a panel of prospective jurors has been required
to report to court for the selection of a petit jury in any
scheduled matter, the court shall, by specific provision in a court
order, assess a jury cost. In both magistrate and circuit court
cases the jury cost shall be the actual cost of the jurors'
service:
Provided, That the actual cost of a magistrate jury can
only be assessed where the jury request or demand occurs on or
after the first day of July, two thousand seven. For any magistrate
court case in which the jury request or demand occurred prior to
the first day of July, two thousand seven, the jury cost assessed
shall be two hundred dollars. The jury costs shall be assessed
against the parties as follows:
(1) In every criminal case, against the defendant upon
conviction, whether by plea, by bench trial or by jury verdict;
(2) In every civil case, against either party or prorated
against both parties, at the court's discretion, if the parties
settle the case or elect for a bench trial; and
(3) In the discretion of the court, and only when fairness and
justice so require, a circuit court or magistrate court may forego
assessment of the jury fee, but shall set out the reasons for waiving the fee in a written order
: Provided, That a waiver of the
assessment of a jury fee in a case tried before a jury in
magistrate court may only be permitted after the circuit court, or
the chief judge of the circuit court, has reviewed the reasons set
forth in the order by the magistrate and has approved the waiver.
(d)(1) The circuit or magistrate court clerk shall by the
tenth day of the month following the month of collection remit to
the State Treasurer for deposit as described in subdivision (2) of
this subsection all jury costs collected and the clerk and the
clerk's surety are liable for the collection on the clerk's
official bond as for other money coming into the clerk's hands by
virtue of the clerk's office. When the amount of the jury costs
collected in a magistrate court case exceeds two hundred dollars,
the magistrate court clerk shall separately delineate the portion
of the collected jury costs which exceeds two hundred dollars.
(2) The jury costs described in subdivision (1) of this
subsection shall upon receipt by the State Treasurer be deposited
as follows:
(A) All jury costs collected in a magistrate court case which
exceed two hundred dollars shall be deposited in the state's
General Revenue Fund; and
(B) The remaining balance of the collected jury costs shall be
deposited as follows:
(i) One-half shall be deposited into the Parent Education and
Mediation Fund created in section six hundred four, article nine,
chapter forty-eight of this code; and
(ii) One-half shall be deposited into the Domestic Violence Legal Services Fund created in section six hundred three, article
twenty-six of chapter forty-eight of this code.
(e) The sheriff shall pay into the State Treasury all jury
costs received from the court clerks and the sheriff shall be held
to account in the sheriff's annual settlement for all
such the
moneys.