West Virginia Code 20-7-4a – Arrest procedure
(a) Whenever a person is arrested for any violation of this chapter punishable as a misdemeanor and, such person is not immediately taken before a magistrate or court, the arresting officer shall prepare written notice to appear in court containing the name, address, date of birth, sex, hunting or fishing license number, if any, and social security number of such person, serial number or description of any property found in the possession of the person arrested and susceptible to use in committing the offense charged, if any, the offense charged and the time and place, when and where such person shall appear in court.
Terms Used In West Virginia Code 20-7-4a
- Arrest: Taking physical custody of a person by lawful authority.
- Jurisdiction: (1) The legal authority of a court to hear and decide a case. Concurrent jurisdiction exists when two courts have simultaneous responsibility for the same case. (2) The geographic area over which the court has authority to decide cases.
- Offense: includes every act or omission for which a fine, forfeiture, or punishment is imposed by law. See West Virginia Code 2-2-10
- Person: except as otherwise defined elsewhere in this chapter, means the plural "persons" and shall include individuals, partnerships, corporations or other legal entities. See West Virginia Code 20-1-2
(b) The time specified in said notice to appear must be at least five days after such arrest unless the person arrested demands an earlier hearing.
(c) The place specified in said notice to appear must be before a magistrate or court within the county in which the offense charged is alleged to have been committed and who has jurisdiction of such offense.
(d) The arrested person in order to secure release, as provided in this section, must accept a copy of the written notice prepared by the arresting officer. The officer shall deliver a copy of the notice to the person promising to appear. Thereupon, said officer shall forthwith release the person arrested from custody.