West Virginia Code 29-2-3 – Unlawful interference with signal, monument or building; penalty
If any person or persons shall wilfully injure, deface or remove any signal, monument, or building, or any appendage thereto, erected, used or constructed under and by virtue of the act of Congress aforesaid, or any act or acts supplemental thereto, such persons so offending shall severally forfeit and pay the sum of $50 with the costs of suit, to be sued for and recovered by any person who shall first prosecute the same before any justice of the peace of the county where the person so offending may reside, and shall also be liable to pay the amount of damages thereby sustained, to be recovered with the cost of the suit in an action on the case, in the name and for the use of the United States of America, in any court of competent jurisdiction.
Terms Used In West Virginia Code 29-2-3
- Damages: Money paid by defendants to successful plaintiffs in civil cases to compensate the plaintiffs for their injuries.
- 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.
- Prosecute: To charge someone with a crime. A prosecutor tries a criminal case on behalf of the government.