Bill Text: WV SB243 | 2018 | Regular Session | Introduced
Bill Title: Increasing number of Berkeley County magistrates
Spectrum: Slight Partisan Bill (Republican 3-1)
Status: (Introduced - Dead) 2018-01-11 - To Judiciary [SB243 Detail]
Download: West_Virginia-2018-SB243-Introduced.html
WEST virginia Legislature
2018 regular session
Introduced
Senate Bill 243
By Senators Trump, Unger, Blair, and Rucker
[Introduced January 11, 2018; Referred
to the Committee on the Judiciary; and then to the Committee on Finance]
A BILL to amend and reenact §50-1-2 of the Code of West Virginia, 1931, as amended, relating to the number of magistrates in Berkeley County.
Be it enacted by the Legislature of West Virginia:
ARTICLE 1. COURTS AND OFFICERS.
§50-1-2. Number of magistrates.
(a) The number of magistrates to be elected in each county of this state shall be determined in accordance with the provisions of this section.
(b) The number of magistrates serving in each county of the state shall comport with the numbers certified by the Supreme Court of Appeals to the ballot commissioners of each county on or before January 31, 2000, for purposes of the primary and general elections to be held in the year 2000.
(c)(1) The Legislature
finds that there exists among the various counties large and unwarranted
disparities of caseload between the magistrate courts. The Legislature further
finds that the disparity causes an inequity with regard to magistrate court
resources and the ability of the courts to effectively meet the needs of the
citizens of this state who need to avail themselves of this judicial resource.
The Legislature further finds that the system currently in place for allocating
magistrate court resources which has been in effect since the year 1991
produces certain anomalies which cause quadrennial reallocation of magistrate
resources based upon said anomalies which in turn cause a waste of funds,
inequitable workloads, unnecessary shifting of resources and confusion among
the various counties.
(2) The office of
Legislative Services is hereby directed to undertake a comprehensive study of
the magistrate courts of the various counties to determine, among other things,
the work performed by various personnel in the magistrate court system, how
work time is spent by said employees and to report its findings no later than
December 10, 2001, to the joint standing committee on the judiciary.
(3) The division of
criminal justice and highway safety shall, in conjunction with the
administrative office of the West Virginia Supreme Court of Appeals, compile
for consideration by the Legislature statistical information and documentation
regarding caseloads, cases handled per year per magistrate, cases per county,
cases per circuit and provide to the President of the Senate and the Speaker of
the House of Delegates no later than the first day of the 2002 regular session
of the Legislature, their recommendations for improving the magistrate process,
better utilization of court resources, including, but not limited to,
categorizing the various types of cases heard in magistrate court and
developing a new weighted formula to evaluate types of cases by the amount of time necessary to bring said cases to a
resolution
(d) (c) Notwithstanding the other provisions of
this section, the allowable number of magistrates serving the counties of Berkeley
and Nicholas on March 1, 2001, shall be increased by one in each county,
effective July 1, 2001. The initial appointment to the position shall be made
in accordance with the provisions of §50-1-6 of this code.
(d) Notwithstanding the other provisions of this section, the allowable number of magistrates serving the county of Berkeley on March 1, 2018, shall be increased by two, effective July 1, 2018. The initial appointment to the position shall be made in accordance with the provisions of §50-1-6 of this code.
NOTE: The purpose of this bill is to increase by two the number of magistrates serving the Berkeley County.
Strike-throughs indicate language that would be stricken from a heading or the present law and underscoring indicates new language that would be added.
