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The days of giving a little break to West Virginia violators are over.
WV Magistrates have now been told they will continue to assess more than one court cost on traffic tickets that list multiple infractions, an order issued by the West Virginia Supreme Court of Appeals.
The issue was recently discussed at a meeting of the West Virginia Magistrate Education Committee in Charleston.
Court costs, which are set by statute at $160.50, sparked controversy this summer when court administrators took measures to ensure that magistrates statewide were consistently collecting court costs.
Many WV magistrates resisted the order, saying they had traditionally assessed only one court cost per individual per court visit, and would continue to do so.
"A 1976 state law requires magistrates to impose court costs for each criminal conviction, no matter whether the person pleads guilty or is found guilty in a trial," according to the Supreme Court's release states.
"In 1998 the Supreme Court Administrative Office issued a memorandum that said court costs should be imposed once per 'charging document,' or citation. So if, for example, a person was convicted of speeding and any other violation, magistrates imposed fines for each charge and imposed court costs only once."
The issue was raised again in 1999, when Supreme Court administrative director Steve Canterbury was director of the Regional Jail and Correctional Facility Authority. He sued Magistrate Carl "Worthy" Paul for willfully refusing to collect court costs in cases resolved by pleas.
The Supreme Court ruled then that court costs should be collected for every conviction, regardless of whether the convictions came from the same traffic ticket.
"The problem was that the Administrative Office failed to educate the magistrates about the 1999 decision," Canterbury said in the release.
Now they're educated.
"We want to do this exactly as prescribed by the Legislature," said Jefferson countian Gail Boober, "This issue has now been laid to rest and magistrates across the state are collecting court costs as the Legislature directed."
By statute, the $160.50 is divided into the following funds: $48.50 to the Regional Jail Per Diem Fee (which goes to the sheriff of each county); $40 to the Regional Jail Authority; $30 to the Regional Jail Operation Fund; $10 to the Magistrate Court Fund, $10 to the Crime Victim Compensation Fund; $10 to the Community Correction Fund; $5 to the Court Security Fund; $5 to the Courthouse Improvement Fund, and $2 to the Law Enforcement Compensation Fund (which goes toward training costs).
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