Domestic Abuse Laws
West Virginia
2001

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West Virginia Statutes:

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§61-2-28. Domestic violence -- Criminal acts.

(a) Domestic battery. -- If any family or household member unlawfully and intentionally makes physical contact of an insulting or provoking nature with another family or household member or unlawfully and intentionally causes physical harm to another family or household member, he or she is guilty of a misdemeanor, and, upon conviction thereof, shall be confined in jail for not more than twelve months, or fined not more than five hundred dollars, or both fined and confined.

(b) Domestic assault. -- If any family or household member unlawfully attempts to commit a violent injury of another family or household member or unlawfully commits an act which places another family or household member in reasonable apprehension of immediately receiving a violent injury, he or she is guilty of a misdemeanor, and, upon conviction thereof, shall be confined in jail for not more than six months, or fined not more than one hundred dollars, or both fined and confined.

(c) Third offense. -- A family or household member who has been convicted of a third or subsequent domestic battery and/or domestic assault as defined in this section, assault and/or battery as defined in section nine of this article when committed against a family or household member, or any combination of such offenses, is guilty of a felony if such offense occurs within ten years of a prior conviction of any of these offenses, and, upon conviction thereof, shall be confined in the penitentiary not less than one nor more than five years and fined not exceeding five hundred dollars.

(d) For the purposes of this section, the term "family or household member" means "family or household member" as defined in section two, article two-a, chapter forty-eight of this code.

(e) A person charged with violation of this section may not also be charged with a violation of subsection (b) or (c), section nine of this article.

(f) No law-enforcement officer shall be subject to any civil or criminal action for false arrest or unlawful detention for affecting an arrest pursuant to this section or pursuant to section fourteen, article two-a, chapter forty-eight of this code.

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§48-2A-1. Findings and purposes.

(a) The Legislature of this state finds that:

(1) No one should be a victim of domestic or family violence. All people have a right to be safe in their homes and in their families;

(2) Children are often physically assaulted or witness violence against one of their parents or other family or household members, violence which too often ultimately results in death. These children may suffer deep and lasting emotional harm from victimization and from exposure to domestic or family violence;

(3) Domestic or family violence is a major health and law-enforcement problem in this state with enormous costs to the state in both dollars and human lives. It affects people of all racial and ethnic backgrounds and all socioeconomic classes; and

(4) Domestic or family violence can be deterred, prevented or reduced by legal intervention that treats this problem with the seriousness that it deserves.

(b) This article shall be liberally construed and applied to promote the following purposes:

(1) To assure victims of domestic or family violence the maximum protection from abuse that the law can provide;

(2) To create a speedy remedy to discourage violence against family or household members with whom the perpetrator of domestic or family violence has continuing contact;

(3) To expand the ability of law-enforcement officers to assist victims, to enforce the domestic or family violence law more effectively, and to prevent further abuse;

(4) To facilitate equal enforcement of criminal law by deterring and punishing violence against family and household members as diligently as violence committed against strangers;

(5) To recognize that domestic or family violence constitutes serious criminal behavior with potentially tragic results and that it will no longer be excused or tolerated; and

(6) To recognize that the existence of a former or on-going familial or other relationship should not serve to excuse, explain or mitigate acts of domestic or family violence which are otherwise punishable as crimes under the laws of this state.

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§48-2A-2. Definitions.

As used in this article, unless the context clearly requires otherwise:

(a) "Family violence", "domestic violence", "domestic or family violence" or "abuse" means the occurrence of one or more of the following acts between family or household members, as that term is defined in subsection (b) of this section:

(1) Attempting to cause or intentionally, knowingly or recklessly causing physical harm to another with or without dangerous or deadly weapons;

(2) Placing another in reasonable apprehension of physical harm;

(3) Creating fear of physical harm by harassment, psychological abuse or threatening acts;

(4) Committing either sexual assault or sexual abuse as those terms are defined in articles eight-b and eight-d, chapter sixty-one of this code; and

(5) Holding, confining, detaining or abducting another person against that person's will.

(b) "Family or household members" means persons who:

(1) Are or were married to each other;

(2) Are or were living together as spouses;

(3) Are or were sexual or intimate partners;

(4) Are or were dating: Provided, That a casual acquaintance or ordinary fraternization between persons in a business or social context does not establish a dating relationship;

(5) Are or were residing together in the same household;

(6) Are or were related by marriage or related by consanguinity within the second degree;

(7) Have a child in common, regardless of whether they have ever married or lived together; or

(8) Are the father, stepfather, mother, stepmother, brother or sister of a family or household member described in subdivisions (1) through (7) of this subsection.

(c) "Program for victims of domestic or family violence" means a licensed program for victims of domestic or family violence and their children, which program provides advocacy, shelter, crisis intervention, social services, treatment, counseling, education or training.

(d) "Program of intervention for perpetrators" means a licensed program, where available, or if no licensed program is available, a program that:

(1) Accepts perpetrators of domestic or family violence into educational intervention groups or counseling pursuant to a court order; or

(2) Offers educational intervention groups to perpetrators of domestic or family violence.

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§48-2A-3. Jurisdiction; venue; effect of petitioner's leaving residence; priority of petitions filed under this article; who may file; full faith and credit; process.

(a) Jurisdiction. -- Circuit courts and magistrate courts, as constituted under chapter fifty of this code, have concurrent jurisdiction over proceedings under this article: Provided, That on and after the first day of April, two thousand one, magistrate court jurisdiction shall be limited, and thereafter, full hearings wherein a protective order is sought shall be heard before a circuit judge or a family law master.

(b) Venue. -- The action may be heard in the county in which the domestic or family violence occurred, in the county in which the respondent is living or in the county in which the petitioner is living, either temporarily or permanently. If the parties are married to each other, the action may also be brought in the county in which an action for divorce between the parties may be brought as provided by section eight, article two of this chapter.

(c) Petitioner's rights. -- The petitioner's right to relief under this article shall not be affected by his or her leaving a residence or household to avoid further abuse.

(d) Priority of petitions. -- Any petition filed under the provisions of this article shall be given priority over any other civil action before the court, except actions in which trial is in progress, and shall be docketed immediately upon filing. Any appeal to the circuit court of a magistrate's judgment on a petition for relief under this article shall be heard within ten working days of the filing of the appeal.

(e) Full faith and credit. -- Any protective order issued pursuant to this article shall be effective throughout the state in every county. Any protective order issued by any other state, territory or possession of the United States, Puerto Rico, the District of Columbia or Indian tribe shall be accorded full faith and credit and enforced as if it were an order of this state whether or not such relief is available in this state. A protective order from another jurisdiction is presumed to be valid if the order appears authentic on its face and shall be enforced in this state. If the validity of the order is contested, the court or law enforcement to which the order is presented shall, prior to the full hearing, determine the existence, validity and terms of such order in the issuing jurisdiction. A protective order from another jurisdiction may be enforced even if the order is not entered into the state law-enforcement information system described by section twelve of this article.

(f) Service by publication. -- A protective order may be served on the respondent by means of a Class I legal advertisement published notice, with the publication area being the county in which the respondent resides, published in accordance with the provisions of section two, article three, chapter fifty-nine of this code if: (i) The petitioner files an affidavit with the court stating that an attempt at personal service pursuant to rule four of the West Virginia rules of civil procedure has been unsuccessful or evidence is adduced at the hearing for the protective order that the respondent has left the state of West Virginia; and (ii) a copy of the order is mailed by certified or registered mail to the respondent at the respondent's last known residence and returned undelivered.

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§48-2A-4. Commencement of proceeding; forms; counterclaim; accompanying persons.

(a) No person shall be refused the right to file a petition under the provisions of this article. No person shall be denied relief under the provisions of this article if she or he presents facts sufficient under the provisions of this article for the relief sought. The petition shall be verified.

A petition for a protective order may be filed by:

(1) A person seeking relief under this article for herself or himself;

(2) An adult family or household member for the protection of the victim or for any family or household member who is a minor child or physically or mentally incapacitated to the extent that he or she cannot file on his or her own behalf, or

(3) A person who reported or was a witness to domestic or family violence and who, as a result, has been abused, threatened, harassed or who has been the subject of other actions intended to intimidate the person.

(b) The West Virginia supreme court of appeals shall prescribe forms which are necessary and convenient for proceedings pursuant to this article, and the court shall distribute such forms to the clerk of the circuit court and magistrate court of each county within the state.

(c) The respondent named in any petition alleging domestic or family violence may file a counterclaim or raise any affirmative defenses.

(d) No person accompanying a person who is seeking to file a petition under the provisions of this article is precluded from being present if his or her presence is desired by the person seeking a petition unless the person's behavior is disruptive to the proceeding.

(e) No fees shall be charged for the filing of petitions or other papers, service of petitions or orders, copies of orders, or other costs for services provided by, or associated with, any proceedings under this article until the matter is brought before the court for final resolution.

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§48-2A-5. Temporary orders of court; hearings; persons present.

(a) Upon filing of a verified petition under this article, the court may enter such temporary orders as it may deem necessary to protect the petitioner or minor children from domestic or family violence and, upon good cause shown, may do so ex parte without the necessity of bond being given by the petitioner. Clear and convincing evidence of immediate and present danger of abuse to the petitioner or minor children shall constitute good cause for the issuance of an ex parte order pursuant to this section. If the respondent is not present at the proceeding, the petitioner or the petitioner's legal representative shall certify to the court, in writing, the efforts which have been made to give notice to the respondent or just cause why notice should not be required. Copies of medical reports or records may be admitted into evidence to the same extent as though the original thereof. The custodian of such records shall not be required to be present to authenticate such records for any proceeding held pursuant to this subsection. Following such proceeding, the court shall order a copy of the petition to be served immediately upon the respondent, together with a copy of any temporary order issued pursuant to the proceedings, notice setting forth the time and place of the full hearing and a statement of the right of the respondent to be present and to be represented by counsel. Copies of any order made under the provisions of this section shall also be issued to the petitioner and any law-enforcement agency having jurisdiction to enforce the order, including the city police, the county sheriff's office and local office of the state police within twenty-four hours of the entry of the order. A temporary protective order shall remain effective until such time as a hearing is held and shall be in full force and effect in every county in this state.

(b) Within five days following the issuance of the court's temporary order, a full hearing shall be held at which the petitioner must prove the allegation of domestic or family violence, or that he or she reported or witnessed domestic violence against another and has, as a result, been abused, threatened, harassed or has been the subject of other actions to attempt to intimidate him or her, by a preponderance of the evidence, or such petition shall be dismissed. If the respondent has not been served with notice of the temporary order, the hearing may be continued in order to permit service to be effected. The failure to obtain service upon the respondent does not constitute a basis for dismissing the petition. Copies of medical reports may be admitted into evidence to the same extent as though the original thereof, upon proper authentication, by the custodian of such records.

(c) No person requested by a party to be present during a hearing held under the provisions of this article shall be precluded from being present unless such person is to be a witness in the proceeding and a motion for sequestration has been made and such motion has been granted. A person found by the court to be disruptive may be precluded from being present.

(d) If a hearing is continued, the court may make or extend such temporary orders as it deems necessary.

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§48-2A-6. Protective orders.

(a) At the conclusion of the hearing, if the petitioner has proven the allegations of domestic or family violence, or that he or she reported or witnessed domestic or family violence against another and has, as a result, been abused, threatened, harassed or has been the subject of other actions to attempt to intimidate him or her, by a preponderance of the evidence, the court shall issue a protective order directing the respondent to refrain from abusing, harassing, stalking, threatening or otherwise intimidating the petitioner, the person who reported or witnessed family or domestic violence or the minor children, or engaging in other conduct that would place the petitioner, the person who reported or witnessed family or domestic violence or the minor children in reasonable fear of bodily injury. The court’s order shall inform the respondent that he or she is prohibited from possessing any firearm or ammunition, notwithstanding the fact that the respondent may have a valid license to possess a firearm, and that possession of a firearm or ammunition while subject to the court’s protective order is a criminal offense under federal law. Where the respondent is present at the hearing and elects not to contest the allegations of domestic or family violence or does not contest the relief sought, the petitioner is not required to adduce evidence and prove the allegations of domestic or family violence and the court may directly address the issues of the relief requested.

(b) Where the petitioner is the victim of domestic or family violence, the terms of a protective order may include:

(1) Granting possession to the petitioner of the residence or household jointly resided in at the time the abuse occurred;

(2) Awarding temporary custody of or establishing temporary visitation rights with regard to minor children named in the order;

(3) Establishing terms of temporary visitation with regard to the minor children named in the order including, but not limited to, requiring third party supervision of visitations if necessary to protect the petitioner and/or the minor children;

(4) Ordering the noncustodial parent to pay to the caretaker parent a sum for temporary support and maintenance of the petitioner and children, if any;

(5) Ordering the respondent to pay to the petitioner a sum for temporary support and maintenance of the petitioner, where appropriate;

(6) Ordering the respondent to refrain from entering the school, business or place of employment of the petitioner or household or family members for the purpose of violating the protective order;

(7) Ordering the respondent to participate in an intervention program for perpetrators;

(8) Ordering the respondent to refrain from contacting, telephoning, communicating, harassing or verbally abusing the petitioner;

(9) Providing for either party to obtain personal property or other items from a location, including granting temporary possession of motor vehicles owned by either or both of the parties, and providing for the safety of the parties while this occurs, including ordering a law-enforcement officer to accompany one or both of the parties;

(10) Ordering the respondent to reimburse the petitioner or other person for any expenses incurred as a result of the domestic or family violence, including, but not limited to, medical expenses, transportation and shelter; and

(11) Ordering the petitioner and respondent to refrain from transferring, conveying, alienating, encumbering, or otherwise dealing with property which could otherwise be subject to the jurisdiction of the court or another court in an action for divorce or support, partition or in any other action affecting their interests in property.

(c) Where the petitioner or other person to be protected reported or was a witness to the family or domestic violence, the terms of a protective order may include:

(1) Ordering the respondent to refrain from abusing, contacting, telephoning, communicating, harassing, verbally abusing or otherwise intimidating the petitioner or other person to be protected; and

(2) Ordering the respondent to refrain from entering the school, business or place of employment of the petitioner or other person to be protected, for the purpose of violating the protective order.

(d) Except as otherwise provided by subsection (d), section three-a of this article, a protective order issued by a magistrate, family law master or circuit judge pursuant to this article or subsection (a), section thirteen, article two of this chapter, is effective for either ninety days or one hundred eighty days, in the discretion of the court. If the court enters an order for a period of ninety days, upon receipt of a written request from the petitioner prior to the expiration of the ninety-day period, the court shall extend its order for an additional ninety-day period.

(e) To be effective, a written request to extend an order from ninety days to one hundred eighty days must be submitted to the court prior to the expiration of the original ninety-day period. A notice of the extension shall be sent by the clerk of the court to the respondent by first class mail, addressed to the last known address of the respondent as indicated by the court’s case filings. The extension of time is effective upon mailing of the notice.

(f) The court may amend the terms of a protective order at any time upon subsequent petition filed by either party. The protective order shall be in full force and effect in every county of this state and shall so state.

(g) No order entered pursuant to this article may in any manner affect title to any real property, except as provided in section four, article five, chapter forty-eight-a of this code for past-due child support. The personal property of any person ordered to pay child support pursuant to the provisions of this article is subject to a lien for past-due child support as provided in section two, article five, chapter forty-eight-a of this code.

(h) Certified copies of any order or extension notice made under the provisions of this section shall be issued to the petitioner, the respondent and any law-enforcement agency having jurisdiction to enforce the order, including the city police, the county sheriff’s office or local office of the West Virginia state police within twenty-four hours of the entry of the order.

(i) Mutual protective orders are prohibited unless both parties have filed a petition under section four of this article and have proven the allegations of domestic or family violence by a preponderance of the evidence. This shall not prevent other persons, including the respondent, from filing a separate petition. The court may consolidate two or more petitions if he or she determines that consolidation will further the interest of justice and judicial economy. The court shall enter a separate order for each petition filed.

(j) Any protective order issued pursuant to this article shall contain on its face the following statement, printed in bold-faced type or in capital letters:

"VIOLATION OF THIS ORDER MAY BE PUNISHED BY CONFINEMENT IN A REGIONAL OR COUNTY JAIL FOR AS LONG AS ONE YEAR AND BY A FINE OF AS MUCH AS TWO THOUSAND DOLLARS."

(k) Any person against whom a protective order is issued after a full hearing pursuant to this section shall be assessed a fee of twenty-five dollars. Such fee shall be paid to the family court fund established pursuant to section twenty-three, article four, chapter forty-eight-a of this code.

(l) The supreme court of appeals shall promulgate a procedural rule to establish time-keeping requirements for magistrates, magistrate court clerks, and magistrate assistants so as to assure the maximum funding of incentive payments, grants and other funding sources available to the state for the processing of cases filed for the establishment of temporary orders of child support pursuant to the provisions of this section.

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§48-2A-7. Conditions of visitation in cases involving domestic or family violence.

(a) A court may award visitation of a child by a parent who has committed domestic or family violence only if the court finds that adequate provision for the safety of the child and the petitioner can be made.

(b) In a visitation order, a court may:

(1) Order an exchange of a child to occur in a protected setting;

(2) Order that supervision be provided by another person or agency;

(3) Order the perpetrator of domestic or family violence to attend and complete, to the satisfaction of the court, a program of intervention for perpetrators as a condition of the visitation;

(4) Order the perpetrator of domestic or family violence to abstain from possession or consumption of alcohol or controlled substances during the visitation and for the twelve hours that precede the visitation;

(5) Order the perpetrator of domestic or family violence to pay the costs of supervised visitation, if any;

(6) Prohibit overnight visitation;

(7) Impose any other condition that the court considers necessary to provide for the safety of the child, the petitioner or any other family or household member.

(c) Regardless of whether visitation is allowed, the court may order that the address of the child and the petitioner be kept confidential.

(d) If a court allows a family or household member to supervise visitation, the court shall establish conditions to be followed during visitation.

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§48-2A-9. Law enforcement response to domestic or family violence.

(a) Notwithstanding any other provision of this code to the contrary, all law-enforcement officers are hereby authorized to serve all pleadings and orders filed or entered pursuant to this article on Sundays and legal holidays. No law-enforcement officer shall refuse to serve any pleadings or orders entered pursuant to this article.

(b) Any law-enforcement officer responding to an alleged incident of domestic or family violence shall inform the parties thereto of the availability of the possible remedies provided by this article and the possible applicability of the criminal laws of this state. Any law-enforcement officer investigating an alleged incident of domestic or family violence shall advise the victim of such violence of the availability of the family protection shelter to which such person may be admitted.

(c) Any law-enforcement officer responding to an alleged incident of domestic or family violence shall, in addition to providing the information required in subsection (a) of this section, provide transportation for or facilitate transportation of the victim or victims, upon the request of such victim or victims, to a shelter or the appropriate court where there is reasonable cause to believe that such victim or victims have suffered or are likely to suffer physical injury.

(d) Each law-enforcement agency shall maintain records on all incidents of domestic or family violence reported to it and shall monthly make and deliver to the West Virginia state police a report on a form prescribed by the state police, listing all such incidents of domestic or family violence. Such reports shall include:

(1) The age and sex of the victim and the perpetrator of domestic or family violence;

(2) The relationship between the parties;

(3) The type and extent of abuse;

(4) The number and type of weapons involved;

(5) Whether the law-enforcement agency responded to the complaint and if so, the time involved, the action taken and the time lapse between the agency's action and the victim’s request for assistance;

(6) Whether any prior reports have been made, received or filed regarding domestic or family violence on any prior occasion and if so, the number of such prior reports; and

(7) The effective dates and terms of any protective order issued prior to or following the incident to protect the victim: Provided, That no information which will permit the identification of the parties involved in any incident of domestic or family violence shall be included in such report.

(e) The West Virginia state police shall tabulate and analyze any statistical data derived from the reports made by law-enforcement agencies pursuant to this section and publish a statistical compilation in its annual uniform crime report, as provided for in section twenty-four, article two, chapter fifteen of this code. The statistical compilation shall include, but is not limited to, the following:

(1) The number of domestic or family violence complaints received;

(2) The number of complaints investigated;

(3) The number of complaints received from alleged victims of each sex;

(4) The average time lapse in responding to such complaints;

(5) The number of complaints received from alleged victims who have filed such complaints on prior occasions;

(6) The number of aggravated assaults and homicides resulting from such repeat incidents;

(7) The type of police action taken in disposition of the cases; and

(8) The number of alleged violations of protective orders.

(f) As used in this section, the terms "abuse", "family violence" and "family or household members" shall have the meanings given them in section two of this article; and the term "law-enforcement agency" shall include the West Virginia department of health and human resources in those instances of child abuse reported to the department which are not otherwise reported to any other law-enforcement agency.

(g) The governor's committee on crime, delinquency and correction shall develop and promulgate rules for state, county and municipal law-enforcement officers and law-enforcement agencies with regard to domestic violence. The notice of the public hearing on the rules shall be published before the first day of July, one thousand nine hundred ninety-one. Prior to the publication of the proposed rules, the governor's committee on crime, delinquency and correction shall convene a meeting or meetings of an advisory committee to assist in the development of the rules. The advisory committee shall be composed of persons invited by the committee to represent state, county and local law-enforcement agencies and officers, to represent magistrates and court officials, to represent victims of domestic or family violence, to represent shelters receiving funding pursuant to article two-c of this chapter and to represent other persons or organizations who, in the discretion of the committee, have an interest in the rules. The rules and the revisions thereof as provided in this section shall be promulgated as legislative rules in accordance with chapter twenty-nine-a of this code. Following the promulgation of said rules, the committee shall meet at least annually to review the rules and to propose revisions as a result of changes in law or policy.

(h) Nothing in this section shall be construed to authorize the inclusion of information contained in a report of an incident of abuse in any local, state, interstate, national or international systems of criminal identification pursuant to section twenty-four, article two, chapter fifteen of this code: Provided, That nothing in this section shall prohibit the West Virginia state police from processing information through its criminal identification bureau with respect to any actual charge or conviction of a crime.

(i) All law-enforcement officers shall receive training relating to response to calls involving domestic or family violence by the first day of October, one thousand nine hundred ninety-three.

(j) Two years after the entry of a final protective order, the circuit court, may, upon motion, order that the protective order and references to the order be purged from the file maintained by any law-enforcement agency and may further order that the file maintained by the court be sealed and not opened except upon order of the court when such is in the interest of justice.

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§48-2A-10. Filing of orders with law-enforcement agency.

Upon entry of an order pursuant to section five or six of this article, or an order entered pursuant to section thirteen, article two of this chapter granting relief provided for by this article, a copy of the order shall, no later than the close of the next business day, be transmitted by the court or the clerk of the court to a local office of the city police, the county sheriff and the West Virginia state police, where it shall be placed in a confidential file, with access provided only to the law-enforcement agency and the respondent named on the order. A sworn affidavit may be executed by a party who has been awarded exclusive possession of the residence or household, pursuant to an order entered under subsection (b), section six of this article, and shall be delivered to such law-enforcement agencies simultaneously with any order, giving his or her consent for a law-enforcement officer to enter the residence or household, without a warrant, to enforce the protective order or temporary order. Orders shall be promptly served upon the respondent. Failure to serve a protective order does not stay the effect of a valid order if the respondent has actual notice of the existence and contents of the order.

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§48-2A-10b. Violations of protective orders; criminal complaints.

(a) When a respondent abuses the petitioner and/or minor children or is physically present at any location in knowing and willful violation of the terms of a temporary or final protective order issued by a magistrate, a circuit court judge or a family law master under the provisions of this article or subdivision (12), subsection (a), section thirteen, article two of this chapter granting the relief pursuant to the provisions of this article, any person authorized to file a petition pursuant to the provisions of section four of this article or the legal guardian or guardian ad litem may file a petition for civil contempt as set forth in section ten-a of this article.

(b) When any such violation of a valid order has occurred, the petitioner may file a criminal complaint. If the court finds probable cause upon the complaint, the court shall issue a warrant for arrest of the person charged.

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§48-2A-10c. Arrest for violations of protective orders.

(a) When a law-enforcement officer observes any respondent abuse the petitioner and/or minor children or the respondent's physical presence at any location in knowing and willful violation of the terms of a temporary or final protective order issued by a magistrate, a circuit court judge or a family law master under the provisions of this article or subdivision (12), subsection (a), section thirteen, article two of this chapter granting the relief pursuant to the provisions of this article, he or she shall immediately arrest the respondent.

(b) When a family or household member is alleged to have committed a violation of the provisions of section ten-d of this article, a law-enforcement officer may arrest the perpetrator for said offense where:

(1) The law-enforcement officer has observed credible corroborative evidence, as defined in subsection (b), section fourteen of this article, that the offense has occurred; and

(2) The law-enforcement officer has received, from the victim or a witness, a verbal or written allegation of the facts constituting a violation of section ten-d of this article; or

(3) The law-enforcement officer has observed credible evidence that the accused committed the offense.

(c) Any person who observes a violation of a protective order as described in this section, or the victim of such abuse or unlawful presence, may call a local law-enforcement agency, which shall verify the existence of a current order, and shall direct a law-enforcement officer to promptly investigate the alleged violation.

(d) Where there is an arrest, the officer shall take the arrested person before a court or a magistrate and, upon a finding of probable cause to believe a violation of an order as set forth in this section has occurred, the court or magistrate shall set a time and place for a hearing in accordance with the West Virginia rules of criminal procedure.

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§48-2A-10d. Misdemeanor offenses for violation of protective order, repeat offenses, penalties.

(a) A respondent who abuses the petitioner and/or minor children or who is physically present at any location in knowing and willful violation of the terms of a temporary or final protective order issued by a magistrate, a circuit court judge or a family law master under the provisions of this article or subdivision (12), subsection (a), section thirteen, article two of this chapter granting the relief pursuant to the provisions of this article, is guilty of a misdemeanor and, upon conviction thereof, shall be confined in the county or regional jail for a period of not less than one day nor more than one year, which jail term shall include actual confinement of not less than twenty-four hours, and shall be fined not less than two hundred fifty dollars nor more than two thousand dollars.

(b) When a respondent previously convicted of the offense described in subsection (a) of this section abuses the petitioner and/or minor children or is physically present at any location in knowing and willful violation of the terms of a temporary or final protective order issued under the provisions of this article, the respondent is guilty of a misdemeanor and, upon conviction thereof, shall be imprisoned in the county or regional jail for not less than three months nor more than one year, which jail term shall include actual confinement of not less than twenty-four hours, and fined not less than five hundred dollars nor more than three thousand dollars, or both.

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§48-2A-11. Appeals.

Any party to a temporary or final protective order may as a matter of right present a petition for appeal, within five days of entry of the order in magistrate court, to the circuit court. The order shall remain in effect pending an appeal unless stayed by the circuit court. No bond shall be required for any appeal under this section. In any case where a petition for appeal is filed under this section, the petition shall be heard de novo by the circuit court within ten days from the filing of the petition for appeal.

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§48-2A-12. Registration of order.

(a) The West Virginia state police shall maintain a registry in which it shall enter certified copies of orders entered by courts from every county in this state pursuant to the provisions of this article, or from other jurisdictions pursuant to their laws: Provided, That the provisions of this subsection are not effective until a central automated record system is developed.

(b) A petitioner who obtains a protective order pursuant to this article, or from another jurisdiction pursuant to its law, may register that order in any county within this state where the petitioner believes enforcement may be necessary.

(c) A protective order may be registered by the petitioner in a county other than the issuing county by obtaining a copy of the order of the issuing court, certified by the clerk of that court, and presenting that certified order to the local office of the West Virginia state police where the order is to be registered.

(d) Upon receipt of a certified order for registration, the local office of the state police shall provide certified copies to any law-enforcement agency within its jurisdiction, including the city police and the county sheriff's office.

(e) Nothing in this section precludes the enforcement of an order in a county other than the county or jurisdiction in which the order was issued, if the petitioner has not registered the order in the county in which an alleged violation of the order occurs.

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§48-2A-14. Arrest in domestic violence matters; conditions.

(a) Notwithstanding any provision of this code to the contrary, if a person is alleged to have committed a violation of the provisions of subsection (a) or (b), section twenty-eight, article two, chapter sixty-one of this code against a family or household member, in addition to any other authority to arrest granted by this code, a law-enforcement officer has authority to arrest that person without first obtaining a warrant if:

(1) The law-enforcement officer has observed credible corroborative evidence that an offense has occurred; and either:

(2) The law-enforcement officer has received, from the victim or a witness, an oral or written allegation of facts constituting a violation of section twenty-eight, article two, chapter sixty-one of this code; or

(3) The law-enforcement officer has observed credible evidence that the accused committed the offense.

(b) For purposes of this section, credible corroborative evidence means evidence that is worthy of belief and corresponds to the allegations of one or more elements of the offense and may include, but is not limited to, the following:

(1) Condition of the alleged victim. -- One or more contusions, scratches, cuts, abrasions, or swellings; missing hair; torn clothing or clothing in disarray consistent with a struggle; observable difficulty in breathing or breathlessness consistent with the effects of choking or a body blow; observable difficulty in movement consistent with the effects of a body blow or other unlawful physical contact.

(2) Condition of the accused. -- Physical injury or other conditions similar to those set out for the condition of the victim which are consistent with the alleged offense or alleged acts of self-defense by the victim.

(3) Condition of the scene. -- Damaged premises or furnishings; disarray or misplaced objects consistent with the effects of a struggle.

(4) Other conditions. -- Statements by the accused admitting one or more elements of the offense; threats made by the accused in the presence of an officer; audible evidence of a disturbance heard by the dispatcher or other agent receiving the request for police assistance; written statements by witnesses.

(c) Whenever any person is arrested pursuant to subsection (a) of this section, the arrested person shall be taken before a magistrate within the county in which the offense charged is alleged to have been committed in a manner consistent with the provisions of Rule 1 of the Administrative Rules for the Magistrate Courts of West Virginia.

(d) If an arrest for a violation of subsection (c), section twenty-eight, article two, chapter sixty-one of this code is authorized pursuant to this section, that fact constitutes prima facie evidence that the accused constitutes a threat or danger to the victim or other family or household members for the purpose of setting conditions of bail pursuant to section seventeen-c, article one-c, chapter sixty-two of this code.

(e) Whenever any person is arrested pursuant to the provisions of this article or for a violation of an order issued pursuant to subdivision (12), subsection (a), section thirteen, article two of this chapter, the arresting officer:

(1) Shall seize all weapons that are alleged to have been involved or threatened to be used in the commission of domestic or family violence; and

(2) May seize a weapon that is in plain view of the officer or was discovered pursuant to a consensual search, as necessary for the protection of the officer or other persons.

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