W. Va. Code » §62-3-2. Presence of accused during trial; arraignment; plea.
West Virginia Code

W. Va. Code § 62-3-2 (2026)

Presence of accused during trial; arraignment; plea

✓ current as of May 2026
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ARTICLE 3. TRIAL OF CRIMINAL CASES.

§62-3-2. Presence of accused during trial; arraignment; plea.

A person indicted for felony shall be personally present during the trial therefor. If he refuse to plead or answer, and do not confess his guilt, the court shall have the plea of not guilty entered, and the trial shall proceed as if the accused had entered that plea, and judgment upon the verdict in any such trial shall be entered up as in cases of misdemeanor. The formal arraignment of the prisoner, the proclamation by the sheriff, and the charge of the clerk to the jury, as heretofore practiced, shall be dispensed with.

Notes of Decisions
Cited in 14 cases (2 in the last 5 years), 1977–2022 · leading case: State v. Brown, 552 S.E.2d 390 (W. Va. 2001).
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State v. Brown, 552 S.E.2d 390 (W. Va. 2001). · cites it 8× “In addition, W.Va.Code § 62-3-2 (1923) provides, in part, that "[a] person indicted for felony shall be personally present during the trial therefor.”
State of West Virginia v. Timothy Ray Sutherland, 745 S.E.2d 448 (W. Va. 2013). · cites it 4× “2d 252 (1962), that a violation of W. Va. Code § 62-3-2 (1923) (Repl. Vol. 2010), requiring a defendant be present 21 during a trial, required an automatic reversal.”
State v. Boyd, 233 S.E.2d 710 (W. Va. 1977). · cites it 2× “The defendant was not present, no record was made of the proceedings, and consequently defendant claims that his rights under Article III, *244 Section 14 of the West Virginia Constitution, and W. Va. Code, 62-3-2, were violated. The latest decision by this Court on the right of…”
State v. Eden, 256 S.E.2d 868 (W. Va. 1979). · cites it 2× “” This provision reiterates the due process rights granted by our constitution but the statute is not exclusive in application. It seems basic to us that this right of presence afforded a person accused of a felony applies as well to a person accused of a misdemeanor.”
State v. Daggett, 280 S.E.2d 545 (W. Va. 1981). · cites it 2× “The appellant also alleges error because the State moved the trial court ex parte to issue a capias for the infant and his mother when they failed to return to court after being excused for the day, subject to recall.”
State v. Hicks, 482 S.E.2d 641 (W. Va. 1996). · cites it 4× “Hedrick , this rule has foundation not only in the West Virginia Constitution, but also in W.Va.Code § 62-3-2, which provides that "[a] person indicted for felony shall be personally present during the trial therefor", and in Rule 43 of the West Virginia Rules of Criminal…”
State v. Cunningham, 236 S.E.2d 459 (W. Va. 1977). · cites it 4× “Defendant's brief cites W.Va.Code, 62-3-2, which provides that a "person indicted for felony shall be personally present during the trial therefor.”
State v. Hamilton, 403 S.E.2d 739 (W. Va. 1991). · cites it 3× “We further explained that reversible error occurs when anything is done at trial in the accused’s absence which may have affected him by possibly prejudicing him.”
State of West Virginia v. Scotty Joseph Byers (W. Va. 2022). · cites it 5× “A defendant has a due process right to be present at the imposition of sentence pursuant to Rule 43(a) of the West Virginia Rules of Criminal Procedure, West Virginia Code § 62-3-2 (1923), and both Article III, Section 10 of the West Virginia Constitution and the Fifth Amendment…”
Jeffrey L. Finley v. Ralph Terry, Acting Warden (W. Va. 2018). · cites it 2× “” In the presence of petitioner and the attorneys for both parties, the judge read the request and placed it in the record. The judge then advised that he intended to go into the jury room to tell the jury “that they have everything that they can have and they will have to use…”
State of West Virginia v. Michael S. Sites (W. Va. 2019). · cites it 2× “Finally, the statutory right of a criminal defendant to be present during criminal proceedings is set out under W.Va. Code § 62-3-2 (1923). This statute provides in part that “[a] person indicted for felony shall be personally present during the trial therefor.”
State of West Virginia v. Emily J. Keefer (W. Va. 2022). “2d 306 (2022) (“A defendant has a due process right to be present at the imposition of sentence pursuant to Rule 43(a) of the West Virginia Rules of Criminal Procedure, West Virginia Code § 62-3-2 (1923), and both Article III, Section 10 of the West Virginia Constitution and the…”
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