§7-7-8. Assistant prosecuting attorneys; appointment and compensation; when court may appoint attorney to prosecute.
The prosecuting attorney of each county may, in accordance with and limited by the provisions of section seven of this article, appoint practicing attorneys to assist him in the discharge of his official duties during his 's term of office. Any attorney so appointed shall be classified as an assistant prosecuting attorney and shall take the same oath and may perform the same duties as his principal. Each assistant shall serve at the will and pleasure of his principal and may be removed from office by the circuit court of the county in which he is appointed for any cause for which his principal might be removed.
If, in any case, the prosecuting attorney and his assistants are unable to act, or if in the opinion of the court it would be improper for him or his assistants to act, the court shall appoint some competent practicing attorney to act in that case. The court shall certify to the county commission the performance of that service when completed and recommend to the county commission a reasonable compensation for the attorney for his service, and the compensation, when allowed by the county commission, shall be paid out of the county treasury. No provision of this section shall be construed to prohibit the employment by any person of a practicing attorney to assist in the prosecution of any person or corporation charged with a crime.
The compensation to be paid to an assistant prosecuting attorney shall include compensation provided by law for any services he renders as attorney for any administrative board or officer of his county.
Notes of Decisions
State v. Atkins, 261 S.E.2d 55 (W. Va. 1979).
· cites it 12× “Bishop, New Criminal Procedure (2d ed. 1913), p. 245; 63 Am.”
State Ex Rel. Goodwin v. Cook, 248 S.E.2d 602 (W. Va. 1978).
· cites it 20× “[1] The primary ground for the unconstitutionality is based on Article VI, Section 40 of the West Virginia Constitution, which states: "The legislature shall not confer upon any court, or judge, the power of appointment to office, further than the same is herein provided for.”
State Ex Rel . Preissler v. Dostert, 260 S.E.2d 279 (W. Va. 1979).
· cites it 11× “Rather, the petitioner is challenging the respondent judge’s authority under W. Va. Code § 7-7-8 to remove the elected prosecutor and appoint a special prosecutor and the validity of the order implementing the removal.”
State Ex Rel. Johnson v. Robinson, 251 S.E.2d 505 (W. Va. 1979).
· cites it 9× “*580 The underlying issue presented is whether the provisions of W.Va. Code, 7-7-8 [1972], governing the appointment of special prosecutors, vests discretion in a county commission to pay only what it determines to be reasonable compensation for the legal services rendered by a…”
State v. Macri, 487 S.E.2d 891 (W. Va. 1996).
· cites it 14× “5, Carson; W. Va.Code § 7-7-8. Although these reasons, along with the ones we expressed in Carr , may be accurate and sufficient to hold an assistant prosecuting attorney as an officer in some situations, we find them unavailing in the present situation.”
Kerns v. Wolverton, 381 S.E.2d 258 (W. Va. 1989).
· cites it 9× “Robert Martin was appointed to proceed as the special prosecutor in the case as prescribed in W.Va.Code § 7-7-8 (1984). On May 11, 1988, a preliminary hearing was held on the embezzlement warrant with Robert Martin appearing as the special prosecutor in the matter.”
In Re Guerra, 235 S.W.3d 392 (Tex. App. 2007).
· cites it 2× “Consequently, we would limit the holding in Matko, on this issue, to the facts in that case, and we would hold that where recusal of a prosecuting attorney from the prosecution of the criminal case under W. Va.Code § 7-7-8 is sought on the basis of his failure to perform his…”
State Ex Rel. R.L. v. Bedell, 452 S.E.2d 893 (W. Va. 1994).
· cites it 2× “Code, 7-4-1, the circuit court should proceed pursuant to W.Va.Code, 7-7-8 (1987), to replace the prosecuting attorney temporarily.”
West Virginia Jud. Inquiry Comm'n v. Dostert, 271 S.E.2d 427 (W. Va. 1980).
· cites it 2× “Skinner’s conduct? A On April the 5th, I entered an order stating that he had violated that Canon of Ethics and therefore had to be removed and I ordered his removal and appointed Mr.”
Eric Burke v. Wetzel Cnty. Comm'n, 815 S.E.2d 520 (W. Va. 2018).
“19 In sum, we held that "in the absence of a statute indicating otherwise, a prosecutor's appointment of assistants under [West Virginia] Code § 7-7-8 (1987) (Repl. Vol. 2010) and [West Virginia] Code § 7-7-7 (2011) (Supp.”
State Ex Rel. Hamstead v. Dostert, 313 S.E.2d 409 (W. Va. 1984).
· cites it 2× “), provides, in part, that: "If, in any case, the prosecuting attorney and his assistants are unable to act, or if in the opinion of the court it would be improper for him or his assistants to act, the court shall appoint some competent practicing attorney to act in that case.”
Annotations are extracted automatically from the opinions in the
Syfert caselaw corpus and ranked by authority, recency, and
treatment. Dots show Syfertize treatment of the citing case itself.