{"data":{"id":"us-wv/w.-va.-code-62-1-5","jurisdiction":"us-wv","citation":"W. Va. Code § 62-1-5","heading":"Same -- Delivery of prisoner before magistrate; complaint for person arrested without warrant; return.","body":"(a) (1) An officer making an arrest under a warrant issued upon a complaint, or any person making an arrest without a warrant for an offense committed in his presence or as otherwise authorized by law, shall take the arrested person without unnecessary delay before a magistrate of the county where the arrest is made.\n(2) If a person arrested without a warrant is brought before a magistrate, a complaint shall be filed forthwith in accordance with the requirements of rules of the Supreme Court of Appeals.\n(3) An officer executing a warrant shall make return thereof to the magistrate before whom the defendant is brought.\n(b)(1) Notwithstanding any other provision of this code to the contrary, if a person arrested without a warrant is brought before a magistrate prior to the filing of a complaint, a complaint shall be filed forthwith in accordance with the requirements of rules of the Supreme Court of Appeals, and the issuance of a warrant or a summons to appear is not required.\n(2) When a person appears initially before a magistrate either in response to a summons or pursuant to an arrest with or without a warrant, the magistrate shall proceed in accordance with the requirements of the applicable provisions of the rules of the Supreme Court of Appeals.","path":["CHAPTER 62. CRIMINAL PROCEDURE.","ARTICLE 1. PRELIMINARY PROCEDURE."],"source_url":"https://code.wvlegislature.gov/62-1-5/","current_through":"as of 2026-08-03; contains at least the enactments of the 2026 Regular Session","vintage":"","retrieved_at":"2026-09-06T00:31:32Z","sha256":"7e079587d922ac3849b56dac0fa14246f118be897898f147bc9494c054379c25","source_id":"us-wv","stale":true,"prev":"us-wv/w.-va.-code-62-1-4","next":"us-wv/w.-va.-code-62-1-5a"},"notice":"GroundRules: Original legal text. Not legal advice."}