State Ex Rel. Burdette v. Scott

Miller, Justice:

This original proceeding in prohibition presents the question of whether a defendant charged in a magistrate court by warrant with an offense of which that court has jurisdiction has the right to be tried in that court, or whether the prosecutor may elect to dismiss the warrant, present the case to the grand jury, and proceed to trial in the circuit court. The parties agree that the answer to this question lies in the proper interpretation of W. Va. Code, 50-5-7 (1976). 1

The relator, Hubert Burdette, was arrested in Jackson County on March 10, 1979, and charged by warrant in a…