State Ex Rel. Stiltner v. Harshbarger

NEELY, Justice:

These three proceedings in prohibition present a single issue, namely the applicability of our State Constitution’s speedy trial provision, W. Va. Const., art. Ill, § 14, to the Magistrate Courts of this State. We conclude that a reasonable construction of W. Va. Const., art. Ill, § 14 implies that in the absence of extenuating circumstances, a trial on a warrant issued in Magistrate Court must be begun within a year of the date of the issuance of the warrant.

Edmund Stiltner was arrested on 19 December 1980 in Kanawha County on a warrant issued from the Magistrate Court of…