State Ex Rel. Webb v. Wilson

McHUGH, Justice:

The issue in this case involves W.Va. Code, 62-3-21 [1959], the three-term rule, which implements an accused’s constitutional right to a speedy trial, contained in article III, § 14 of the West Virginia Constitution, 1 and reads, in pertinent part:

Every person charged by presentment or indictment with a felony or misdemeanor, and remanded to a court of competent jurisdiction for trial, shall be forever discharged from prosecution for the offense, if there be three regular terms of such court, after the presentment is made or the indictment is found against him, without a…