Bill Text: WV SB32 | 2013 | Regular Session | Introduced
Bill Title: Relating to evidentiary provisions of Wiretapping and Electronic Surveillance Act
Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Democrat 1-0)
Status: (Introduced - Dead) 2013-02-13 - To Judiciary [SB32 Detail]
Download: West_Virginia-2013-SB32-Introduced.html
A BILL to amend and reenact §51-2A-8 of the Code of West Virginia, 1931, as amended; and to amend and reenact §62-1D-6 of said code, all relating to cellular telephone communications; making express that wiretapping evidentiary provisions apply to matters in family court; and providing that cellular phone communications, including texting, are confidential and not subject to discovery in civil proceedings.
Be it enacted by the Legislature of West Virginia:
That §51-2A-8 of the Code of West Virginia, 1931, as amended, be amended and reenacted; and that §62-1D-6 of said code be amended and reenacted, all to read as follows:
ARTICLE 2A. FAMILY COURTS.
§51-2A-8. Rules of practice and procedure; applicability of Rules of Evidence; applicability of evidentiary provision in Wiretapping and Electronic Surveillance Act; record of hearings; duties of clerk of circuit court.
(a) Pleading, practice and procedure in matters before a family court judge are governed by rules of practice and procedure for family law promulgated by the Supreme Court of Appeals.
(b) The West Virginia Rules of Evidence apply to proceedings before a family court judge except as otherwise provided by law, including, but not limited to, the provisions of section six, article one-d, chapter sixty-two of this code.
(c) Hearings before a family court shall be recorded electronically. A magnetic tape or other electronic recording medium on which a hearing is recorded shall be indexed and securely preserved by the secretary-clerk of the family court judge and
(d) The recording of the hearing or the transcript of testimony, as the case may be, and the exhibits, together with all documents filed in the proceeding, constitute the exclusive record and, on payment of lawfully prescribed costs, shall be made available to the parties.
(e) In any proceeding in which a party has filed an affidavit that he or she is financially unable to pay the fees and costs, the family court judge shall determine whether either party is financially able to pay the fees and costs based on the information set forth in the affidavit or on
(f) The clerks of the circuit court
ARTICLE 1D. WIRETAPPING AND ELECTRONIC SURVEILLANCE ACT.
§62-1D-6. Admissibility of evidence.
Evidence obtained, directly or indirectly, by the interception of any wire, oral or electronic communication
NOTE: The purpose of this bill is to make express that the evidentiary provisions of wiretapping laws apply to proceedings before family courts and to qualify cellular telephone communications, including texting, as confidential and neither admissible nor subject to discovery in civil proceedings.
Strike-throughs indicate language that would be stricken from the present law, and underscoring indicates new language that would be added.