nuclear optionUnited States · West Virginia (Statewide)Difficulty: Hard
Trial De Novo Appeal to Circuit Court
Under WV Code §50-5-12 and §50-5-13, any decision in magistrate court (including parking) may be appealed within 20 days to circuit court for trial de novo (entirely new trial). The cost of staffing a circuit-court trial routinely exceeds the fine, leading cities to dismiss rather than appear. Pair with any other defense for maximum effect.
Legal basis
WV Code §50-5-12; WV Code §50-5-13; WV Const. art. VIII §10
Sample appeal wording
TO: Clerk, Circuit Court of [COUNTY], West Virginia NOTICE OF APPEAL — TRIAL DE NOVO RE: Magistrate Case No. [#] Pursuant to W. Va. Code §50-5-12 and §50-5-13, [NAME] hereby appeals the magistrate-court decision entered [DATE] in the above-referenced case and requests trial de novo in circuit court. Filing fee paid / fee waiver requested. [NAME] [ADDRESS] [DATE]
Replace [PARKING DATE], [NtK DATE] etc. with your own dates before sending.
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- WV Code §50-5-12, §50-5-13
- WV Const. art. VIII §10