By Mallory Panuska
Times West Virginian
FAIRMONT —
For “the sake of judicial economy,” a procedural change is coming to Marion County’s magistrate court system.
Beginning Tuesday, the county will be implementing “plea dates” for all new misdemeanor cases, an initiative that officials expect will organize the busy magistrate system and possibly even save taxpayers money.
Basically, Magistrate Cathy Reed-Vanatta explained that any time the county does an arraignment for a misdemeanor case, it will be set for a plea date within 45 days to give the defendant a chance to plead guilty to the offense without having to bring everyone involved in the case to the courtroom.
With 90 percent of all misdemeanor cases finding some type of plea agreement anyway, Reed-Vanatta said this new initiative is really just a way of lessening the work load for everyone involved. And in the process, the county stands to save money in officer overtime and other costs, as only the prosecutor, magistrate, defendant and defense counsel will be present during the weekly meetings.
