West Virginia Code 15-1E-2 – Persons subject to this article; jurisdiction
(a) This article applies to all members of the state military forces at all times.
Terms Used In West Virginia Code 15-1E-2
- Jurisdiction: (1) The legal authority of a court to hear and decide a case. Concurrent jurisdiction exists when two courts have simultaneous responsibility for the same case. (2) The geographic area over which the court has authority to decide cases.
- military offenses: means those offenses prescribed under sections seventy-seven (Principals), seventy-eight (Accessory after the fact), eighty (Attempts), eighty-one (Conspiracy), eighty-two (Solicitation),eighty-three (Fraudulent enlistment, appointment, or separation), eighty-four (Unlawful enlistment, appointment, or separation), eighty-five (Desertion), eighty-six (Absence without leave), eighty-seven (Missing movement), eighty-eight (Contempt toward officials), eighty-nine (Disrespect towards superior commissioned officer), ninety (Assaulting or willfully disobeying superior commissioned officer), ninety-one (Insubordinate conduct toward warrant officer, noncommissioned officer, or petty officer), ninety-two (Failure to obey order or regulation), ninety-three (Cruelty and maltreatment), ninety-four (Mutiny or sedition), ninety-five (Resistance, flight, breach of arrest, and escape), ninety-six (Releasing prisoner without proper authority), ninety-seven (Unlawful detention), ninety-eight (Noncompliance with procedural rules), ninety-nine (Misbehavior before the enemy), one hundred (Subordinate compelling surrender), one hundred one (Improper use of countersign), one hundred two (Forcing a safeguard), one hundred three (Captured or abandoned property), one hundred four (Aiding the enemy), one hundred five (Misconduct as prisoner), one hundred seven (False official statements), one hundred eight (Military property - Loss, damage, destruction, or wrongful disposition), one hundred nine (Property other than military property - waste, spoilage, or destruction), one hundred ten (Improper hazarding of vessel), one hundred twelve (Drunk on duty), one hundred twelve-a. See West Virginia Code 15-1E-1
- Offense: includes every act or omission for which a fine, forfeiture, or punishment is imposed by law. See West Virginia Code 2-2-10
- Prosecute: To charge someone with a crime. A prosecutor tries a criminal case on behalf of the government.
- State: means one of the several states, the District of Columbia, the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico, Guam, and the U. See West Virginia Code 15-1E-1
(b) Subject matter jurisdiction is established if a nexus exists between an offense, either military or nonmilitary, and the state military force. Courts-martial have primary jurisdiction of military offenses as defined in this article. A proper civilian court has primary jurisdiction of a nonmilitary offense when an act or omission violates both this article and local criminal law, foreign or domestic. In such a case, a court-martial may be initiated only after the civilian authority has declined to prosecute or dismissed the charge, provided jeopardy has not attached. Jurisdiction over attempted crimes, conspiracy crimes, solicitation, and accessory crimes must be determined by the underlying offense.