West Virginia Code 62-1A-2 – Same — Grounds for issuance; property defined
(1) A warrant may be issued under this article to search for and seize any property
Terms Used In West Virginia Code 62-1A-2
- Offense: includes every act or omission for which a fine, forfeiture, or punishment is imposed by law. See West Virginia Code 2-2-10
- State: when applied to a part of the United States and not restricted by the context, includes the District of Columbia and the several territories, and the words "United States" also include the said district and territories. See West Virginia Code 2-2-10
(a) Stolen, embezzled, or obtained by false pretenses;
(b) Designed or intended for use or which is or has been used as a means of committing a criminal offense; or
(c) Manufactured, sold, kept, concealed, possessed, controlled, or designed or intended for use or which is or has been used, in violation of the criminal laws of this state.
(2) As used in this section, the term “property” includes documents, books, papers, electronic and digital information, including, but not limited to, social media accounts, and any other tangible objects.
(a) For purposes of this section, “electronic and digital information” means any transfer of signs, signals, writing, images, sounds, data, or intelligence of any nature transmitted in whole or in part by a wire, radio, electromagnetic, photoelectronic, or photo-optical system, but does not include (1) Any wire or oral communication; (2) any communication made through a tone-only paging device; or (3) the radio portion of a cordless telephone communication that is transmitted between the cordless telephone handset and the base unit.
(b) A search warrant issued for the search and seizure of a computer, computer network, or other device containing electronic or digital information shall state with particularity the item, application, program, or information sought.
(c) A search warrant issued pursuant to this section or Rule 41 of the Rules of Criminal Procedure may be executed or served to the extent it is constitutionally permissible anywhere the electronic or digital information is stored, capable of being produced or where the person or entity in possession of the electronic or digital information does business or resides.