West Virginia Mock Trial Rules

South

WV · Capital: Charleston

Evidence Rules

West Virginia Rules of Evidence

Citation: WV Rules of Evidence

West Virginia adopted new Rules of Evidence effective February 2014, closely modeled on the FRE with some state-specific variations
WV Rule 702 applies the Daubert standard as adopted in Wilt v. Buracker (1993) for expert testimony reliability
West Virginia's Rule 404(b) requires a hearing outside the presence of the jury to determine admissibility of other-acts evidence

Rule	Description
W. Va. R. Evid. 404(b)	Requires pretrial notice by prosecution and an in-camera hearing; the court must make specific findings on the record regarding admissibility
W. Va. R. Evid. 803(4)	Statements made for medical diagnosis are admissible; West Virginia courts broadly construe "medical diagnosis" to include psychological treatment

Civil Procedure

West Virginia Rules of Civil Procedure (W. Va. R. Civ. P.)

Criminal Procedure

West Virginia Rules of Criminal Procedure (W. Va. R. Crim. P.)

West Virginia Circuit Courts are the trial courts of general jurisdiction for civil and criminal matters
West Virginia uses a mass litigation panel for coordinating multi-party cases statewide
Mandatory mediation for civil cases exceeding certain thresholds in many judicial circuits

Civil Jury Size

Criminal Jury Size

Unanimity Required

Civil juries consist of 6 jurors; verdict requires agreement of at least 5 (five-sixths)
Criminal felony juries require 12 unanimous jurors
Parties may stipulate to fewer jurors in civil cases

Experience a realistic courtroom simulation using West Virginia rules and procedures.