§50-1-2a. Addition of magistrate in Berkeley County.

(a) The Legislature hereby finds that, according to the statistics compiled by the administrative office of the Supreme Court of Appeals of West Virginia, the caseload in the magistrate court of Berkeley County in the year 2020 was as follows:

Civil cases: 4,139

Criminal cases: 7,782

Total: 11,921

With five elected magistrates in Berkeley County, each magistrate had a caseload of 2,384 cases in 2020. This caseload per magistrate is substantially higher than the statewide average total caseload of 957 cases per magistrate and is higher than the caseload per magistrate in any other county in West Virginia in 2020.

(b) Notwithstanding any other provisions of this article to the contrary, the allowable number of magistrates serving in the county of Berkeley as of March 1, 2022, shall be increased by one, effective July 1, 2022. The initial appointment for the position shall be made in accordance with the provisions of §50-1-6 of this code.