§62-16-4. Court authorization; funding; immunity from liability.

(a) Court authorization. — The Supreme Court of Appeals is hereby authorized to establish a Military Service Members Court program, under the oversight of its administrator. Each Military Service Members Court may be a stand-alone court or operated in conjunction with an existing drug court or other specialty court program. The Supreme Court of Appeals is further encouraged to give deference to circuits or regions in the operation of those programs to maximize flexibility, and to take into account regional and other differences and circumstance.

(b) Once a program is established, termination of any program may not take place until at least six months after written notice of the intent to terminate the program has been provided by the Supreme Court of Appeals Administrator to the Speaker of the House of Delegates and the President of the Senate.

(c) Each court judge may establish rules and may make special orders as necessary that do not conflict with rules and orders promulgated by the Supreme Court of Appeals to effectuate the purposes of this article.

(d) A court may offer pre-adjudication or post-adjudication programs for adult offenders.

(e) Nothing contained in this article confers a right or an expectation of a right to participate in a court program nor does it obligate a court to accept every military service member offender.

(f) Neither the establishment of a Military Service Members Court nor anything in this article may be construed as limiting the discretion of the prosecuting attorney to act on any criminal case which he or she determines advisable to prosecute.

(g) Funding. — Each Military Service Members Court, with the guidance of the Supreme Court of Appeals, may establish a schedule for the payment of reasonable fees and costs to be paid by participants necessary to conduct the program.

(h) Nothing in this article prohibits Military Service Members Courts from obtaining supplemental funds or exploring grants to support the courts.

(i) Immunity from liability. — Any person who, in good faith, provides services pursuant to this article is not liable in any civil action, unless his or her actions were the result of gross negligence or willful misconduct. The grant of immunity provided in this section extends to all employees and administrative personnel of a court.