Rule 8 Citation for other offenses

If a police officer catches you doing something minor that state law allows a citation for, they don't have to arrest you or go through the usual complaint and warrant process. Instead, they can just hand you a citation, similar to a traffic ticket. This is a faster and simpler way to charge someone with certain lower-level offenses.

When an officer uses this citation option, they still have to follow some of the same rules that apply to other citations. These cover things like what information must be on the citation, how you get notified of your court date, and what happens if you don't show up. The main difference is that the officer skips the standard steps of filing a complaint and getting a warrant first, since West Virginia law already allows a citation to be used instead of a full arrest for these particular offenses.