W. Va. Code § 5-1-17
This is the official text of W. Va. Code § 5-1-17, part of West Virginia’s Va. Code — part of the compiled statutory law of West Virginia, published by the state as "Va. Code." Browse the sections below, each linked to its official government source.
Not legal advice. This page reproduces the official text of a government statute for reference only. Laws change, and how a statute applies depends on your specific facts. For advice about your situation, consult a licensed attorney in your state.
§5-1-17. When Governor may remit fine or penalty.
Official statutory text
The Governor may remit in whole or in part any fine or penalty assessed or imposed by a court of record, court-martial, or other authority, only in the following instances:
(a) When judgment has been rendered against any person for a contempt of court, other than for nonperformance of, or disobedience to, some order, decree or judgment; or when any fine or penalty is imposed by the sentence of a court-martial, the Governor may pardon the offense and remit the fine or penalty, either in whole or in part;
(b) When any fine has been imposed, if the same or any part thereof, when collected, would be payable to the state, and has not been so paid, the Governor may, on good cause shown by affidavit, or on the recommendation of the judge or a majority of the jury who tried the case, remit so much as is payable to the state and has not been so paid, or a less amount, either unconditionally, or upon such terms and conditions as may seem to him right and proper.
(a) When judgment has been rendered against any person for a contempt of court, other than for nonperformance of, or disobedience to, some order, decree or judgment; or when any fine or penalty is imposed by the sentence of a court-martial, the Governor may pardon the offense and remit the fine or penalty, either in whole or in part;
(b) When any fine has been imposed, if the same or any part thereof, when collected, would be payable to the state, and has not been so paid, the Governor may, on good cause shown by affidavit, or on the recommendation of the judge or a majority of the jury who tried the case, remit so much as is payable to the state and has not been so paid, or a less amount, either unconditionally, or upon such terms and conditions as may seem to him right and proper.
Status: in_force · Read it on the official government site
Need a lawyer in West Virginia?
Find a West Virginia lawyer
About this page: Statute text is reproduced from official government publishers via the
Open US Law dataset
(Vaquill AI, snapshot v2026.08, CC BY 4.0). Primary legislative text like this is public domain under the government-edicts doctrine
(Georgia v. Public.Resource.Org, 2020). We link every section back to its official source so you can verify it independently.