On September 2, 2014, mass revisions to the West Virginia Rules of Evidence (“Evidence Rules” or “Rules of Evidence”) took effect. ¹ While the majority of changes are stylistic, ²  the Final Order issued by the West Virginia Supreme Court of Appeals (“West Virginia Supreme Court”) did make several substantive changes to the Evidence Rules. ³

Some substantive changes merely reflect new interpretations of old rules found in recent case law, while others morph old state rules into their federal counterparts. ⁴  Still, some updates retain uniquely West Virginian evidence elements born of case law that runs contrary to federal rules and holdings. ⁵

As the only law review in our state, the West Virginia Law Review takes seriously its obligation to serve both academia and our state’s legal community. We serve those interests by publishing articles that are nationally relevant along with articles that address issues in West Virginia. Historically, this Law Review has published special issues such as the National Coal Issue and the Energy and Sustainability Issue, reflecting the unquestioned importance of those areas of law to our state. However, we recognize that our state’s legal community is well-served by academic analysis of all areas of law. We also recognize that research specific to West Virginia can be difficult to find through major commercial avenues. As such, Volume 117 of the West Virginia Law Review is proud to launch the West Virginia Law Review Online.

Our goal is to publish articles that focus on West Virginia issues. Most of our articles will be written by our own editors, WVU College of Law professors, and practitioners from our state. Many will be shorter than a traditional law review article, so as to offer more accessible publication opportunities for lawyers and judges. By providing relevant, topical, high-quality legal research to practitioners in our state, our Law Review will better fulfill its duty to support the state’s legal community.