On March 4, 2014, the West Virginia Legislature passed House Bill 4445. ¹ This Bill “modif[ied] the definition of ‘battery’ and ‘domestic battery’ to conform with federal laws.” ² More specifically, House Bill 4445 was passed pursuant to the Fourth Circuit’s decision in United States v. White. ³ The enactment of House Bill 4445 erased the offense of simple battery from the books of West Virginia’s Code and transformed battery and domestic battery into offenses that inherently encompass violent force.

The year is 1907. Two siblings, Walter and Florence, have co-owned a tract of land as tenants in common for several years. They have previously sold the rights to the coal underlying the parcel to a third party. Now, Florence has a deed drawn up conveying to Walter her “one-seventh undivided interest in the surface only with the hereditaments and appurtenances thereto, (the coal and mining privileges having been previously sold).” The title transfers and is entered into the county tax books. Florence dies intestate in 1930. For over a century after the conveyance, nothing of note happens. Walter’s interest is sold a number of times, eventually coming into the ownership of a man named Morgan. Finally, in 2011, Morgan files a declaratory judgment action against Florence’s successors to establish himself as the sole owner of the oil and gas underlying the tract. The record does not contain a single mention of oil and gas rights in any of the deeds.

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