W. Va. Trial Ct. R. 16.01

Article III, Section 17 of the West Virginia Constitution provides, "justice shall be administered without sale, denial or delay." Article III, Section 13 of the West Virginia Constitution provides, "Trials of crimes... shall be... without unreasonable delay." Article VIII, Section 8 of the West Virginia Constitution further provides, "Under its inherent rule-making power, which is hereby declared, the Supreme Court of Appeals shall, from time to time, prescribe, adopt, promulgate and amend rules prescribing... standards of conduct and performance for justices, judges, and magistrates, along with sanctions and penalties for any violation thereof [.]"Rule 1 of the Rules of Civil Procedure provides that they “should be construed, administered, and employed by the court and the parties to secure the just, speedy, and inexpensive determination of every action and proceeding.” Rule 2 of the Rules of Criminal Procedure provides that they "shall be construed to secure simplicity in procedure, fairness in administration, and the elimination of unjustifiable expense and delay." Canon 3B(8) of the Code of Judicial Conduct provides, "A judge shall dispose of all judicial matters promptly, efficiently, and fairly." Finally, Section 2.50 of the American Bar Association Standards Relating to Court Delay Reduction provides, "the court, not the lawyers or litigants, should control the pace of litigation." Pursuant to these principles, the Supreme Court of Appeals has determined that the expeditious processing and timely disposition of cases by circuit courts are essential to the proper administration of justice. Accordingly, it directs circuit courts and their officers to comply with these rules, which provide time standards for the processing of all cases except for those governed by statute or in which the circuit court finds, on the record, that extraordinary circumstances exist for exemption from these standards.