Rule 2 - Caseload assignment and distribution(a)Caseload assignment. Caseload assignment shall be conducted in such manner that, to the greatest extent possible, a plaintiff, petitioner, or complainant shall be unable to select a magistrate. All cases shall be centrally assigned by the magistrate clerk regardless of the magistrate before whom the civil or criminal complaint is filed. No magistrate may conduct hearings or enter orders in a case assigned to another magistrate, except upon consent of the magistrate to whom such case is assigned or upon order of the Circuit Court or the Supreme Court of Appeals; Provided, however, that any magistrate shall entertain a motion for a change of bail or bond and shall accept an appeal if the assigned magistrate is off duty or otherwise unavailable to do so.(b)Caseload distribution. Caseload shall be distributed as evenly and randomly as possible among magistrates in a county. The magistrate court clerk shall identify substantial discrepancies in work load and bring such discrepancies to the attention of the supervising circuit judge. The supervising circuit judge, as administrative head of the magistrate court, shall devise a case rotation system for each county to alleviate such case-load discrepancies.W.va. R. Admin. Magist. Ct. 2
As amended by order entered July 1, 1991, effective 8/1/1991.