State Of West Va. v. Hoult, (No. 7506)
| Citation | 113 W.Va. 587 |
| Decision Date | 25 April 1933 |
| Docket Number | (No. 7506) |
| Court | Supreme Court of West Virginia |
| Parties | State of West Virginia v. John II. Hoult, Jr. |
i. Statutes
"Statutes relating to the same subject, whether passed at the same or different times, must be read and construed together." State v. Reed. 107 W. Va. 563, 349 S. E. 669.
2. Statutes
The provision of the bastardy statute (Code 1931, 48-7-1) that a proceeding thereunder may not be maintained unless instituted before the child attains the age of three years must be read into and considered a part of the non-support statute (Code 1931. 48-8-1) in so far as the latter applies to judicial determination of the paternity of the child.
Error to Circuit Court. Harrison County. John II. Hoult, Jr., was convicted for non-support of an illegitimate child, and he brings error.
Reversed and rendered.
Powell & Clifford, and Curt E. Amos, for plaintiff in error. Horner A. Holt, Attorney General, and Kenneth E. Hives, Assistant Attorney General, for the State,
Maxwell, President:
This writ of error presents for review the conviction of the defendant for the non-support of the child of an unmarried woman of which it is alleged that the defendant is the father.
The child was born to Mary Purner March 19, 1928. Pour years later, to-wit, March 17, 1932, upon complaint then made by her, a warrant was issued against the defendant charging him with the non-support of "his illegitimate child," it being in destitute and necessitous circumstances. The defendant denied that he ever had sexual intercourse with the complainant, but. both before the magistrate and upon appeal in the criminal court of Harrison County, the testimony of the complainant prevailed and the defendant was convicted. Penalties and requirements prescribed by statute were imposed by the court.
The sole question for determination is whether the proceeding is barred by statutory limitation.
The prosecution is based on Code 1931, 48-8-1. By the terms of said statute the neglect or refusal of a man to provide for the support and maintenance of his legitimate or illegitimate child under the age of sixteen years is made a misdemeanor. The state takes the position that under said section a prosecution for non-support of an illegitimate child may be instituted against a man charged with the paternity of the child at any time before it attains the age of sixteen years though the accused denies the paternity.
On the other hand, it is urged by the defendant that the paternity of an illegitimate child may not be judicially determined except in a legal proceeding instituted within three years after the birth of the child. To support this position, defendant says that the statute on which this proceeding is based should be read together with the bastardy statute (Code 1931, 48-7-1) which provides that a proceeding in bastardy may not be instituted after the child has become three years of age.
In State v. Reed, 107 W. Va. 563. 149 S. P. 669, we held that the non-support statute in so far as it pertains to illegitimate children is in pari materia with the bastardy statute and that the two should be construed together. There, a married woman who had lived with her husband within...
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