In State ex rel. Ring v. Boober, 200 W. Va. 66, 488 S.E.2d 66 (1997), the defendant made an untimely demand for a jury trial, which was later denied by the magistrate court following a hearing where the defendant apparently made no attempt to justify the late request. The Court held that a defendant's failure to make a timely demand for a jury trial should be treated as a valid waiver of the right to trial by jury so long as the accused has been properly informed of the necessity of making such a request. The Court reasoned in Boober that where a defendant has been given notice of the twenty-day period for requesting a jury trial and informed as to the consequences of failing to make a timely demand.