State ex rel. Wilmoth v. Gustke

In State ex rel. Wilmoth v. Gustke, 179 W.Va. 771, 373 S.E.2d 484 (1988), the owner of a parking lot politely asked a law enforcement officer to move his vehicle from the lot and go elsewhere to complete the issuance of a traffic citation to someone who had pulled onto his lot. The conclusion the Court reached as reflected in the syllabus of Wilmoth is that a violation of West Virginia Code 61-5-17 does not occur when a property owner asks a law enforcement officer, "without the use of fighting or insulting words or other opprobrious language and without forcible or other illegal hindrance" to leave his property.