CHARLESTON, W.Va. — The West Virginia Supreme Court of Appeals issued several far-reaching decisions recently, modifying the scope of warrantless police searches, establishing the legal standard for forcibly medicating criminal defendants, and clarifying the paramount “best interests of the child” standard in foster care placement.

In a ruling with immediate implications for criminal procedure, the court reversed a Wood County drug conviction, finding that the warrantless search of a man’s backpack after he was arrested and handcuffed violated his constitutional protection against unreasonable searches and seizures.

The court, in State of West Virginia v. Michael Keith Allman, vacated four drug-related convictions and remanded the case to the circuit court. The opinion, delivered by Just

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