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Chapter 8
COURT*
Art. I. In General, §§ 8-1 – 8-20
Art. II. Municipal Judge, §§ 8-20 -- 8-40
Art. III. Procedure, §§ 8-41 – 8-56
ARTICLE IN GENERAL
Sec. 8-1. Court established.
There is hereby established in this city a municipal court. (Code 1970, § 7-1)
Sec. 8-2. Jurisdiction.
Alleged violations of this Code and all other city ordinances shall be tried before the municipal court, which shall have original jurisdiction to hear and determine all such violations.
(Code 1970, § 7-2)
Sec. 8-3. Superintending authority.
The municipal court shall be subject to the rules of the circuit court of which it is a part, and to the rules of the state supreme court. The municipal court shall be subject to the general administrative authorities of the presiding judge of the circuit court, and the judge and court personnel of the municipal court shall obey his directives.
(Code 1970, § 7-8)
State law reference – Superintending authority, RSMo 479.020(5)
Sec. 8-4. Clerk of municipal court.
The city manager shall appoint some proper and suitable person as clerk of the municipal court. The duties of the clerk shall be as follows:
(1) To collect such fines for violations of such offenses as may be described, and the court costs thereof;
(2) To take oaths and affirmations;
(3) To accept signed complaints and allow the same to be signed and sworn to or affirmed before him;
(4) To sign and issue subpoenas requiring the attendance of witnesses and sign and issue subpoenas duces tecum;
(5) To accept the appearance, waiver of trial and plea of guilty and payment of fines and costs in traffic violation bureau cases or as directed by the municipal judge; generally, to act as violation clerk of the traffic violation bureau;
(6) To perform all other duties as provided for by the ordinance, by rules of practice and procedure adopted by the municipal judge and by the state rules of practice and procedure in municipal and traffic courts and by the statute;
(7) To maintain, properly certified by the city clerk, a complete copy of the Code and all other ordinances of the city which shall constitute prima facie evidence thereof before the court, and to maintain a similar certified copy of such documents on file with the clerk serving the circuit court of this county.
(Code 1970, § 7-26)
Cross reference – Officers and employees generally, § 2-76 et seq.
State law reference – Cities to provide for clerks of municipal court, RSMo 479.060(1); judicial notice of municipal ordinances, RSMo 479.250; clerks of courts of record and court records, RSMo Ch. 483.
Sec. 8-5. Traffic violations bureau.
The traffic violations bureau shall operate under the supervision of the circuit court and the municipal judge and shall be operated in accordance with the rules of the supreme court and the rules of the circuit court. All expenses incident to the operations of the traffic violations bureau, including salaries of clerical personnel, shall be paid by the city. The city shall provide suitable quarters for the traffic violations bureau. All fines and costs collected by the bureau shall be paid into the city treasury.
(Code 1970 §§ 7-11(a) 7-12)
Cross reference – Traffic violations bureau generally, § 23-71 et seq.
State law reference – Similar provisions, RSMo 479.050.
Sec. 8-6 – 8-20. Reserved.
Cross References – Administration, Ch. 2; city attorney, § 2-160 et seq.; city councilor; § 2-186 et seq.; human rights; Ch. 12; police, Ch. 17.
State law reference – Municipal court, RSMo Ch. 479.
ARTICLE II. MUNICIPAL JUDGE*
Sec. 8-21. Appointment.
The municipal judge shall be appointed to his position by the city manager; for a term as specified in section 8-22.
Code 1970, § 7-3)
State law reference – Selection of municipal judge. RSMo 479.020(1).
Sec. 8-22. Term.
The municipal judge shall hold his office for a period of two (2) years. If for any reason a municipal judge vacates his office; his successor shall complete that term of office; even if the same be for less than two (2) years.
(Code 1970, § 7-4)
State law reference – Term of municipal judge, RSMo 479.020(1).
Sec. 8-23. Qualifications.
The municipal judge shall posses the following qualifications before he shall take office:
(1) He must be a licensed attorney; qualified to practice law within the state;
(2) He must be a resident of the state;
(3) He must be between the sages of twenty one (21) and seventy five(75)years;
(4) He may not hold any other office within the city government, but shall be considered holding a part time position, and as such may accept, within the requirements of the Code of Judicial Conduct, Supreme Court Rule 2, other employment.
(Code 1970, § 7-6)
*Cross reference-Authority of municipal judge to order attendance at motor vehicle safety courses in lieu of, in addition to other penalties, § 23-45.
State law reference – Qualifications of municipal judge, RSMo 479.020(3), (4), (6), (7).
Sec. 8-24. Temporary municipal judge.
If a municipal judge be absent , sick or disqualified from acting, the city mayor, at the request and upon the advice of the city manager, may designate some competent, eligible person to act as municipal judge until such absence or disqualification shall cease. (Code 1970, § 7-25)
Cross reference –Officers and employees generally, § 2-76 et seq.
State law reference – Similar provisions, RSMo 479.230.
Sec. 8-25. Compensation.
The Compensation of the municipal judge and all other municipal court personnel determined by ordinance, and shall not be dependent in any way upon the number of cases tried, the number of guilty verdicts reached or the amount of fines imposed or collected.
(Code 1970, § 7-7; Ord. No. 2002, § 2, 12-2-80)
State law reference – Similar provisions, RSMo 479.020(6).
Sec. 8-26. Powers and duties.
(a)The municipal judge shall be a conservator of the peace. He shall keep a docket in which he shall enter every case commenced before him and the proceedings therein and he shall keep such other records as may be required. Such docket and records shall be records of the circuit court of the county. The municipal judge shall deliver the docket and records of the municipal court, and all books and paper pertaining to his office, to his successor in office or to the presiding judge of the circuit.
(b) The municipal judge shall be and is hereby authorized to:
(1) Administer oaths and enforce obedience to all orders, rules and judgments
made by him, and may fine or imprison for contempt committed before him while holding court, in the same manner and to the same extent as a circuit judge;
(2) Commute the term of any sentence, stay execution of any fine or sentence,
suspend any fine or sentence, and make such other orders as he deems necessary relative to any matter that may be pending in the municipal court;
(3) Make and adopt such rules of practice and procedure as are necessary to
implement and carry out the provisions of this chapter, and to make and adopt such rules of practice and procedure as are necessary to hear and decide matters pending before the municipal court and to implement and carry out the provisions of the state rules of practice and procedure in municipal and traffic courts. Any and all rules made or adopted hereunder may be annulled or amended by an ordinance limited to such purpose; provided, that such ordinance does not violate, or conflict with, the provisions of state rules of practice and procedure in municipal and traffic courts or state statutes.
(c) The municipal judge shall have such shall have such other powers, duties and privileges as are or may be prescribed by the laws of this state, this Code or other ordinances of this city.
(Code 1970, §§ 7-10, 7-11(b) – (e))
State law reference-Duties and powers of municipal judge, RSMo 479.070.
Sec. 8-27. Monthly report; transfer of funds collected.
(a) The municipal judge shall cause the clerk of the municipal court to prepare, within the first ten (10) day every month, a report of all cases heard and tried before the court during the preceding month, giving in each case the name of the defendant, the fine imposed if any, the amount of cost, the names of the defendants committed and the cases where there was an application for trial de novo, respectively. The same shall be prepared under oath by the clerk of the court or the municipal judge. This report will be filed with the city clerk, who shall thereafter forward the same to the city council for examination at its first session thereafter.
(b) The clerk of the municipal court shall, within twenty four (24) hours of receipt thereof, pay to the city collector the full amount of all fines collected if they have not previously been paid, which monies shall be deposited in the city treasury within twenty four (24) hours of their receipt by the city collector.
(Code 1970, § 7-9)
State law reference – Similar provisions, RSMo 479.080(1),(3).
Sec. 8-28. Vacation of office.
The municipal judge shall vacate his office under any of the following circumstances.
(1) Upon removal from office by the state commission on the retirement, removal and discipline of judges, as provided in Supreme Court Rule 12;
(2) Upon attaining his seventy fifth birthday;
(3) If he should lose his license to practice law within the state.
(Code 1970, § 7-5)
Sec. 8-29 – 8-40. Reserved.
ARTICLE III. PROCEDURE
Sec. 8-41. Issuance and execution of warrants.
All warrants issued by the municipal judge shall be directed to the chief of police or any other police officer of the city or to the sheriff of the county. The warrant shall be executed by the chief of police, police officer or sheriff any place within the limits of the county and not elsewhere unless the warrants are endorsed in the manner provided for warrants in criminal cases, and when so endorsed, shall be served in other counties, as provided for in warrants in criminal cases.
(Code 1970, § 7-13)
State law reference – Similar provisions, RSMo 479.100.
Sec. 8-42. Arrests without warrants.
The chief of police or other police officer of the city shall, without a warrant, make an arrest of any person who commits an offense in his presence, subject to the provisions of section 17-23, but such officer shall, before the trial; file a written complaint with the judge hearing this violation.
(Code 1970, § 7-14)
State law reference – Similar provisions, RSMo 479.110.
Sec. 5-43. Duties, compensation of the city attorney.
It shall be the duty of the city attorney to prosecute the violations of the city’s ordinances before the municipal judge or before any circuit judge hearing violations of the city’s ordinances. The salary or fees of the city attorney and his necessary expenses incurred in such prosecutions shall be paid by the city. The compensation of such attorney shall not be contingent upon the result of any case.
(Code 1970, § 7-16)
Cross reference – City attorney generally, § 2-160 et seq.
State law reference – Similar provisions, RSMo 479.120.
Sec. 8-44. Judge trials.
In any trial the violation of this Code or any other city ordinance, all issues of the fact shall be tried by the municipal judge except where trial by jury is authorized by law and the defendant or his attorney requests a trial by jury.
State law reference – Similar provisions, RSMo 479.140.
Sec. 8-45. Jury Trials.
Any person charged with a violation of this Code or any other city ordinance shall b e entitled to a trial by jury, as in prosecutions for misdemeanors before an associate circuit judge. Whenever a defendant accused of a violation of a municipal ordinance has the right to a trial by jury and demands such trial by jury, the municipal court shall certify the case to the presiding judge of the circuit court for reassignment, as provided in RSMo 517.520(2).
(Code 1970, § 7-15)
State law reference¬-Similar provisions, RSMo 479.130, 479.150.
Sec. 8-46. Summoning of witnesses; fees.
(a) It shall be the duty of the municipal judge to summon all persons whose testimony may be deemed essential as witnesses at the trial, and to enforce their attendance by attachment, if necessary. The fees of witnesses shall be the same as those fixed for witnesses in trials before associate circuit judges and shall be taxed as other costs in the case.
(b) When a trial shall be continued by a municipal judge it shall not be necessary to summon any witnesses who may be present at the continuance, but the municipal judge shall orally notify such witnesses as either party may require to attend before him on the day set for trial to testify in the case, and enter the names of such witnesses on his docket, which oral notice shall be valid as a summons.
(Code 1970, § 7-17)
State reference – Similar provisions, RSMo 479.160.
Sec. 8-47. Transfer of complaint to associate circuit judge.
If, in the progress of any trial before a municipal judge, it shall appear to the judge that the accused ought to be put upon trial for an offense against the criminal laws of the state and not cognizable before him as municipal judge, he shall immediately stop all further proceedings before him as municipal judge and cause the complaint to be made before some associate circuit judge within the county.
(Code 1970, § 7-18)
State law reference – Similar provisions, RSMo 479.170.
Sec. 8-48. Failure to appear upon arrest or summons.
It shall be unlawful for any defendant who has previously been admitted to bail after arrest or summons to fail to appear before the municipal court at a stipulated time and from time to time as required by the court or who departs from the process of the court without leave.
Cross reference – Offenses against public administration, § 14-21 et seq.
Sec. 8-49. Jailing of defendants.
If in the opinion of the municipal judge the city has no suitable and safe place of confinement, the municipal judge may commit the defendant to the county jail, and it shall be the duty of the sheriff, if space for the prisoner is available in the county jail, upon receipt of a warrant of commitment from the judge to receive and safely keep such prisoner until discharged by due process of law. The city shall pay the board of such prisoner at the same rate as may now or hereafter be allowed by law to such sheriff for the keeping of other prisoners in is custody.
(Code 1970, § 7-19)
State law reference – Similar provisions, RSMo 479.180.
Sec. 8-50. Parole and probation.
The municipal judge may, when in his judgment is may seem advisable, grant a parole or probation to any person who shall plead guilty or who shall be convicted after a trail before such judge.
(Code 1970, § 7-20)
State law reference – Similar provisions, RSMo 479.190.
Sec. 8-51. Right of appeal; record.
(a) In all cases tried before the municipal court, except where there has been a plea of guilty or where the case has been tried with a jury, the defendant shall have a right of trial de novo, before a circuit judge or an assignment before an associate circuit judge. An application for a trial de novo shall be filed within ten (10) days after judgment and shall be filed in such form and perfected in such manner as provided by Supreme Court rule.
(b) In all cases in which a jury trial has been demanded, a record of the proceeding shall be made, and appeals may be had upon that record to the appropriate appellate court.
(Code 1970, §§ 7-21, 7-22)
State law reference – Similar provisions, RSMo 479.200(2), (3).
Sec. 8-52. Breach of recognizance.
In the case of a breach of any recognizance entered into before a municipal judge or an associate circuit judge hearing a municipal ordinance violation case, the same shall be deemed forfeited and the judge shall cause the same to be prosecuted against the principal and surety, or either of them, in the name of the city as plaintiff. Such action shall be prosecuted before a circuit judge or associate circuit judge, and in the event of cases caused to be prosecuted by a municipal judge, such shall be on the transcript of the proceedings before the municipal judge. All monies recovered in such actions shall be paid over to the city treasury to the general revenue fund of the city.
(Code 1970, § 7-23)
State law reference – Similar provisions, RSMo 479.210.
Sec. 8-53. Disqualification of municipal judge from hearing particular case.
A municipal judge shall be disqualified to hear any case in which he is in anywise interested, or if before the trial is commenced, the defendant or the city attorney files an affidavit that the defendant or the municipality, as the case may be, cannot have a fair and impartial trial by reason the interest or prejudice of the judge. Neither the defendant nor the city attorney shall be entitled to file more than one (1) affidavit or disqualification in the same case.
(Code 1970, § 7-24)
State law reference – Similar provisions, RSMo 479.220.
Sec. 8-54. Installment payment of fine.
When a fine is assessed for violating an ordinance, it should be within the discretion of the municipal judge to provide for the payment of a fine on an installment basis under such terms and conditions as he may deem appropriate.
(Code 1970, § 7-29)
State law reference – Similar provisions, RSMo 479.240.
Sec. 8-55. Costs assessed against prosecuting witness.
The costs of any action may be assessed against the prosecuting witness and judgment be rendered against him that he pay the same and stand committed until paid in any case where is appears to the satisfaction of the municipal judge that the prosecution was commenced without probable cause and from malicious motives.
(Code 1970, § 7-28)
Sec. 8-56. Court costs.
In addition to any fine may be imposed by the municipal judge there shall be in all cases the following costs assessed:
(1) [Basic court costs.] There shall be assessed as basic court costs an amount
equal to the basic court costs in RSMo 479.260, as amended from time to time.
(2) [Surcharge.] In addition to any other costs that may be imposed, there shall be
assessed a surcharge in the amount authorized by RSMo 590.140 and as amended from time to time in all municipal cases which shall be used as set forth in RSMo 590.140. The collection, assessment and disbursement of this surcharge shall be made pursuant to the provisions of RSMo 590.140, as amended from time to time.
(3) [Crime victims’ compensation fund surcharge.] In addition to any other costs
that may be imposed, there shall be assessed a surcharge in the amount authorized by RSMo 595.045, and as amended from time to time, in all municipal cases for the benefits of the crime victims’ compensation fund. The collection, assessment and disbursement of this charge shall be made pursuant to the provisions of RSMo 595.045, as amended from time to time.
(4) [Shelters for battered persons surcharge.] In addition to any other costs that
may be imposed, there shall be assessed a surcharge in the amount provided by section RSMo 479.261 and as amended from time to time in all municipal cases for the benefit of shelters for battered persons as defined in RSMo 455.200 to 455.230. The collection, assessment and disbursement of this surcharge shall be made pursuant to the provisions of RSMo 479.261, as amended from time to time.
(5) [Application fee for trial de novo.] The filing fee for applications for a trial de
novo shall be in an amount established pursuant to the provisions of RSMo 479.260, as amended from time to time.
(6) [Sheriff’s fees.] In addition to any fine or other costs that may be imposed,
there shall be assessed an additional cost for all sheriff’s fees submitted to the court as authorized by law.
(7) [Fee’s for incarceration in county jail.]In addition to any fine or any other
costs that may be imposed, there may be assessed an additional cost in an amount equal to the actual costs assessed against the city by sheriff for the incarceration of any convicted person in the county jail including any transportation costs associated with the incarceration.
(8) Reimbursement of certain costs of arrest.
a. Upon a plea of guilty, or finding of guilt, for violation of sections 23-
122 or 23-123 of this Code, the court may, in addition to the imposition of any penalties provided by law, order the defendant to reimburse the arresting entity for costs associated with the arrest as set forth below.
b. Such costs include:
1. Reasonable costs incurred in making the arrest; and
2. Costs of any chemical test of the defendant’s breath, blood, or
urine made pursuant to RSMo Ch. 577, and as amended; and
3. The costs of charging, processing, booking and holding the
defendant in custody.
c. For costs requested by the city, the chief of police shall submit to the
city council a schedule of such costs to be approved by resolution from time to time. The court may order costs reduced if in any case they are determined to be excessive.
(Code 1790, § 7-27; Ord. No 3198, § 1, 12-16-96; Ord. No. 3490. § 3, 11-22-99; Ord. No. 3491, §§ 1, 2, 11-22-99; Ord. No. 3686, § 1, 12-10-01; Ord. No. 3922, § 1, 7-26-04)
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