[1]
Editor's Note — Former section 5.050 was repealed by
ord. no. 467, 3-21-95.
[CC 1984 §5.010; Ord. No. 223 §479.020.5; Ord. No. 267, 7-17-1984]
There is hereby established in this City a Municipal Court which
shall be known as the "Weatherby Lake Municipal Court, a Division
of the 6th Judicial Circuit Court of the State of Missouri" and which
may be referred to as Weatherby Lake Municipal Court. This Court is
a continuation of the City Municipal Court as previously established.
[CC 1984 §5.020; Ord. No. 223 §479.020.5; Ord. No. 267, 7-17-1984]
For the purpose of this Chapter, the word "Court" shall mean the Weatherby Lake Municipal Court and the word "Judge" shall mean the City Municipal Judge or person acting
in that capacity.
The jurisdiction of the Municipal Court shall extend to all
cases involving alleged violations of the ordinances of the City.
[CC 1984 §5.040; Ord. No. 100; Ord. No. 223 §479.020.5; Ord. No. 267, 7-17-1984]
The Court shall sit and hear all matters at the City Hall building
located at 7200 NW Eastside Drive in the City.
The Judge of the City's Municipal Court shall be known as a Municipal Judge of the 6th Judicial Circuit Court and shall be elected to the position as set out in Section 105.020 of this Code.
The Municipal Judge shall be elected to his/her office for a
period of two (2) years.
A.
The
Municipal Judge shall possess the following qualifications before
he/she shall take office:
1.
He/she must be a licensed attorney, qualified to practice law within
the State of Missouri or within six (6) months after selection for
the position, each Municipal Judge who is not licensed to practice
law in this State shall satisfactorily complete the course of instruction
for Municipal Judges prescribed by the Supreme Court.
2.
He/she must be a resident of the City of Weatherby Lake.
3.
He/she must be between the ages of twenty-one (21) and seventy-five
(75) years.
4.
He/she may serve as a Municipal Judge for any other municipality.
5.
He/she may not hold any other office within the City Government.
6.
The Municipal Judge shall be considered holding a part-time position
and as such may accept other employment.
The Municipal Court of the City 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 authority of the Presiding Judge of the Circuit Court,
and the Judge and Court personnel of said Court shall obey his/her
directives.
The Municipal Judge shall cause the Court Clerk to prepare,
within the first ten (10) days of every month, a report indicating
the following:
A list of all cases heard or tried before the Judge during the
preceding month, giving in each case the name of the defendant, the
fine imposed if any, the amount of costs, the names of defendants
committed, and the cases in which there was an application for trial
de novo, respectively. The Court Clerk or the Judge shall verify such
lists and statements by affidavit and shall file the same with the
City Clerk who shall lay the same before the Board of Alderpersons
of the City for examination at its first (1st) session thereafter.
The Municipal Court shall, within the ten (10) days after the first
(1st) of the month, pay to the Municipal Treasurer the full amount
of all fines collected during the preceding month, if not previously
paid to the Municipal Treasurer.
The Municipal Judge shall be a conservator of the peace. He/she
shall keep a docket in which he/she shall enter every case commenced
before him/her and the proceedings therein and he/she shall keep such
other records as may be required. Such docket and records shall be
records of the Circuit Court of Platte County. The Municipal Judge
shall deliver said docket, records and all books and papers pertaining
to his/her office to his/her successor in office or to the Presiding
Judge of the Circuit.
A.
The
Municipal Judge shall be and is hereby authorized to:
1.
Establish a Violations Bureau as provided for in the Missouri Rules
of Practice and Procedure in Municipal and Traffic Courts and Section
479.050, RSMo.
2.
Administer oaths and enforce due obedience to all orders, rules and
judgments made by him/her and may fine and imprison for contempt committed
before him/her while holding Court in the same manner and to the same
extent as a Circuit Judge.
3.
Stay execution of any fine or sentence, suspend any fine or sentence,
and make such other orders as the Municipal Judge deems necessary
relative to any matter that may be pending in the Municipal Court.
4.
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 Missouri Rules of
Practice and Procedure in Municipal and Traffic Courts.
5.
The Municipal Judge 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.
The Municipal Judge for the City of Weatherby Lake shall be
paid a sum as fixed by ordinance from time to time.
[CC 1984 §5.060; Ord. No. 223 §479.020.5; Ord. No. 267, 7-17-1984]
If the Judge determines that there shall be a Violations Bureau,
the City shall provide all expenses incident to its operation. Subject
to Supreme Court Rule 37 and the local rules of the 6th Judicial Circuit,
the Judge shall determine by an order or orders of the Court what
ordinance violations may be processed before the Violations Bureau
in lieu of appearance at trial. The Municipal Court Clerk shall be
designated as the Violations Clerk upon establishment of such a Bureau.
[CC 1984 §5.061; Ord. No. 223 §479.020.5; Ord. No. 267, 7-17-1984]
A.
Where
any person shall be charged with an ordinance violation for which
payment of a fine and Court costs are permitted to be made to the
Violations Bureau, then such person may elect to pay the designated
fine and costs within the time specified in the violation notice upon
entry of a plea of guilty and waiver of the right to appear in Court.
Otherwise, the person shall personally appear before the Judge at
the specified date and time contained within the summons.
B.
Payment
of the fine and costs to the Violations Bureau shall constitute a
guilty plea and waiver of trial. If approved by the Judge, payment
may be made by mail.
[CC 1984 §5.062; Ord. No. 223 §479.020.5; Ord. No. 267, 7-17-1984]
The Violations Clerk shall perform the duties assigned by the
Judge, including accepting appearances, waiver of trial, pleas of
guilty and payment of the designated fines and costs. Receipts shall
be issued for all payments. Additionally, the Violations Clerk shall
maintain the records of the Bureau and submit to the Judge a monthly
accounting of all ordinance violations processed by the Bureau.
All warrants issued by a Municipal Judge shall be directed to
the City Marshal, Chief of Police or any other Police Officer of the
municipality or to the Sheriff of the County. The warrants shall be
executed by the Marshal, Chief of Police, Police Officer or Sheriff
at 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.
The City Marshal, Chief of Police or other Police Officer of
the City may, without a warrant, make arrest of any person who commits
an offense in his/her presence, but such officer shall, before the
trial, file a written complaint with the Judge hearing violations
of municipal ordinances.
[1]
Editor's Note — Ord. no. 716, adopted November 16, 2004,
repealed section 125.190 "jury trials" in its entirety. At the editor's
discretion, this section has been reserved for the city's future use.
It shall be the duty of an attorney designated by the City 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 attorney and his/her necessary
expenses incurred in such prosecutions shall be paid by the City.
The compensation of such attorney shall not be contingent upon the
number of cases tried, the number of guilty verdicts reached, or the
amount of fines imposed or collected.
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 Court Judges and shall be taxed as other
costs in the case. 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/her
on the day set for trial to testify in the case and enter the names
of such witnesses on his/her docket, which oral notice shall be valid
as a summons.
If, in the progress of any trial before the 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/her as Municipal Judge, he/she shall immediately
stop all further proceedings before him/her as Municipal Judge and
cause the complaint to be made before some Associate Circuit Court
Judge of the County.
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 municipality
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 his/her custody. The same shall be taxed as cost.
[Ord. No. 2016-11, 9-14-2016]
A.
Any
Judge hearing violations of municipal ordinances may, when in his/her
judgment it may seem advisable, grant a parole or probation to any
person who shall plead guilty or who shall be convicted after a trial
before such Judge. When a person is placed on probation, he/she shall
be given an Order explicitly stating the conditions on which he/she
is being released.
B.
In
addition to such other authority as exists to order conditions of
probation, the Court may order conditions which the Court believes
will serve to compensate the victim of the crime, any dependent of
the victim, or society in general. Such conditions may include, but
need not be limited to:
C.
A person
may refuse probation conditioned on the performance of free work.
If he/she does so, the Court shall decide the extent or duration of
sentence or other disposition to be imposed and render judgment accordingly.
Any County, City, person, organization or agency or employee of a
County, City, organization or agency charged with the supervision
of such free work or who benefits from its performance shall be immune
from any suit by the person placed on parole or probation or any person
deriving a cause of action from him/her if such cause of action arises
from such supervision of performance, except for intentional torts
or gross negligence. The services performed by the probationer or
parolee shall not be deemed employment within the meaning of the provisions
of Chapter 288, RSMo.
D.
The
Court may modify or enlarge the conditions of probation at any time
prior to the expiration or termination of the probation term.
E.
Community
service alternatives should be considered by the Court at no cost
to the defendant, with the value of the community services hours being
at the rate of ten dollars ($10.00) per hour.
[Ord. No. 2016-11, 9-14-2016]
In any case tried before the Municipal Judge, 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
Court Judge or upon assignment before an Associate Circuit Court 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.
In any case tried with a jury before an Associate Circuit Judge,
a record of the proceedings shall be made, and appeals may be had
upon that record to the appropriate Appellate Court.
In the case of a breach of any recognizance entered into before
a Municipal Judge or an Associate Circuit Court 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 municipality as
plaintiff. Such action shall be prosecuted before a Circuit Court
Judge or Associate Circuit Court 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 Municipal Treasury
to the General Revenue Fund of the municipality.
A Municipal Judge shall be disqualified to hear any case in
which he/she is in any way interested or, if before the trial is commenced,
the defendant or the prosecutor files an affidavit that the defendant
or the municipality, as the case may be, cannot have a fair and impartial
trial by reason of the interest or prejudice of the Judge. Neither
the defendant nor the municipality shall be entitled to file more
than one (1) affidavit or disqualification in the same case.
A.
If a Municipal Judge be absent, sick or disqualified from acting, the Mayor of the Board of Alderpersons may request the Presiding Judge of the Circuit Court to designate a special Municipal Judge as provided in Subsection (B) of this Section or the Mayor may designate some competent, eligible person to act as Municipal Judge until such absence or disqualification shall cease; provided however, that should a vacancy occur in the office of an elected Municipal Judge more than six (6) months before a general municipal election, then a special election shall be held to fill such vacancy; and in case of vacancy in the office of an elected Municipal Judge within less than six (6) months of a general municipal election, the office may be filled by a competent, eligible person designated by the Mayor of the Board of Alderpersons or as provided in Subsection (B) of this Section.
B.
The
Presiding Judge of the Circuit Court may appoint any other Municipal
Judge within the Circuit to act as a special Municipal Judge for a
Municipal Judge of the Circuit who is absent, sick or disqualified
from acting. The Presiding Judge shall act only upon request of the
Mayor of the Board of Alderpersons for a special Municipal Judge.
C.
The
Governing Body of the municipality shall provide by ordinance for
the compensation of any person designated to act as Municipal Judge
under the provisions of this Section.
A.
A person
commits the offense of failure to appear in Municipal Court if:
1.
He/she has been issued a summons for a violation of any ordinance
of the City of Weatherby Lake and fails to appear before the Judge
of the Municipal Court at the time and on the date on which he/she
was summoned, or at the time or on the date to which the case was
continued;
2.
He/she has been released upon recognition of bond and fails to appear
before the Judge of the Municipal Court at the time and on the date
on which he/she was summoned, or at the time or on the date to which
the case was continued;
3.
He/she has been placed on Court supervised probation and fails to
appear before the Judge of the Municipal Court at the time specified
by said Judge as a condition of the probation.
B.
Nothing
in this Section shall prevent the exercise of the Municipal Court
of its power to punish for contempt.
