There is hereby established in the City of Granby a Municipal Court, to be known as the "Granby Municipal Court, a Division of the 40th Judicial Circuit Court of the State of Missouri". In the event a Police Court existed prior to the establishment of a Municipal Court, this Court is a continuation of the Police Court of the City as previously established and is termed herein "The Municipal Court".
Violations of municipal ordinances shall be heard and determined only before divisions of the Circuit Court as hereinafter provided in this Chapter. "Heard and determined", for purposes of this Chapter, shall mean any process under which the court in question retains the final authority to make factual determinations pertaining to allegations of a municipal ordinance violation.
[Ord. No. 625 §900.242, 12-12-1995; Ord. No. 940, 10-10-2024]
The Judge of the City's Municipal Court shall be known as a Municipal Judge of the 40th Judicial Circuit Court and shall be selected by appointment to the position by the Mayor, with the approval of a majority of the members of the Board of Aldermen, for a term as specified herein.
[Ord. No. 625 §900.243, 12-12-1995]
The Municipal Judge shall hold his/her office for a period of two (2) years and shall take office biannually from May 1, 1995. If for any reason a Municipal Judge vacates his/her office, his/her successor shall complete that term of office, even if the same be for less than two (2) years.
[Ord. No. 940, 10-10-2024]
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.
2.
He/she need not reside within the City.
3.
He/she must be a resident of the State of Missouri.
4.
He/she must be between the ages of twenty-one (21) and seventy-five (75) years.
5.
He/she may serve as a Municipal Judge for any other municipality.
6.
He/she may not hold any other office within the City Government.
B.
The Municipal Judge shall be considered holding a part-time position and as such may accept other employment.
C.
No Municipal Judge shall serve as a Municipal Judge in more than five (5) municipalities at one (1) time. A Court that serves more than one (1) municipality shall be treated as a single municipality for the purposes of this Subsection.
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.
[Ord. No. 961, 8-28-2025]
On or before the 15th of each month, the Municipal Court shall submit to the municipality a copy of the monthly case load summary report for the preceding month required by Missouri Supreme Court Operating Rule 4.28.
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 Newton 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.
[Ord. No. 625 §900.249, 12-12-1995]
A.
The Municipal Judge shall be and is hereby authorized to:
1.
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.
2.
If the trial of any defendant shall be postponed for good cause, the Judge may require the defendant to enter into a recognizance, with sufficient security conditioned that he/she will appear before the Judge at the time and place appointed, then and there to answer the complaint alleged against him/her; and if the defendant fails or refuses to enter into such recognizance, he/she may be committed to jail and held to answer the complaint as aforesaid.
3.
Summon all persons whose testimony may be deemed essential as witnesses at a trial and to enforce their attendance by attachment, if need be.
4.
If, after the complaint is made and filed, the defendant fails to appear to answer the charge, the Judge may issue a warrant for his/her arrest. The warrant shall be directed to the Chief of Police, the Sheriff of Newton County or other Law Enforcement Officer empowered to serve such warrants.
5.
If the defendant pleads; or be found guilty, the Judge shall declare and assess punishment described by ordinance according to his/her finding and enter judgment accordingly, together with the costs of the action.
6.
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.
7.
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.
8.
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. Any and all rules made or adopted hereunder may be annulled or amended by an ordinance limited to such purposes; provided that such ordinance does not violate, or conflict with, other provisions of the Missouri Rules of Practice and Procedure in Municipal and Traffic Courts, or State statutes.
9.
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.
10.
Attend fifteen (15) hours of seminars annually in order to retain accreditation as a Municipal Judge plus three (3) hours of ethics every three (3) years.
11.
Responsible for preparing the court budget and supervising expenditures.
12.
May solemnize a marriage at any place within the State of Missouri for no compensation.
The Municipal Judge for the City of Granby shall be paid a sum as fixed by ordinance from time to time.
Should the Municipal Judge determine that there shall be a Violations Bureau, the City shall provide all expenses incident to the operation of the same. The Court Clerk is hereby designated as the Violations Clerk for said Bureau, if established, and may appoint or designate such persons as are necessary to conduct said office.
B.
All warrants issued by a Municipal Judge shall be directed to the 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 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.
A.
The 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.
B.
In the event an arrest is made due to a traffic stop, a warrant must be issued within twenty-four (24) hours, or the offender is to be released. Only the Judge may order and sign a warrant. Time runs from the time the offender is taken into custody. Once a warrant is issued, defendants must appear before a judge within forty-eight (48) hours if the offense is a minor traffic violation and within seventy-two (72) hours for all other offenses or be released.
[Ord. No. 801 §5, 2-23-2016[1]]
[1]
Editor's Note: Section 8 of this ordinance provided that it would be effective 8-28-2015.
Any person charged with a violation of a municipal ordinance of this City shall be entitled to a trial by jury as in prosecutions for misdemeanors before an Associate Circuit Court Judge. Whenever a defendant accused of a violation of a municipal ordinance has a right to and demands such trial by jury, the Municipal Court shall certify the case to the Presiding Judge of the Circuit Court for reassignment. The request for a jury trial is to be made by motion filed at least ten (10) days prior to the trial date.
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.
A.
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.
B.
For purposes of this Section, any offense involving the operation of a motor vehicle in an intoxicated condition as defined in Section 577.001, RSMo., shall not be cognizable in Municipal Court, if the defendant has been convicted, found guilty, or pled guilty to two (2) or more previous intoxication-related traffic offenses as defined in Section 577.001, RSMo., or has had two (2) or more previous alcohol-related enforcement contacts as defined in Section 302.525, RSMo.
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. 754, 1-24-2012]
A.
The Court shall have the discretion upon finding or plea of guilt to impose such sentence as authorized by Charter and Code, and consistent with the Statutes and Court Rules of Missouri.
B.
The Judges of the Municipal Division (Municipal Court) in Granby, Missouri may place a defendant on probation for the violation of any ordinance of the City, specifically including the offense of operating or being in physical control of a motor vehicle while under the influence of intoxicating liquor or narcotic drugs. The conditions of probation shall be such as the Court in its discretion deems reasonably necessary to insure that the Court will be aware of any further law violations. When a defendant is placed on probation, he/she shall be given a certificate explicitly stating the conditions on which he/she is being released. Persons found guilty or pleading guilty to ordinance violations and placed on probation by the Municipal Court Judges and persons who need more than one (1) month to pay their fine, court costs and/or restitution shall contribute a service fee to the Municipal Court in the amount of twenty-five dollars ($25.00) per month to pay the cost of their probation supervision provided by a Probation or Compliance Officer employed by the City. The Court may exempt a person from all or part of the or part of the foregoing fee if it finds any of the following factors to exist:
1.
The offender has diligently attempted, but has been unable, to obtain employment which provides him sufficient income to make such payments;
2.
The offender is a student in a school, college, university or course of vocational or technical training designed to fit the student for gainful employment. Certification of such student status shall be supplied to the Court by the education institution in which the offender is enrolled;
3.
The offender has an employment handicap, as determined by a physical, psychological or psychiatric examination acceptable to or ordered by the Court;
4.
The offender's age prevents him from obtaining employment;
5.
The offender is responsible for the support of dependents, and the payment of such fee constitutes an undue hardship on the offender;
6.
There are other extenuating circumstances as determined by the Court to exempt or partially reduce such payments; or
7.
The offender has been transferred outside the State under an interstate compact adopted pursuant to law.
C.
In addition to such other authority as exists to order conditions of probation, the Court may order such conditions as the Court believes will serve to compensate the victim, any dependent of the victim, or society. Such conditions may include, but shall not be limited to:
1.
Restitution to the victim or any dependant of the victim in an amount to be determined by the Court;
2.
The performance of a designated amount of free work for a public or charitable purpose, or purposes, as determined by the Court;
3.
The assessment of shock jail time, so long as such jail time is within the range of punishment authorized by ordinance of law for the offense charged;
4.
The assessment of a shock fine so long as such amount is within the range of punishment authorized by ordinance or law for the offense charged;
5.
Completion of alcohol or substance abuse education, evaluation or treatment programs at the expense of the defendant; and
6.
Completion of anger management, evaluation or treatment programs at the expense of the defendant.
D.
The defendant 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, 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 defendant or any person deriving a cause of action from him/her if such cause of action arises from such supervision of performance, except for an intentional tort or gross negligence. The services performed by the defendant shall not be deemed employment within the meaning of the provisions of Chapter 288, RSMo.
E.
The Court may modify or enlarge the conditions of probation at any time prior to the expiration or termination of the probation term.
F.
The Court may suspend either the imposition or execution of sentence as a condition of probation.
G.
The Court may adopt, by order, rules to implement the sentencing alternatives that it deems appropriate.
H.
The Court may supervise the conditions of confinement, and may adopt, by order, the term and conditions of release as it deems fit, including compassionate release or parole in the event of illness or injury of the inmate or death or injury of a family member of the inmate, work release, credit for good behavior and release on parole during periods of jail overcrowding, emergency, or disaster, and so forth.
I.
Any person who shall violate a term or condition of confinement, release or parole shall be subject to contempt.
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 entry of judgment and shall be filed in such form and perfected in such manner as provided by Supreme Court Rule. If defendant has paid any part of the penalty and costs of the judgment, the application shall not be granted.
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.
If a Municipal Judge be absent, sick or disqualified from acting pursuant to the general administrative authority of the Presiding Judge of the Circuit Court over the Municipal Divisions within the circuit contained in Section 478.240, RSMo., a special Municipal Judge may be designated in accordance with the provisions of Section 479.230, RSMo., until such absence or disqualification shall cease.
[Ord. No. 961, 8-28-2025]
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 Granby, other than a minor traffic violation, 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.