[CC 1979 §72.010; Ord. No. 2368 §1, 12-17-1996]
There is hereby established in this City a Municipal Court,
to be known as the "Municipal Court of Sullivan, a Division of the
Franklin County Circuit Court of the State of Missouri". This Court
is a continuation of the Police Court of the City as previously established,
and is termed herein "The Municipal Court".
[CC 1979 §72.020; Ord. No. 2368 §1, 12-17-1996]
The jurisdiction of the Municipal Court shall extend to all
cases involving alleged violations of the ordinances of the City.
[CC 1979 §72.030; Ord. No. 2368 §1, 12-17-1996]
A. The
Judge of the Municipal Court shall be known as a Municipal Judge of
the Twentieth (20th) Judicial Circuit of the State of Missouri, and
shall be selected as follows:
1. The Municipal Judge shall be elected to this position by a majority
of the registered voters of the City of Sullivan at a general election
held in the City.
[CC 1979 §72.040; Ord. No. 2368 §1, 12-17-1996]
The Municipal Judge shall hold his/her office for a period of
two (2) years and shall take office biannually from April, 1979. 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.
[CC 1979 §72.050; Ord. No. 2368 §1, 12-17-1996]
A. The
Municipal Judge shall vacate his/her office under the following circumstances:
1. Upon removal from office by the State Commission on the Retirement,
Removal and Discipline of Judges, as provided in Missouri Supreme
Court Rule 12, or
2. Upon attaining his/her seventy-fifth (75th) birthday, or
3. Should he/she fail, within six (6) months of his/her selection, to
satisfactorily complete a course of instruction for Municipal Judge
as prescribed by the State Supreme Court.
[CC 1979 §72.060; Ord. No. 2368 §1, 12-17-1996; Ord. No. 3287 §1, 12-2-2008]
A. The
Municipal Judge shall possess the following qualifications before
he/she shall take office:
1. He/she shall be a licensed attorney, qualified to practice law within
the State of Missouri.
2. He/she must be a resident of the State of Missouri.
3. He/she must be between the ages of twenty-one (21) and seventy-five
(75) years.
4. He/she may not hold any other office within the City Government.
5. He/she must, within six (6) months after his/her selection to the
position, satisfactorily complete a course of instruction for Municipal
Judges as prescribed by the State Supreme Court.
6. The Municipal Judge shall be considered holding a part-time position,
and as such may accept (within the requirements of the Code of Judicial
Conduct, Missouri Supreme Court Rule 2) other employment.
[CC 1979 §72.070; Ord. No. 2368 §1, 12-17-1996]
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
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.
[CC 1979 §72.080; Ord. No. 2368 §1, 12-17-1996]
The Municipal Judge shall cause to be prepared within the first
(1st) ten (10) days of every month a report indicating the following:
A list 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 costs, the ordinance violations
committed and in the cases where there was an application for trial
de novo, respectively. The same shall be prepared under oath by the
Municipal Court Administrator or the Municipal Judge. This report
will be filed with the City Clerk, who shall thereafter forward the
same to the Board of Aldermen 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 fill amount of all fines collected during the preceding
month, if they have not previously been paid.
[CC 1979 §72.090; Ord. No. 2368 §1, 12-17-1996]
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 Franklin County. The Municipal Judge
shall deliver the docket and records of the Municipal Court, and all
books and papers pertaining to his/her office, to his/her successor
in office or to the Presiding Judge of the Circuit Court.
[CC 1979 §72.100; Ord. No. 2368 §1, 12-17-1996]
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/or imprison for contempt
committed before him/her while holding Court, in the same manner and
to the same extent as a Circuit Judge.
3. Commute the term of any sentence, stay execution of any fine and/or
sentence, suspend any fine and/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. 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 the Missouri Rules of Practice
and Procedure in Municipal and Traffic Courts, or State Statutes.
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.
6. The duly elected Municipal Judge of the City of Sullivan shall be
allowed compensation such as from time to time is fixed by the Board
of Aldermen. The salary shall not be changed during the time for which
he/she was elected or appointed.
[Ord. No. 3758 § 1, 2-21-2017]
[CC 1979 §72.110; Ord. No. 2368 §1, 12-17-1996]
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 Municipal Court Administrator is hereby designated
as the Violations Clerk for said Bureau, if established.
[CC 1979 §72.120; Ord. No. 2368 §1, 12-17-1996]
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 warrant shall
be executed by the Marshal, 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.
[CC 1979 §72.130; Ord. No. 2368 §1, 12-17-1996]
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.
[CC 1979 §72.140; Ord. No. 2368 §1, 12-17-1996]
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 Judge. Whenever a defendant
accused of violation of a municipal ordinance demands a trial by jury,
the Municipal Court Administrator shall certify the case to the Presiding
Judge of the Circuit Court for reassignment, as provided in Section
2 of Section 517.520, RSMo.
[CC 1979 §72.150; Ord. No. 2368 §1, 12-17-1996]
It shall be the duty of an attorney designated by the municipality
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 dependent upon the
number of cases tried, the number of guilty verdicts reached or the
amount of fines imposed or collected
[CC 1979 §72.160; Ord. No. 2368 §1, 12-17-1996]
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. 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.
[CC 1979 §72.170; Ord. No. 2368 §1, 12-17-1996]
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/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 Judge within the
County.
[CC 1979 §72.180; Ord. No. 2368 §1, 12-17-1996]
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 not or
hereafter be allowed to such Sheriff for the keeping of such prisoner
in his/her custody. The same shall be taxed as cost.
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 a certificate 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:
1. Restitution to the victim or any dependent of the victim in an amount
to be determined by the Judge; and
2. The performance of a designated amount of free work for a public
or charitable purpose or purposes as determined by the Judge.
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.
[CC 1979 §72.200; Ord. No. 2368 §1, 12-17-1996]
The defendant shall have a right to trial de novo, even from
a plea of guilty, before a Circuit Judge or an Associate Circuit Judge.
Such application for a trial de novo shall be filed within ten (10)
days after the judgment and shall be in the form as provided by Supreme
Court rules.
[CC 1979 §72.210; Ord. No. 2368 §1, 12-17-1996]
In all cases in which a jury trial has been demanded, a record
of the proceedings shall be made, and appeals may be had upon that
record to the appropriate Appellant Court.
[CC 1979 §72.220; Ord. No. 2368 §1, 12-17-1996]
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 Judge
or an 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 Municipal Treasury to the
General Revenue Fund of the municipality.
[CC 1979 §72.230; Ord. No. 2368 §1, 12-17-1996]
A Municipal Judge shall be disqualified to hear any case in
which he/she is in anyway 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
that one (1) affidavit or disqualification in the same case.
[CC 1979 §72.240; Ord. No. 2368 §1, 12-17-1996]
If a Municipal Judge be absent, sick or disqualified from acting,
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 that six (6) months of a general municipal election,
the office may be filled a competent, eligible person designated by
the Mayor. The Board of Aldermen shall provide by ordinance for the
compensation of any person designated to act as Municipal Judge under
the provisions of this Section.
[CC 1979 §72.260; Ord. No. 2368 §1, 12-17-1996; Ord. No. 2411 §1, 7-15-1997; Ord. No. 2715 §1, 8-21-2001; Ord. No. 2807 §1, 9-3-2002]
In addition to any fine that may be imposed by the Municipal Judge there shall be assessed as costs in all cases the amounts as set out in Section
160.020.
[CC 1979 §72.270; Ord. No. 2368 §1, 12-17-1996]
The costs of any action may be assessed against the prosecuting
witness and judgment be rendered against him/her that he/she pay the
same and stand committed until paid in any case where it appears to
the satisfaction of the Municipal Judge that the prosecution was commenced
without probable cause and from malicious motives.
[CC 1979 §72.280; Ord. No. 2368 §1, 12-17-1996]
When a fine is assessed for violating an ordinance, it should
be within the discretion of the Judge assessing the fine to provide
for the payment of a fine on an installment basis under such terms
and conditions as he/she may deem appropriate.
[CC 1979 §75.105; Ord. No. 2062 §1, 10-5-1993]
A. Upon a plea of guilty, finding of guilt or conviction for violation of the provisions of Sections
342.020 or
342.030 (alcohol- or drug-related traffic offenses), the court shall, in addition to the other penalties provided by law, order the person to reimburse law enforcement authorities for the costs associated with such arrest, as set out in Section
160.030 of this Code.
B. Such
costs shall include the reasonable costs of making the arrest, including
the costs of any chemical tests to determine the alcohol or drug content
of the person's blood, and the costs of processing, charging, booking
and holding such person in custody.
C. These
fees shall be calculated as additional costs by the Municipal Court
and shall be collected in the same manner as other costs and fees
are collected and remitted to the City Collector.
D. The
City Collector shall retain these fees in a separate fund known as
the DWI/Drug Enforcement Fund. All monies within said fund shall be
appropriated by the City Council to law enforcement authorities from
such fund. These funds shall be specifically used to enhance and support
the enforcement and prosecution of alcohol- and drug-related offenses
within the City of Sullivan.