[Ord. No. 4443, 12-19-2022]
A. There
is hereby established in this City a Municipal Court, to be known
as the "Lake Saint Louis Municipal Court, a division of the 11th Judicial
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."
1. Section 70.220, RSMo., authorizes municipalities to contract and
cooperate with each other for common service, such as Municipal Courts.
2. The City of Lake Saint Louis has determined it is in its best interests
to contract with the City of O'Fallon for Court services pursuant
to the Municipal Court services contract adopted by Ord. No. 4410
which goes into effect January 1, 2023.
[CC 1988 §72.020]
The jurisdiction of the Municipal Court shall extend to all
cases involving alleged violations of the ordinances of the City.
[CC 1988 §72.030; Ord.
No. 4443, 12-19-2022]
The Judge of the City's Municipal Court shall be known as a
Municipal Judge of the Eleventh Judicial Circuit Court, and he/she
shall be appointed to his/her position by the Mayor, subject to the
confirmation by a majority of the Board of Aldermen, for a term as
specified herein.
[CC 1988 §72.040]
The Municipal Judge shall hold his/her office for a term of
two (2) years. 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 1988 §72.050]
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,
2. Upon attaining his/her seventy-fifth (75th) birthday,
3. If he/she should lose his/her license to practice law within the
State of Missouri,
4. Dismissal by the Mayor with a two-thirds (2/3) approval of the Board
of Aldermen, or
5. Two-thirds (2/3) of the Board of Aldermen independently of the Mayor.
[CC 1988 §72.060]
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 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 serve as 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.
[CC 1988 §72.070]
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 (1st) 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 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 full amount of all
fines collected during the preceding month, if not previously paid
to the Municipal Treasurer.
[CC 1988 §72.090]
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 Eleventh Judicial Circuit. The Municipal Judge shall
deliver the docket and records of the Municipal Court, and all books
and papers pertaining to his/her office, to the Presiding Judge of
the Circuit upon demand.
[CC 1988 §72.100; Ord. No. 1481 §1, 1-17-2000]
A. The
Municipal Judge shall be and is hereby authorized to:
1. Establish a Violation Bureau as provided for in the Missouri Rules
of Practice and Procedure in Municipal and Traffic Courts and Section
479.050, RSMo., and cause to be posted a schedule of fines for offenses
qualified to be handled under this Section plus Court costs.
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. Commute the term of any sentence, stay execution of any fine or sentence,
suspend any fine or sentence and to 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 ordinance of this City.
[CC 1988 §72.110]
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 warrant shall be executed by
the Chief of Police, any Police Officer or by the Sheriff any place
within the limits of St. Charles 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.
[Ord. No. 3443 §1, 8-17-2015]
A. The Municipal Judge shall have authority to issue administrative
search warrants for searches or inspections to determine the existence
of violations of any of the provisions of the Code of Ordinances.
The Municipal Judge shall also have authority to issue warrants for
the entry onto property to seize property or to otherwise enforce
any of the provisions of the Code of Ordinances.
B. Administrative warrants and searches or inspections made pursuant
thereto shall conform to and be governed by the following provisions:
1.
Any police officer, deputy, code enforcement official or prosecuting
attorney of the City may make application for the issuance of an administrative
warrant.
2.
The application shall:
a.
Be in writing, given by any police officer, deputy, code enforcement
official or prosecuting attorney of the City;
b.
State the time and date of the making of the application;
c.
Identify the property or places to be entered searched or seized
in sufficient detail and particularity that the officer executing
the administrative warrant can readily ascertain it;
d.
State facts sufficient to show probable cause for the issuance
of an administrative search warrant to search for violations of this
Code of Ordinances or to show that entry or seizure is authorized
by this Code and that due process has been afforded prior to the entry
or seizure;
e.
Be verified by the oath or affirmation of the applicant; and
f.
Be filed in the Municipal Division of the St. Charles County,
Missouri, Circuit Court.
3.
The application shall be supplemented by written affidavits
verified by oath or affirmation. Such affidavits shall be considered
in determining whether there is probable cause for the issuance of
the administrative warrant and in filling out any deficiencies in
the description of the property or places to be entered or searched.
Oral testimony shall not be considered.
4.
The Judge shall determine whether sufficient facts have been
stated to justify the issuance of an administrative warrant; if it
appears from the application and any supporting affidavits that there
is probable cause to inspect or search for violations of this Code,
or that entry or seizure is authorized by this Code, an administrative
warrant shall immediately be issued to allow such search, entry or
seizure. The administrative warrant shall be issued in the form of
an original and two (2) copies.
[Ord. No. 4472, 3-20-2023]
5.
The application and any supporting affidavits and a copy of
the administrative warrant shall be retained in the records of the
Municipal Judge.
6.
The administrative warrant shall:
a.
Be in writing and in the name of the issuing authority;
b.
Be directed to any police officer, deputy or code enforcement
official of the City;
c.
State the time and date the administrative warrant is issued;
d.
Identify the property or places to be searched, entered or seized
in sufficient detail and particularity that the officer executing
the warrant can readily ascertain it;
e.
In the case of an administrative search warrant, command that
the described property or places be searched and that any photographs
of violations found thereon or therein be brought, within ten (10)
days after filing of the application, to the Judge who issued the
administrative warrant, to be dealt with according to law; and
f.
Be signed by the Municipal Judge, with his title of office indicated.
7.
An administrative warrant issued under this Section may be executed
only by a police officer, deputy or code enforcement official of the
City. The administrative warrant shall be executed by conducting the
search or entry or seizure commanded.
8.
An administrative warrant shall be executed as soon as practicable
and shall expire if it is not executed, and the return made, within
ten (10) days after the date of the making of the application.
9.
After its execution, the administrative warrant, with a return
thereon signed by a police officer, deputy or code enforcement official
of the City who made the search, entry or seizure, shall be delivered
to the Judge who issued the administrative warrant. The return shall
show the date and manner of execution and the name of the possessor
and of the owner of the property or places searched, entered or seized,
when the possessor is not the same person as the owner.
10.
An administrative warrant shall be deemed invalid:
a.
If it was not issued by a Judge of the Municipal Division of
the St. Charles County, Missouri, Circuit Court; or
b.
If it was issued without a written application having been filed
and verified; or
c.
If it was issued without probable cause; or
d.
If it was not issued with respect to property or places within
the City; or
e.
If it does not describe the property or places to be searched,
entered or seized with sufficient certainty; or
f.
If it is not signed by the Judge who issued it; or
g.
If was not executed within the time prescribed by Subsection
(B)(8) of this Section.
[CC 1988 §72.120]
The Chief of Police or other Police Officer of the City may,
without 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 1988 §72.130]
It shall be the duty of an attorney designated by the City of
Lake Saint Louis to prosecute the 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 result in any case.
[CC 1988 §72.140]
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 1988 §72.150]
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 1988 §72.160; Ord. No. 1519 §1, 6-19-2000]
Any person charged with the violation of an ordinance of the
City of Lake Saint Louis shall have a trial by the Municipal Judge
unless a demand for jury trial is made in which case the Municipal
Judge shall certify the case for assignment. The demand for trial
by jury and the certification for assignment shall be governed by
Chapter 517, RSMo., and Supreme Court Rule 37.61.
[CC 1988 §72.170]
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 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 1988 §72.190; Ord. No. 1519 §2, 6-19-2000]
The defendant shall have a right to a trial de novo as provided
by law except where there has been a plea of guilty before a Municipal
Judge, or the case has been tried with a jury before a Circuit Judge
or any Associate Circuit Judge. The filing of an application for trial
de novo or review shall suspend the execution of the judgment of the
Municipal Division. If the applicant for trial de novo withdraws the
application or, before the commencement of trial, the Court enters
a finding that the applicant abandoned the trial de novo, the case
shall be remanded to the Municipal Division for execution of the judgment
pursuant to Supreme Court Rules 37.71, 37.72.
[CC 1988 §72.200]
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 Appellate Court.
[CC 1988 §72.210]
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 municipality 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 municipal Treasury to the General
Revenue Fund of the municipality.
[CC 1988 §72.220]
A Municipal Judge shall be disqualified to hear any case in
which he/she is anywise 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 is disqualified or disqualifies himself/herself from
serving in a particular case, he/she shall promptly notify the Presiding
Judge of the Circuit of such disqualification.
A. If a Municipal Judge be absent, sick or disqualified from acting, the Mayor of the Board of Aldermen 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 Aldermen 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 Aldermen for a special Municipal Judge.
C. 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 1988 §72.240; Ord. No. 1481 §2, 1-17-2000]
A. The
duties of the Clerk shall be as follows:
1. To collect such fines for violations of such offenses as may be prescribed,
and the Court costs thereof, and maintain such records as required.
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/her.
4. Sign and issue subpoenas requiring the attendance of witnesses and
sign and issue subpoenas duces tecum.
5. Accept the appearance, waiver of trial and plea of guilty and payment
of fine and costs in Violation Bureau cases or as directed by the
Municipal Judge; generally, act as Violation Clerk of the Violation
Bureau.
6. Report to the Director of Revenue, State of Missouri, the names,
addresses and the driver's license number with the name of the State
issuing same of all persons who have pleaded guilty to or have had
a final judgment rendered on a moving traffic violation(s).
7. Perform all other duties as provided for by ordinance, by rules of
practice and procedure adopted by the Municipal Judge, and by the
Missouri Rules of Practice and Procedure in Municipal and Traffic
Courts and by Statute.
8. Maintain, properly certified by the City Clerk, a complete copy of
the ordinance of the City which shall constitute prima facie evidence
of such ordinance before the Court.