[1]
Editor's Note — As to certain violations concerning
an accused with special needs, §479.040, RSMo.
There is hereby established in the City of Concordia a Municipal
Court, to be known as the "Concordia Municipal Court, a Division of
the Lafayette County 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.
[CC 1992 §135.020; Ord. No. 407 §135.020, 11-20-1989; Ord. No. 488 §1, 3-4-1996]
A.
The
Judge of the City's Municipal Court shall be know as a Municipal Judge
of the Lafayette County Circuit Court and shall be selected as follows:
[CC 1992 §135.035; Ord. No. 407 §135.035, 11-20-1989]
The Municipal Judge shall hold his/her office for a period 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 1992 §135.040(3); Ord. No. 407 §135.040, 11-20-1989]
A.
The
Municipal Judge shall vacate his/her office under the following conditions:
[CC 1992 §135.030(6),(7); Ord. No. 407 §135.030, 11-20-1989]
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 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.
[CC 1992 §135.025; Ord. No. 407 §135.025, 11-20-1989]
The Municipal Court of the City shall be subject to the rules
of the Lafayette County Circuit Court (15th Judicial District) 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 (15th Judicial District),
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.
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 Lafayette 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.
[CC 1992 §135.055(3),(4); Ord. No. 407 §135.055, 11-20-1989]
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.
Commute the term of any sentence, 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. Any and all
rules made or adopted hereunder may be annulled or amended by the
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 Court 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.
The Municipal Judge for the City of Concordia 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 City 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.
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.
The Chief of Police or other Police Officer of the City shall,
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.
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.
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 his/her 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.
[CC 1992 §135.100; Ord. No. 407 §135.100, 11-20-1989]
The deposition of any witness whose attendance cannot be procured
at the trial may, in any case where the same would be admissible in
a civil action by the laws of the State of Missouri, be read as evidence
on the part of the defendant in all prosecutions under this Chapter.
[CC 1992 §135.105; Ord. No. 407 §135.105, 11-20-1989]
Complaint filed before the Municipal Judge may include any number
of persons charged with the same offense. No proceeding shall be dismissed
or defendant discharged by reason of any informality or irregularity
in any complaint or warrant, provided that said complaint shall substantially
set out the offense committed and shall notify the defendant of the
charge he/she is required to answer. The complaint may, by leave of
Court, at any time before trial, be amended without prejudice to the
proceedings. Parties jointly accused shall have the right to be tried
separately upon written request.
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.
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:
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.
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 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.
[CC 1992 §135.130; Ord. No. 407 §135.130, 11-20-1989]
All prosecutions for the violation of City ordinances shall
be instituted by a signed complaint verified by oath of some person
competent to testify as a witness in the case, provided the Chief
of Police may file said complaint on his/her information and behalf.
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.
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 Concordia, 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.
