[Ord. No. 15-12 §1, 9-1-2015]
There is hereby established in the City of Charlack a Municipal
Court, to be known as the "Charlack Municipal Court, a Division of
the 21st 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."
[Ord. No. 15-12 §1, 9-1-2015]
The procedure of the Municipal Court of the City of Charlack
shall be in accordance with Chapter 479, RSMo., the rules of the Supreme
Court of the State of Missouri, and the rules of the Circuit Court
of St. Louis County.
[Ord. No. 15-12 §1, 9-1-2015]
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. 15-12 §1, 9-1-2015]
The Judge of the City's Municipal Court shall be known as a
"Municipal Judge of the 21st Judicial Circuit Court" and shall be
selected by appointment to the position by the Mayor with approval
of a majority of the members of the Board of Aldermen for a term as
specified herein.
[Ord. No. 15-12 §1, 9-1-2015]
A. The Municipal Judge shall hold his/her office for a period of two
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 years.
[Ord. No. 15-12 §1, 9-1-2015]
A. The Municipal Judge shall vacate his/her office under the following
conditions:
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 75th birthday; or
3.
If he/she should lose his/her license to practice law within
the State of Missouri.
[Ord. No. 15-12 §1, 9-1-2015]
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.
[Ord. No. 15-12 §1, 9-1-2015]
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. 15-12 §1, 9-1-2015]
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 Aldermen of
the City for examination at its first session thereafter. The Municipal
Court shall, within the ten (10) days after the first 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.
[Ord. No. 15-12 §1, 9-1-2015]
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 St. Louis 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. 15-12 §1, 9-1-2015]
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.
[Ord. No. 15-12 §1, 9-1-2015]
The Municipal Judge for the City of Charlack shall be paid a
sum as fixed by ordinance from time to time.
[Ord. No. 15-12 §1, 9-1-2015]
Should the Municipal Judge determine that there shall be a Violations
Bureau, the City shall provide for all lawful expenses incident to
the operation of the same.
[Ord. No. 15-12 §1, 9-1-2015]
All arrest 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 arrest 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 arrest 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. 15-12 §1, 9-1-2015]
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 promptly, before the trial,
file a written complaint with the Judge hearing violations of Municipal
ordinances.
[Ord. No. 15-12 §1, 9-1-2015]
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.
[Ord. No. 15-12 §1, 9-1-2015]
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.
[Ord. No. 15-12 §1, 9-1-2015]
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 subpoena and 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 subpoena.
[Ord. No. 15-12 §1, 9-1-2015]
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.
[Ord. No. 15-12 §1, 9-1-2015]
If, in the opinion of the Municipal Judge, the City has no suitable
and safe place of confinement, the Municipal Judge may commit a defendant
who is to be confined to the County Jail or other suitable place,
and it shall be the duty of the Sheriff, if space for the prisoner
is available in the County Jail or other suitable place, 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 City 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 their custody. The same shall be taxed as cost. No person shall
be placed in confinement for failure to pay a fine or court costs
unless such non-payment violates terms of probation. No person shall
be detained in order to coerce payment of fines and costs.
[Ord. No. 15-12 §1, 9-1-2015]
A. Any Judge hearing violations of Municipal ordinances may, when in
his/her judgment it may seem advisable, grant 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.
[Ord. No. 15-12 §1, 9-1-2015]
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.
[Ord. No. 15-12 §1, 9-1-2015]
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 the Municipal Treasury
to the General Revenue Fund of the Municipality.
[Ord. No. 15-12 §1, 9-1-2015]
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 affidavit or disqualification in the same case.
[Ord. No. 15-12 §1, 9-1-2015]
If a Municipal Judge is 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. 15-12 §1, 9-1-2015]
A. A person commits the offense of failure to appear in Municipal Court
if:
1.
He/she has been issued a summons to appear in the Municipal
Court for a violation of any ordinance of the City of Charlack 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. This Section shall not apply to any "minor traffic violation," as defined by Section
300.010 of the City's Municipal Code.
C. Nothing in this Section shall prevent the exercise of the Municipal
Court of its power to punish for contempt.