There is hereby established in the City of Pleasant Valley,
a Municipal Court to be known as the "Pleasant Valley Municipal
Court, a Division of the 7th Judicial Circuit Court of the
State of Missouri".
The jurisdiction of the Municipal Court shall extend to all
cases involving alleged violations of the ordinances of the City.
The Judge of the City's Municipal Court shall be known as a
Municipal Judge of the 7th Judicial Circuit Court, and shall be selected
by appointment to the position by the Mayor with the consent and approval
of a majority of the members of the Board of Aldermen, for a term
as specified herein.
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.
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; or
2.
Upon attaining his/her seventy-fifth (75th) birthday; or
3.
If he/she should lose his/her license to practice law within the
State of Missouri.
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 in a maximum of five (5)
municipalities.
[Ord. No. 3248, 3-20-2017]
6.
He/she may not hold any other office within the City Government.
7.
The Municipal Judge shall be considered holding a part-time position,
and as such may accept other employment.
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.
[1]
Editor's Note: Former Section 120.080, Report to Board of
Aldermen, was repealed 7-16-2018 by Ord. No. 3303.
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 Clay 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.
A.
The
Municipal Judge shall be and is hereby authorized to:
1.
Establish a Traffic Violations Bureau as provided for in the Missouri
Rules of Practice and Procedure in Municipal and Traffic Courts and
Section 479.050, Missouri Revised Statutes.
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.
The Municipal Judge for the City of Pleasant Valley shall be
paid a sum as fixed by ordinance from time to time.
[1]
Editor's Note: Former Section 120.120, Traffic Violations
Bureau, was repealed 7-16-2018 by Ord. No. 3303.
[Ord. No. 2707 §1, 8-1-2005]
A.
The
issuance of administrative search warrants relating to violations
of Pleasant Valley City Code ("Code") and tax violations relating
to enforcement thereof shall conform to and be governed by the following
provisions:
1.
An "administrative search warrant" is a written
order of the Municipal Court of the City of Pleasant Valley commanding
the search of property to determine the existence of violations of
specific provisions contained within the Code provisions.
2.
Any public official, Police Officer, Code Enforcement Officer or
the prosecuting attorney may make an application for the issuance
of an administrative search warrant. The application may be made on
a form prepared by the Court Clerk and shall:
a.
Be in writing;
b.
State the time and date of the making of the application;
c.
Identify the property which is to be searched in sufficient detail
and particularity that the Police Officer executing the warrant can
readily ascertain it;
d.
Identify the City Code violation in sufficient detail and particularity
that the Police Officer executing the warrant can readily ascertain
it;
e.
State facts sufficient to show reasonable suspicion for the issuance
of the administrative search warrant;
f.
Be verified by the signed oath or affirmation of the applicant;
g.
Be filed in the Municipal Court.
3.
The application may be supplemented in writing as necessary to assist
the Municipal Judge in determining whether there is reasonable suspicion
for the issuance of an administrative search warrant and to fill out
any deficiencies in the description of the property to be searched
or in the Code violation(s) on the property. Oral testimony shall
not be considered.
4.
The Municipal Judge or Acting Municipal Judge shall review the application
and any written supplementation to determine whether sufficient facts
have been stated to justify the issuance of an administrative search
warrant. If it appears that there is reasonable suspicion to believe
that a violation of the Code provision exists on the property described,
an original and two (2) copies of the administrative search warrant
shall be issued.
5.
The application and any written supplementation and a copy of the
warrant shall be retained in the records of the Municipal Court.
6.
The administrative search warrant shall:
a.
Be in writing;
b.
Be directed to a Police Officer of the City of Pleasant Valley;
c.
State the time and date the warrant is issued;
d.
Identify the property which is to be searched in sufficient detail
and particularity such that the Police Officer executing the warrant
can readily ascertain it;
e.
Identify the Code violation in sufficient detail and particularity
such that the Police Officer executing the warrant can readily ascertain
it;
f.
Be signed by the Municipal Judge or Acting Municipal Judge;
g.
Be executed by a Police Officer of the City of Pleasant Valley by
conducting the search commanded and/or abating the nuisance or Code.
h.
Be executed between the hours of 8:00 A.M. and 5:00 P.M. except in
the case of an emergency threatening immediate damage or harm to life
or property.
i.
Be executed as soon as practicable and shall expire if it is not
executed and returned within ten (10) days after the date of the making
of the application; and
j.
After execution of the administrative search warrant, the warrant
with a return thereon, signed by the Police Officer executing the
warrant, shall be filed in Municipal Court. The return shall show
that date and manner of execution, the name of the possessor and the
owner of the property, when they are not the same person, if known.
7.
An administrative search warrant shall be deemed invalid:
a.
If it was not issued and signed by the Municipal Judge or Acting
Municipal Judge; or
b.
If it was issued without a written application in compliance with
this Code Section having been filed and verified; or
c.
If it was issued without reasonable suspicion; or
d.
If it does not describe the property to be searched and/or the nuisance
or Code violation with sufficient certainty; or
e.
If it is not executed and returned within the time prescribed.
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
said Police Officer 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.
Any officer of the Police Department 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.
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 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 contingent upon the
result in any case.
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.
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 the City or any other the County.
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 jail, and it shall be the duty of the Sheriff, if space
for the prisoner is available in the 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. In the event the Sheriff of Clay County is not
at the time accepting prisoners from municipalities, then the City
may enter into contracts with any public or private detention facility
for the purpose of incarceration of a prisoner. Regardless of where
such prisoner is confined, the cost thereof shall be taxed as cost
to the case.
A.
Any
Judge hearing violations of municipal ordinances may, when in his
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, Missouri Revised Statutes.
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 judgement and shall be filed in such form and
perfected in such manner as provided by Supreme Court Rule.
In any case tried with a jury before an Associate Circuit Judge,
a record of the proceedings shall be made, and appeals may be had
upon that record to the appropriate Appellate Court.
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 moneys
recovered in such actions shall be paid over to Municipal Treasury
to the General Revenue Fund of the Municipality.
A.
If
the Municipal Judge is related to any defendant or has an interest
in or has been counsel in the case, he/she shall disqualify himself/herself.
B.
A change
of Judge shall be ordered upon the filing of a written application
therefor by any party. The applicant need not allege or prove any
reason for such change. The application need not be verified and may
be signed by any party or an attorney for any party. The application
shall be filed not later than ten (10) days before the date set for
trial. If the designation of the Trial Judge occurs less than ten
(10) days before trial, the application may be filed any time prior
to trial. The Judge in the exercise of discretion may allow an application
to be filed any time before the trial commences. No party shall be
allowed more than one (1) change of Judge pursuant to this Section.
A.
If a Municipal Judge be absent, sick or disqualified from acting, the Mayor or Chairman of the Board of Trustees 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 or Chairman 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 or Chairman of the Board of Trustees 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 or Chairman of the Board of Trustees for a special Municipal
Judge.
C.
The
Governing Body of the municipality shall provide by ordinance for
the compensation of any person designated to act as Municipal Judge
under the provisions of this Section.
[Ord. No. 3001, 8-2-2010; Ord. No. 3248, 3-20-2017; Ord. No. 3313, 11-5-2018]
A.
Any person who has a non-minor violation having been summoned or
ordered to appear before the Municipal Court of the City, either by
written summons, State uniform traffic citation, warrant, subpoena,
notice of appeal, bail bond, recognizance or other lawful order or
notification of the Court, and who shall fail to appear upon and at
the date and time set for said appearance shall be guilty of the offense
of failure to appear.
B.
It
shall be the duty and the obligation of all persons having been so
summoned or ordered to appear to inform himself or herself of the
date to which any such cause or action shall have been continued,
recessed, adjourned or transferred and to appear upon and at such
date and time to which such cause or action was continued, recessed,
adjourned or transferred.
C.
A person who fails to appear at any of the events discussed in Subsections (A) and (B) above will be guilty of the following:
1.
A Class A misdemeanor, if the criminal matter for which the person
was due to appear included a misdemeanor or misdemeanors, but no felony
or felonies;
2.
An infraction, if the criminal matter for which the person was due
to appear included only an infraction or infractions;
3.
An infraction, if the criminal matter for which the person was released
includes only the violation of a municipal ordinance, provided that
the sentence imposed shall not exceed the maximum fine which could
be imposed for the municipal ordinance for which the accused was arrested.
D.
The offense of failure to appear shall be punishable by a fine of
not more than five hundred dollars ($500.00).
E.
Nothing
herein shall prevent the Municipal Court from exercising its power
to contempt and punish for such non-appearances by the exercise of
such contempt power.
