There is hereby established in the City of Foristell a Municipal
Court, to be known as the "Foristell Municipal Court, a Division of the 11th 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. 118 §10, 11-13-1989; Ord. No. 541 §1, 5-5-2003]
The Municipal Court shall be held on the first (1st) Tuesday
and the third (3rd) Wednesday of each month at the regular meeting
place of the Board of Aldermen at 7:00 P.M. or at such date and time
as designated by the Municipal Court Judge.
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 11th 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. 118 §3, 11-13-1989]
The Municipal Judge shall hold his/her office for a period of
two (2) years which term shall commence on the third (3rd) Tuesday
of April and terminate on the third (3rd) Monday of April two (2)
years thereafter. 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:
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 for any other municipality.
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.
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 St. Charles 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, 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.
The Municipal Judge for the City of Foristell shall be paid
a sum as fixed by ordinance from time to time.
Should the Municipal Judge determine that there shall be a Traffic
Violations Bureau, the City shall provide all expenses incident to
the operation of the same. The City Clerk is hereby designated as
the Traffic Violations Clerk for said Bureau, if established, and
may appoint or designate such persons as are necessary to conduct
said office.
[Ord. No. 542 §1, 5-5-2003]
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 or the City if executed by a City Officer
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 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.
[Ord. No. 118 §5, 11-13-1989]
A.
The
Prosecuting Attorney of the City of Foristell shall be appointed by
the Board of Aldermen to serve until he/she resigns or is removed
or replaced by a majority vote of the Board of Aldermen.
B.
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
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 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 of 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 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 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 monies
recovered in such actions shall be paid over to Municipal Treasury
to the General Revenue Fund of the municipality.
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.
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
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.
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 Foristell, 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; or
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.
[Ord. No. 316 §§1 —
3, 4-5-1999]
A.
Any
person appearing before the Municipal Court in the City of Foristell,
Missouri, which is a division of the Circuit Court of St. Charles
County, Missouri, shall be subject to punishment for contempt of court
for any of the following acts constituting contempt:
1.
Disorderly or insolent behavior committed during its session in its
immediate view and presence, and directly tending to interrupt its
proceedings, or to impair the respect due its authority;
2.
Any breach of peace, noise, or other disturbance directly intending
to interrupt its proceedings;
3.
Willful disobedience or resistance of any process or order lawfully
issued or made by it; and
4.
Failure to appear or failure to satisfy court judgment.
B.
Contempt
committed in the immediate view and presence of the court may be punished
summarily; in other cases, the party charged shall be notified of
the accusation and have a reasonable time to make his/her defense.
C.
Punishment
for contempt of court shall be by a fine of up to five hundred dollars
($500.00), or imprisonment in the St. Charles County Jail for up to
ninety (90) days, or both fine and imprisonment.
