The City has established a Municipal Court, to be known as the
Raymore Municipal Court, a Division of the 17th Judicial Circuit Court
of the State of Missouri.
The Municipal Court shall have jurisdiction to hear and determine
all cases involving alleged violations of ordinances of the City,
and to assess punishment, by fine or incarceration, as provided. The
Municipal Court shall be subject to the rules of the Missouri Supreme
Court and the Circuit Court of which it is part. (Charter § 7.1,
11-4-97)
A qualified person shall be appointed Municipal Judge of the
City by the Mayor, such appointment subject to the approval of a three-quarter
(3/4) vote of the entire Council of the City. The party appointed
Municipal Judge shall serve for a period of two (2) years, with the
first such term to begin one (1) day subsequent to the expiration
of the normal term now in progress.
The person appointed Municipal Judge shall comply with all requirements
presently set forth in City ordinances, RSMo., and the Missouri Supreme
Court Rules except that said person appointed need not be a resident
of the City and may serve as Municipal Judge in other municipalities.
The Municipal Judge shall have been licensed to practice law in this
State for a period of at least three (3) years.
The Municipal Judge shall receive such compensation as may be
determined from time to time by the City Council.
A. The Municipal Judge shall vacate their office under the following
circumstances:
1.
Upon removal from office by the State Commission on retirement,
removal and discipline of Judges, as provided in Missouri Supreme
Court Rule 12,
2.
Upon attaining their 75th birthday, or
3.
Upon the Judge's death, resignation, or removal from office
in any manner authorized by the Charter or by law, or upon forfeiture
of the office.
B. A Municipal Judge shall forfeit their office if the Judge:
1.
At any time during the term of office lacks any qualification
for the office prescribed by the Charter or by law,
2.
Violates any prohibition as provided in Section
7.2(d) of the Charter, or
3.
Violates the requirements of Section
14.1 of the Charter.
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 their directives.
The Municipal Judge shall cause to be prepared within the first
ten (10) days of every month the Municipal Division Summary Reporting
Form from the previous month. The same shall be prepared under oath
by the Court Administrator or the Municipal Judge. This report will
be filed with the City Clerk, who shall forward the same to the City
Council of the City for examination at its first session thereafter.
The Municipal Court shall, within ten (10) days after the first of
the month, pay to the City the full amount of all fines collected
during the preceding months, if they have not previously been paid.
No member of the City Council shall directly interfere with
the conduct of any court case. The Municipal Judge shall use their
free and independent judgment in the decision of cases and no member
of the City Council shall interfere with that judgment.
A. The Municipal Judge shall be a conservator of the peace and shall;
1.
Keep a docket in which every case commenced before them and
the proceedings will be entered;
2.
Keep such other records as may be required. The docket and records
shall be records of the Circuit Court of Cass County.
3.
Deliver the docket and records of the Municipal Court, and all
documents pertaining to their office, to their successor in office
or to the Presiding Judge of the Circuit.
A. The Municipal Judge shall be and is 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 them, and may fine and imprison for contempt
committed before them 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 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 RSMo.
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.
6.
The Municipal Judge shall perform all duties as outlined in
the Raymore City Charter, Raymore Municipal Code of Ordinances and
RSMo.
The Municipal Judge may establish a Violations Bureau and adopted
a schedule of fines and court costs, in respect to which payments
may be accepted by the Court Administrator in satisfaction thereof,
in compliance with orders of Missouri Supreme Court Rule 37 or RSMo.
The Violations Bureau shall accept the designated fines and issue
receipts to those violators permitted to plead guilty through the
Violations Bureau. The Municipal Judge has established certain offenses
that shall require appearance before the Court. The Violations Bureau
shall follow such procedure as may be prescribed by the ordinances
of the City or as may be required by any laws of this State. The City
shall provide all expenses incident to the operation of the Violations
Bureau. The Court Administrator is designated as the Violations Clerk
for the Violations Bureau.
A. Any person charged with an offense for which payment of a fine may
be made to the Violations Bureau shall have the option of paying such
fine within the time specified in the notice of summons at the Violations
Bureau upon entering a plea of guilty and upon waiving appearance
in court; or may have the option to personally appear in court to
enter a plea of guilty or not guilty. Upon a plea of not guilty the
person shall be entitled to a trial as authorized by law.
B. The payment of a fine to the Bureau shall be deemed an acknowledgement
of conviction of the alleged offense, and the Bureau, upon accepting
the prescribed fine, shall issue a receipt to the violator acknowledging
payment.
The Violations Bureau shall keep records and submit to the Judge
hearing violations of City ordinances summarized monthly reports of
all notices issued and arrests made for violations of traffic laws
and ordinances in the City and of all fines collected by the Violations
Bureau or the court, and of the final disposition or present status
of every case of violation of the provisions of said laws and ordinances.
Such records shall be so maintained as to show all types of violations
and the totals of each. Said records shall be public records.
At the discretion of the arresting Law Enforcement Officer,
the Municipal Court may accept the Missouri driver's license of an
accused in all traffic cases involving motor vehicles arising within
the City in lieu of a cash bond in order to insure the attendance
of the accused at Municipal Court.
All warrants issued by a Municipal Judge shall be directed to
the Chief of Police. The warrant shall be executed by the Chief of
Police 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 may, without a warrant, make arrest of any
person who commits an offense in their 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 provided by law.
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 notify such witnesses
to attend before them on the day set for trial to testify in the case,
and enter the names of such witnesses on their docket, which notice
shall be valid as a summons.
If, in the progress of any trial before a Municipal Judge, it
shall appear to the Judge that the accused ought to be put on trial
for an offense against the criminal laws of the State and not before
them as Municipal Judge, they shall immediately stop all further proceedings
within the jurisdiction of the Municipal Court and cause the complaint
to be made before an Associate Circuit Judge within 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 or other authorized place of confinement,
and it shall be the duty of the Chief Law Enforcement Officer, if
space for the prisoner is available in the County Jail or other authorized
place of confinement, 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 be allowed to such entity for the
keeping of such prisoner in their custody. The same shall be taxed
as cost.
A. Any Judge hearing violations of municipal ordinances may, when in
their 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 they
shall be given a document explicitly stating the conditions on which
they are 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 community
service. If they do 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 them 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.
Except where there has been a plea of guilty or the case has
been tried with a jury, the defendant shall have a right of trial
de novo before a Circuit Judge or upon assignment before an Associate
Circuit 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.
Any person who willfully violates their written promise to appear
or who shall fail to appear at the time and place scheduled in response
to any summons or warrant shall be guilty of an ordinance violation
regardless of disposition of the charge upon which they were originally
arrested or summoned, with the exception of minor traffic violations
as defined in Section 479.350 RSMo., being a municipal ordinance violation
not involving an accident or injury, which does not involve the operation
of a commercial vehicle and violations where the Department of Revenue
is authorized to assess no more than four (4) points to a person's
driving record upon conviction, and it excludes speeding violations
for exceeding the speed limit by more than nineteen (19) miles per
hour or violations in a construction or school zone.
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 before a Municipal Judge, such shall be noted on the disposition
of the proceedings before the Municipal Judge. All monies recovered
in such actions shall be paid over to the City.
A Municipal Judge shall be disqualified to hear any case in
which they are in anyway conflicted 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 City shall be entitled to file more than one
(1) affidavit or disqualification in the same case.
A. If the Municipal Judge is absent, sick or disqualified from acting,
the Municipal Judge or Court Administrator may designate any other
Municipal Judge in the 17th Judicial Circuit Court who shall agree
to hear the matter.
B. Pursuant to Section 478.240 RSMo., whenever any substitute Municipal
Judge hears a case pending before the Municipal Court of the City,
the substitute Judge shall receive compensation as agreed to by the
substitute judge and the Municipal Court and will be paid upon the
submission of appropriate reimbursement request.
A. The office of Court Administrator is hereby established. The duties
of said Court Administrator shall be as follows:
1.
Collect fines for violations of offenses as may be described,
and the Court costs.
2.
Take oaths and affirmations.
3.
Accept signed complaints and allow the same to be signed and
sworn to or affirmed before them.
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 Violations Bureau cases or as directed
by the Municipal Judge.
6.
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 RSMo.
7.
Maintain, properly certified by the City Clerk, a complete copy
of the ordinances of the City which shall constitute prima facie evidence
of such ordinance before the Court.
[Ord. No. 2021-065, § 1, 10-25-2021]
A. In addition to any fine that may be imposed by the Municipal Judge
there shall be assessed as costs in all cases the following, except
when the case is dismissed, the defendant is found not guilty, or
the defendant is found to be indigent:
1.
Cost of court in the amount approved by the Governing Body and
listed in the Schedule of Fees and Charges maintained in the Finance
Department.
2.
Costs for the training of Police Officers in the amount approved
by the Governing Body and listed in the Schedule of Fees and Charges
maintained in the Finance Department.
3.
Other costs, such as for the issuance of a warrant, a commitment,
or a summons, as provided before the Associate Circuit Judge in criminal
prosecutions.
4.
Actual costs assessed against the City by the owner of any jail
for confinement in said Jail.
5.
An additional sum approved by the Governing Body and listed
in the Schedule of Fees and Charges maintained in the Finance Department
for Crime Victims Compensation Fund shall be assessed and all sums
collected pursuant to this Subsection shall be distributed as follows:
a.
Ninety-five percent (95%) of such fees shall be paid to the
Director of Revenue of the State of Missouri for deposit to the Crime
Victims' Compensation Fund and the Services to Victims Fund as provided
in Section 595.045 RSMo.
b.
Five percent (5%) shall be paid to the City.
6.
Mileage, in the same amount as provided to the Sheriff in criminal
violations, for each mile and fraction thereof the officer must travel
(both directions) in order to serve any warrant or commitment or order
of this Court.
7.
The Municipal Court Judge shall assess an additional Domestic
Violence Shelter surcharge in an amount in compliance with Section
488.607 RSMo., and as approved by the Governing Body and listed in
the Schedule of Fees and Charges maintained in the Finance Department
for each case filed for violation of Municipal ordinances. The Court
Administrator shall collect the additional Court costs and promptly
disburse them no less often than monthly to the City. The City shall
use the proceeds of these additional Court costs only for the purpose
of providing operating expenses for shelters for victims of domestic
violence that are qualified under State law to receive the proceeds
of these additional costs.
8.
Cost for the Peace Officer Standards and Training Commission
Fund shall be in an amount as approved by the Governing Body and listed
in the Schedule of Fees and Charges maintained in the Finance Department.
Such fees collected shall be deposited into the Peace Officer Standards
and Training Commission Fund to be used Statewide for training Law
Enforcement Officers. Such payments should be made by check payable
to the "Treasurer State of Missouri" and mailed each month to:
Budget Director
Department of Public Safety
P.O. Box 749
Jefferson City, MO 65102
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9.
A fee to be paid into the Inmate Prisoner Detainee Prisoner
Security Fund in the amount approved by the Governing Body and listed
in the Schedule of Fees and Charges maintained in the Finance Department
for the purposes authorized by Section 488.5026 RSMo.
10.
Reimbursement of certain costs of arrest.
a.
Upon a plea or a finding of guilt for an offense of violating
the provisions of an ordinance of the City involving alcohol- or drug-related
traffic offenses, the Court may, in addition to imposition of any
penalties provided by law, order the convicted person to reimburse
the Police Department for the costs associated with such arrest.
b.
Such costs hereby authorized shall include the reasonable cost
of making the arrest, including the cost of any chemical test made
as authorized or required by law or ordinance to determine the alcohol
or drug content of the person's blood, and the costs of processing,
charging, booking and holding such person in custody.
c.
The Chief of Police shall establish a schedule of such costs
hereby authorized and shall submit the same to the Municipal Judge.
However, the Court may order the costs reduced if it determines that
the costs are excessive.
d.
These costs shall be calculated as additional costs by the Municipal
Court and shall be collected by the court in the same manner as other
costs and fees are collected and remitted to the City.
e.
Upon receipt of such additional costs authorized by this Section,
the City shall retain such costs in a separate fund to be known as
the "DWI/Drug Offense Cost Reimbursement Fund." Monies with such fund
shall be appropriated to the Police Department in amounts equal to
those costs so collected and shall be used by such Department specifically
to enhance and support the enforcement and prosecution of alcohol-
and drug-related traffic laws within the City.
11.
Statewide Court Automation Fund. In addition to the other costs
authorized by this Section, there shall be assessed a state court
automation surcharge in the amount authorized by Section 476.056 RSMo.,
in every proceeding filed in the municipal division for violation
of an ordinance. Such surcharge shall also be assessed in cases in
which pleas of guilty are processed by the Violations Bureau. No such
surcharge shall be collected when the proceeding or defendant has
been dismissed by the Court, when costs are waived or when costs are
paid to the City. Such surcharge shall be collected by the municipal
court and transmitted monthly to the Missouri Director of Revenue
to the credit of the Missouri Statewide Automation Fund as provided
in Section 488.012.3(5) and Section 488.027.2, RSMo.
The costs of any action may be assessed against the prosecuting
witness and judgment be rendered against them that they pay the same
and stand committed until paid in any case where it appears to the
satisfaction of the Municipal Judge that the prosecution was commenced
without probable cause and from malicious motives.
When a fine is assessed for violating an ordinance, it shall
be within the discretion of the Judge assessing the fine to provide
for the payment of a fine on an installment basis under such terms
and conditions as they may deem appropriate.