There is hereby established in the
City of Mount Vernon a Municipal Court to be known as the "Mount Vernon
Municipal Court, a Division of the 39th 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. The term "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.
The Judge of the City's Municipal
Court shall be known as a "Municipal Judge of the 39th 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.
The Municipal Judge shall hold his/her
office for a period of at least 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;
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.
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.
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.
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 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.
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 Lawrence 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 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.
B. 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.
All prosecutions for the violation
of municipal ordinances shall be instituted by information and may
be based upon a complaint. Proceedings shall be in accordance with
the Supreme Court rules governing practice and procedure in proceedings
before Municipal Judges.
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.
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 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.
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.
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:
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.
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.
If the Municipal Judge or Provisional
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.
[R.O. 2004 § 125.260; Ord. No. 3.31 §§ 1 — 3, 4-9-1996]
A. It shall be unlawful for any person to
fail to appear in the Municipal Court of Mount Vernon, Missouri, if:
1.
Said person has been issued a summons
for violation of any ordinance of the City of Mount Vernon, Missouri,
and fails to appear before the Judge of the Mount Vernon Municipal
Court at the time and on the date on which said person was summoned
or at the time and on the date to which the case was continued;
2.
Said person has been released upon
recognition of bond and fails to appear before the Judge of the Municipal
Court of Mount Vernon, Missouri, at the time and on the date on which
said person was summoned or at the time and on the date to which the
case was continued;
3.
Said person has been placed on Court-supervised
probation and fails to appear before the Judge of the Municipal Court
of Mount Vernon, Missouri, at the time specified by said Judge as
a condition of the probation.
B. Any person violating any of the provisions
of this Section shall be deemed guilty of an ordinance violation and
upon conviction shall be fined a sum not exceeding five hundred dollars
($500.00) or imprisoned for a term not exceeding ninety (90) days,
or by both such fine and imprisonment.
C. Nothing contained in this Section shall
prevent the exercise by the Municipal Court of its power to punish
for contempt.
D. This Section shall not apply to those Municipal Code violations for
which Section 479.360, RSMo., prohibits an additional charge for failure
to appear.
[Ord. No. 1.304, 12-13-2022]
A. Search Warrant Defined — Who May Issue, Execute.
1.
An administrative search warrant is a written order of the Municipal
Judge permitting the entry of City officials on or in to private property
to enforce the City's housing, zoning, health, and safety regulations
when government entry on or into such private property is otherwise
authorized by Missouri law. A warrant may issue only in conformance
with this Section and only for the enforcement of the City's housing,
zoning, health, and safety regulations, specifically:
a.
To abate such physical conditions on private property constituting
a public nuisance or otherwise in violation of a specified regulation
as provided herein;
b.
To inspect private property to determine or prove the existence
of physical conditions in violation of such a specified regulation;
c.
To seize, photograph, copy, or record evidence of the violation
of such a specified regulation.
2.
The Municipal Judge having original and exclusive jurisdiction
to determine violations against the ordinances of the municipality
may issue an administrative search warrant when:
a.
The property or place to be searched or inspected or the thing
to be seized is located within the City of Mount Vernon at the time
of the making of the application; and
b.
The owner or occupant of the property or place to be searched
or inspected or the thing to be seized has:
(1) Refused to allow the same after official request
by the City; or
(2) Is not available, after reasonable investigation
and effort, to consent to such entry, inspection, or seizure.
c.
The City establishes probable cause to determine that a public
nuisance or other violation of a specified regulation as provided
herein may exist.
3.
Any such warrant shall be directed to the Chief of Police or
any other Police Officer of the City of Mount Vernon and shall be
executed by the Chief of Police or said Police Officer, in conjunction
with the appropriate Code Enforcement Officer or other appropriate
official, within the Mount Vernon City limits and not elsewhere.
B. Who May Apply For Warrant — Contents of Application.
1.
Any Code Enforcement Officer, Police Officer, or attorney of
the City may make application to the Municipal Judge for the issuance
of an administrative search warrant.
2.
The application shall:
b.
State the time and date of the making of the application;
c.
Identify the property or places to be entered, searched, inspected
or seized in sufficient detail and particularity that the officer
executing the warrant can readily ascertain it;
d.
State that the owner or occupant of the property:
(1) Has been requested by the City to allow such action
and has refused to allow such action; or
(2) Is not available, after reasonable investigation
and effort, to consent to such entry or inspection, and in such case
the application shall include details of the City's investigation
and effort to request such consent;
e.
State facts sufficient to show probable cause for the issuance
of a warrant to enter the private property, including the specification
of the housing, zoning, health, or safety regulation sought to be
enforced;
f.
Be verified by the oath or affirmation of the applicant; and
g.
Be signed by the applicant and filed in the Municipal Court.
3.
The application may be supplemented by a written affidavit verified
by oath or affirmation. Such affidavit shall be considered in determining
whether there is probable cause for the issuance of a search warrant
and in filling out any deficiencies in the description of the property
or place to be searched or inspected. Oral testimony shall not be
considered. The application may be submitted by facsimile or other
electronic means.
C. Hearing and Procedure — Contents of Warrant — Execution
and Return.
1.
Hearing and Procedure.
a.
The Municipal Judge shall determine whether probable cause exists
to enter the private property for the purposes noted herein.
b.
In doing so the Municipal Judge shall determine whether the
action to be taken by the City is reasonable in light of the facts
stated. The Municipal Judge shall consider the goals of the ordinance
or code section sought to be enforced and such other factors as may
be appropriate, including, but not limited to, the physical condition
of the specified property, the age and nature of the property, the
condition of the area in which the property is located, the known
violation of any relevant City ordinance or code section and the passage
of time since the property's last inspection. The standard for issuing
a warrant need not be limited to actual knowledge of an existing violation
of a City ordinance or code section.
c.
If it appears from the application and any supporting affidavit
that there is probable cause to enter the private property for the
enforcement of the City's housing, zoning, health, and safety regulations,
a search warrant shall immediately be issued.
d.
The warrant shall issue in the form of an original and two copies,
and the application, any supporting affidavit and copy of the warrant
as issued shall be retained in the records of the Municipal Court.
2.
Contents of Search Warrant. The search warrant shall:
a.
Be in writing and in the name of the City;
b.
Be directed to any Police Officer in the City;
c.
State the time and date the warrant was issued;
d.
Identify the property or places to be searched, inspected or
entered in sufficient detail and particularly that the officer executing
the warrant can readily ascertain it;
e.
Command that the described property be entered for one (1) or
more specified enforcement purposes as provided herein, identify the
regulation sought to be enforced, any direct that any evidence of
any suspected ordinance violations be seized, recorded, or photographed,
and a description of such property be returned, within ten (10) days
after filing of the application, to the clerk of the Municipal Court,
to be dealt with according to law;
f.
Be signed by the Judge, with his/her title of office indicated.
3.
Execution and Return.
a.
A search warrant issued under this ordinance shall be executed
only by a City Police Officer; provided, however, that one (1) or
more designated City officials shall accompany the officer, and the
warrant shall be executed in the following manner:
(1) The warrant may be issued by facsimile or other
electronic means.
(2) The warrant shall be executed by conducting the
private property entry, search, or seizure as commanded and shall
be executed as soon as practicable and in a reasonable manner.
(3) The officer shall give the owner or occupant of
the property entered, searched, or seized a copy of the warrant.
(4) If any property is seized incident to the search,
the officer shall give the person from whose possession it was taken,
if the person is present, an itemized receipt for the property taken.
If no such person is present, the officer shall leave the receipt
at the site of the search in a conspicuous place.
(a) A copy of the itemized receipt of any property
taken shall be delivered to an attorney for the City within two (2)
working days of the execution of the warrant.
(b) The disposition of property seized pursuant to
a search warrant under this Section shall be in accordance with an
applicable City ordinance or code section, but in the absence of same,
then with Section 542.301, RSMo.
(5) The officer may summon as many persons as he/she
deems necessary to assist him/her in executing the warrant, and such
persons shall not be held liable as a result of any illegality of
the search and seizure.
(6) An officer executing an invalid warrant, the invalidity
of which is not apparent on its face, may use such force as he would
be justified in using if the warrant were valid.
(7) A search warrant shall expire if it is not executed
and the required return made within ten (10) days after the date of
the making of the application.
b.
After execution of the search warrant, the warrant, with a return
thereon signed by the officer executing the warrant, shall be delivered
to the Municipal Court in the following manner:
(1) The return shall show the date and manner of execution
and the name of the possessor and of the owner, when not the same
person, if known, of the property or places searched or seized.
(2) The return shall be accompanied by any photographs,
copies, or recordings made, and by any property seized, along with
a copy of the itemized receipt of such property required by this Section;
provided, however, that seized property may be disposed of as provided
herein, and in such a case a description of the property seized shall
accompany the return.
c.
The Court Clerk, upon request, shall deliver a copy of the return,
to the possessor and the owner, when not the same person, of the property
searched or seized.
D. Warrant Invalid, When. A search warrant shall be deemed invalid:
1.
If it was not issued by the Municipal Judge;
2.
If it was issued without a written application having been filed
and verified;
3.
If it was issued without sufficient probable cause in light of the goals of the ordinance to be enforced and such other factors as provided in Subsection
(C)(1)(b) hereof;
4.
If it was not issued with respect to property or places in the
City;
5.
If it does not describe the property or places to be searched,
inspected, entered upon or seized with sufficient certainty;
6.
If it is not signed by the Judge who issued it; or
7.
If it was not executed and the required return made within ten
(10) days after the date of the making of the application.