[Adopted as Art. XIX of the 1982 Code]
Violations of any municipal ordinance shall be a municipal infraction
unless that violation is a felony or misdemeanor by the laws of this article
or the State of Maryland.
[Amended 6-1-2000 by Res. No. 05-00]
Any person found guilty of a misdemeanor violation may, upon conviction,
be fined not more than $1,000 or confined in the Calvert County Jail for a
period of 90 days, or both, unless a lesser amount is set by law.
A.
A fine not to exceed $1,000 may be imposed for each conviction
of a municipal infraction. The fine is payable by the recipient of the citation
to the Town of North Beach within 20 calendar days of receipt of the citation.
Repeat offenders may be assessed a fine not to exceed $1,000 for each repeat
offense.
[Amended 6-1-2000 by Res. No. 05-00]
B.
A person receiving the citation for a municipal infraction
may elect to stand trial for the offense by notifying the Town of his intention
of standing trial. The notice shall be given at least five days prior to the
date of payment as set forth in the citation. Upon receipt of the notice of
the citation, the Town shall forward to the Calvert County District Court
a copy of the notice from the person who received the citation indicating
his intention to stand trial. Upon receipt of the citation, the District Court
shall schedule the case for trial and notify the defendant of the trial date.
All fines, penalties, or forfeitures collected by the District Court for violations
of municipal infractions shall be remitted to the Town of North Beach.
C.
If a person receiving a citation for an infraction fails
to pay the fine for the infraction by the date of payment set forth on the
citation and fails to file a notice of his intention to stand trial for the
offense, a formal notice of the infraction shall be sent to the owner's
last known address. If the citation has not been satisfied within 15 days
from the date of the notice, he shall be liable for an additional fine not
to exceed twice the original fine.
D.
If after 35 days the citation has not been satisfied,
the Town of North Beach may request adjudication of the case through the District
Court. The District Court shall thereupon promptly schedule the case for trial
and summons, the defendant to appear. The defendant's failure to respond
to such summons shall be contempt of court.
E.
If any person shall be found by the District Court to
have committed a municipal infraction, he shall be required to pay a fine
in an amount not to exceed $1,000, or, in the event that the infraction is
a repeat offense, $1,000. He shall be liable for the costs of the proceedings
in District Court.
[Amended 6-1-2000 by Res. No. 05-00]
F.
Adjudication of a municipal infraction is not a criminal
conviction for any purpose, nor does it impose any of the civil disabilities
ordinarily imposed by a criminal conviction.
G.
The court cost in a municipal infraction case in which
costs are imposed is $5. A defendant shall not be liable for payment to the
Criminal Injury Compensation Fund.
H.
A defendant who has been found guilty of a municipal infraction, as defined in Article 23A, Section 3(b)(1) of the Code, may appeal from the final judgment entered in the District Court. The costs and procedures for taking the appeal shall be as provided for appeals from criminal cases in the District Court. Except, however, as provided in Subsection E of this section, the Appellate Court shall docket and hear the appeal as a civil appeal from the District Court.
