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HomeMy WebLinkAboutCityMgrForm.1410.12-20-1978 . , . . CITY MANAGER FORM ORDINI�NCE N0. .!C� AN ORDINANCE ESTABLISHING THE MUNICIPAL COURT AND THE MUNICIPAL JUDGE IN THE CITY OF CAPE GIR.ARDEAU, MIS50URI WHEREAS, the voters of the State of Missouri did adopt a new Judicial Article to the Missouri Constitution, designed to reform the judicial system of the State, and WHEREAS, the State Legislature has passed a new Statute designed to implement the new Judicial Article, a portion of which Statute relates to Municipal Courts, and WHEREAS, the City has the option of continuing its present Nunicipal Court as a Division of the Circuit Court of this County or abolishing its Municipal Court, and allowing the State maintained court system to handle the City' s ��I.unicipal Ordinance violations, and WHEREAS, the City of Cape Girardeau, Missouri, desires to retain its Municipal Court and the Office of 1�4unicipal �udge, N06V, THEREFORE, BE IT ORDAINED BY THE COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF CAPE GIRARDEAU, MISSOURI, AS FOLLOWS : SECTION l. All of Chapter 22 except Sections 22-38, 22-53, 22-54 and 22-56 of the Code of Ordinances of the City of Cape Girardeau, Missouri, is here�ay repealed in its entirety. Section 26-10, Section 26-11 and Section 26-12 oF the Code of Ordinances of the City of Cape Girardeau, Missouri are hereby repealed in their entirety. SECTION 2. The Code of Ordinances of the City of Cape Girardeau, Missouri, is hereby amended by the adoption of new provisions to be known as Chapter 22 of the Code of Ordinances of the City of Cape Girardeau, Missouri, to read as follows: CHAPTER 22 MUNICIPAL COURT "Sec. 22-1. Court Established. There is hereby established in this City a Court to be known as the Municipal Court of the City of Cape Girardeau, Missouri. This Court shall be a division of the Circuit Court of Cape Girardeau County. Sec. 22-2. Jurisdiction. The Municipal Court shall have exclusive original jurisdiction to hear and determine all violations against the ordinances of the City. (State Law Reference, Section 479. 020 RSMo) . Sec. 22-3. Selection of the Municipal Judge. The Judge of the City' s Municipal Court shall be known as the Municipal Judge, and shall be appointed to his position by a majority vote of the City Council for a term as specified herein. Sec. 22-4. Term of Office and Compensation. The Municipal Judge shall hold his office for a period of five (5) years from the date of his appointment. If for any reason a Municipal Judge vacates his office prior to the expiration of the five (5) year term, his successor shall complete the remainder of that term of office. The Municipal Judge shall be paid for his services at a rate established by the City Council. Sec. 22-5. Removal from Office. The Municipal Judge shall be removed from office if he loses or fails to maintain his qualifications for the position, or upon removal as provided for in ��issouri Supreme Court Rule 12, or for other good cause. Sec. 22-6. Qualifications. The Municipal Judge shall possess the following qualifi- cations : 1. Except for a Municipal Judge who has served the City in that capacity for at least three (3) years prior to the effective date of this ordinance, the Municipal Judge must be a licensed attorney, qualified to practice law within the State of Missouri. 2. He must reside within the city limits. 3. He must be between the ages of twenty-one (21) and seventy-five (75) years. 4. He (may/may not) serve as Municipal Judge for another municipality during the term of his office. 5. He may not hold any other office within the city government. 6. Since the position shall be a part time one, the Municipal Judge may accept other employment not inconsistent with the Code of Judicial Conduct, Missour Supreme Court Rule 2 . (State Law Reference, Section 479. 020 RSD4o) . Sec. 22-7 . Court Rules. 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. (State Law Reference, Section 479. 020 RSMo) . 2. Sec. 22-8. P�onthly Report to City Council. Within the first ten (10) days of every month, the Municipal Judge shall cause the Court Clerk to prepare a list of all the cases heard or tried before the Judge durin� 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 file the same with the City Clerk. The City Clerk shall thereafter present same to the City Council at its first session thereafter. Within the same ten (10) day period the full amount of all fines collected during the preceding month shall be paid to the Municipal Treasurer. (State Law Reference, Section 479. 080 RSMo) . Sec. 22-9. Court Records. The Municipal Judge shall be a conservator of the peace. He shall keep a docket in which he shall enter every case commenced before him and the proceeding therein, and he shall keep such other records as required. Such docket and records shall be records of the Circuit Court. The Municipal Judge shall deliver said docket and records and all books and papers pertaining to his office to his successor in office or to the presiding judge of the Circuit. (State Law Reference, Section 479. 070 RSMo) . Sec. 22-10. Powers and Duties of Municipal Judge. The Municipal Judge shall be and is hereby authorized to: 1. Establish a traffic violations bureau pursuant to the Missouri Rules of Practice and Procedure in Municipal Courts and Section 479. 050 RSMo. 2. Administer oaths and enforce due obedience to all orders, rules and judgments made by him and may fine or imprison for contempt committed before such Judge 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 sentence, suspend any sentence, and make such other orders as the Municipal Judge deems necessary and proper with respect to any matter 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 make and adopt such rules of practice and procedure as are necessary to hear and decide the 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 now or may later be prescribed by the laws of this state or this Code. (State Law Reference, Section 479 . 070 RSMo) . 3. Sec. 22-11. Traffic Violations Bureau. The Municipal Judge shall have the authority to establish a Traffic Violations Bureau, and to designate the Municipal Court Clerk or the Assistant Municipal Court Clerk as the Traffic Violations Clerk for said Bureau. The Violations Clerk shall have authority to accept appearance, waiver of trial, plea of guilty and payment of fines and costs for the traffic offenses designated by the Municipal Judge. (State Law Reference, Section 479 . 050 RSP�o) . Sec. 22-12. Issuance and Execution of Warrants. All warrants issued by a Municipal Judge or his deputized clerk shall be directed to the City Marshal, 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 Marshal, 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. (State Law Reference, Section 479. 100 xsr�o) . Sec. 22-13. Arrests Without Warrants. The City Marshal, Chief of Police, or other Police officer of the City may, without a warrant, make arrests of any person who commits an offense in his presence, but such officer shall, before the trial, file a written complaint with the Judge hearinq violations of municipal ordinances. (State Law Reference, Section 479. 110 RSMo) . Sec. 22-14. Jury Trials. 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 Judge. Whenever a defendant accused of a violation of a municipal ordinance demands a trial by jury, the Municipal Judge shall certify the case to the Presiding Judge of the Circuit Court for reassignment, as provided in Subsection 2 of Section 517. 520 RSMo. (State Law Reference, Section 479. 130 RSMo) . Sec. 22-15. Duties of the City Prosecuting Attorney. 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 ordinances. The salary or fees of the attorney and his necessary expenses incurred in such prosecutions shall be paid by the city. (State Law Reference Section 479. 120 RSMo) . Sec. 22-16. Summoning of Witnesses. It shall be the duty of the Municipal �udge 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 orally + 4 . notify such witnesses as either party may require to attend before him on the day set for trial to testify in the case, and enter the names of such witnesses on his docket, which oral notice shall be valid as a summons. (State Law Reference, Section 479. 160 RSMo) . Sec. 22-17. Municipal Judge Without Jurisdiction, When, Procedure. If, in the progress of any trial before a P�unicipal 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 as Municipal Judge, he shall immediately stop all further proceedings before him as Municipal Judge and caus� the complaint to be made before some Associate Circuit Judge within the county. (State Law Reference, Section 479. 170 RSMo) . Sec. 22-18. Commitment in County Jail, When. If a municipality 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 custody, and said expenses shall be taxed as costs. (State Law Reference, Section 479. 180 RSMo) . Sec. 22-19. Parole and Probation. Any Judge hearing violations of munici�al 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 said Judge. (State Law Reference, Section 479. 190 RSMo) . Sec. 22-20. Appeals, Trials De Novo. l. If the Municipal Judge is not licensed to practice law in this state, the defendant shall have a right to trial de novo, even from a plea of guilty, before a Circuit Judge or an fissociate Circuit Judge. 2. If the Municipal Judge is licensed to practice law in this state, 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. 3. Al1 applications for 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. 4. In all cases tried with a jury, a record shall be made, and appeals may be had upon that record to the appropriate appellate court. (State Law Reference, Section 479. 220 RSMo) . 5. Sec. 22-21. Breach of Recognizance. In 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 city 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 by a Municipal Judge, such shall be on the transcript of the proceedings before the Municipal Judge. �11 monies recovered in such actions shall be paid over to the Municipal Treasury to the General Revenue Fund of the city. (State Law Reference, Section 479. 210 RSMo) . Sec. 22-22. Disqualification of Judge, when, Procedure. A Municipal Judge shall be disqualified to hear any case in which he is in any wise 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. (State Law Reference, Section 479 . 220 RSMo) . Sec. 22-23. Absence of Judge, Procedure. l. If a Municipal Judge be absent, sick or disqualified from acting, the Mayor may designate some competent, eligible person to act as Municipal Judge until such absence or disqualification shall cease; The City Council shall provide by ordinance for the compensation of any person designated to act as Municipal Judge under the provisions of this Section. (State Law Reference, Section 479. 230 RSMo) . Sec. 22-24. Municipal Court Clerk. The duties of the i�unicipal Court Clerk or any Assistant P�unicipal Court Clerk shall be as follows : l. To collect fines and court costs for violations of city ordinances. 2. To take oaths and affirmations . 3. To accept signed complaints, and allow the same to be signed and sworn to or affirmed before him. 4. Sign and issue subpoenas or subpoenas duces tecum requiring the attendance of witnesses. 5. Accept the appearance, waiver of trial, pl�a of guilty, and payment of fine and costs in traffic violation bureau cases or as otherwise directed by the Municipal Judge. 6 . Perform all other duties as provided for by ordinance, by the Rules of Practice and Procedure adopted by the Municipal Judge and by the Missouri Rules of Practice and Procedure in Municipal and Traffic Courts, or by state law. 6 . � � � . 7. Maintain, properly certified by the City Clerk, a complete copy of the City Ordinances which shall constitute prima facie evidence of such ordinance before the P�tunicipal Court. Further, to maintain a similarly certifed copy on file with the Clerk serving the Circuit Court of this county. (State Law Reference, Section 479. 250 RSMo) . Sec. 22-25 . Court Costs. In addition to any fine that may be imposed by the Municipal Judge, there shall be assessed as costs in all cases where the defendant pleads guilty or is found guilty, the following: 1. Court costs in an amount not to exceed Twelve Dollars ($12. 00) per case for each municipal ordinance violation case filed before the P�Iunicipal Judge. 2. Service costs, such as for the issuance of a warrant, a commitment, or a summons, including mileage expenses incurred. 3. Jail costs. 4. And witness fees. 5. When there is an application for a trial de novo, there shall be an additional fee of Twenty Dollars ($20. 00) which shall be assessed as court costs in the same manner as provided in this Section. The Municipal Judge may assess costs against the defendant except in those cases where the defendant is found by the Judge to be indigent and unable to pay the costs. e� The City by ordinance may provide for a schedule of costs to be paid in connection with pleas of guilty �ahich are processed in the Traffic Violations Bureau. (State Law Reference, Section 479. 260 RSMo) Sec. 22-26. Fines, Installments Allowed. When a fine is assessed for a violation of an ordinance, it shall be within the discretion of the Judge assessing the fine to provide for the payment of the fine on an installment basis under such terms and conditions as he may deem appropriate. " (State Law Reference, Section 479. 240 RSMo) . SECTION 3. If any section, subsection, sentence, clause, phrase or portion of this ordinance is for any reason held invalid or unconstitutional by any Court of competent jurisdiction, such portion shall be deemed a separate, distinct and independent provision and such holding shall not affect the validity of the remaining portions hereof. SECTION 4. It is the intention of the governing body and it is hereby ordained that the provisions of this ordinance shall become and be made a part of the Code of Ordinances of the City 7. of Cape Girardeau, Missouri, and the sections of this Code may be renumbered to accomplish such intention. SECTION 5. This ordinance shall be in full force and effect on January 2, 1979. r� PASSED AND APPROVED THIS �� DAY OF ��^��z� , 1978 . � � : �� ��� � �t ��-.-� `�. �L.� ;�... MAYOR ATTEST: .��� 1��� CITY C ERK 8.