There is hereby established in the City of Pevely a Municipal
Court to be known as the "Pevely Municipal Court, a Division of the
23rd 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".
The jurisdiction of the Municipal Court shall extend to all
cases involving alleged violations of the ordinances of the City.
[R.O. 2004 §140.030(A); Ord. No. 322 §§4 — 5, 1-30-1979; Ord. No. 1313 §1, 9-16-2013]
A.
The Judge of the City's Municipal Court shall be known as a
Municipal Judge of the 23rd Judicial Circuit Court as follows:
1.
Until the first Tuesday in April 2014, the office of the Municipal
Judge shall be elected by the qualified voters of the City of Pevely,
and compensation for the elected Municipal Judge shall be fixed by
ordinance from time to time; and
2.
Thereafter, the office of the Municipal Judge shall become an appointed position effective the first Tuesday in April 2014, and shall be appointed to his/her position by the Mayor, subject to the approval of the Board of Aldermen, and compensation for the appointed Municipal Judge shall be set as set forth in Section 125.110 of this Code.
[R.O. 2004 §140.030(B); CC 1990 §140.030(B); Ord. No. 322 §§4 —
5, 1-30-1979; Ord. No. 1313 §1, 9-16-2013]
Effective the first Tuesday in April 2014, the office of the Municipal Judge shall be appointed to his/her position by the Mayor, subject to the approval of the Board of Aldermen for a term expiring April 1, 2016. Thereafter, the term of the office of the Municipal Judge shall expire on April 1 of every fourth year from 2016; however, an incumbent Municipal Judge who continues to meet the qualifications set forth in Section 125.060 shall continue until a successor is appointed and qualified. Vacancies for either an elected or selected Municipal Judge, as the case may be, shall be filled in accordance with this Chapter 125 for the unexpired term only. The Mayor, with the approval of the Board of Aldermen, may terminate the Municipal Judge.
[Ord. No. 1313 §1, 9-16-2013]
A.
The Municipal Judge shall vacate his/her office under the following
circumstances:
1.
Upon removal from office by the State Commission on the Retirement,
Removal and Discipline of Judges as provided in Missouri State Supreme
Court Rule 12;
2.
Upon attaining his/her 75th birthday;
3.
If he/she should lose his/her license to practice law within
the State of Missouri; or
4.
If he/she should fail to timely complete the course of instruction as required in Section 125.060(A)(8) of this Code.
[R.O. 2004 §140.050; CC 1990 §140.050; Ord. No. 260 §2, 12-28-1976; Ord. No. 322 §7, 1-30-1979; Ord. No. 332 §1, 2-27-1979; Ord.
No. 1313 §1, 9-16-2013]
A.
The Municipal Judge shall possess the following qualifications before
he/she shall take office:
1.
He/she need not be a licensed attorney, or qualified to practice
law in the State of Missouri; provided, however, that in the event
the population of the City of Pevely, Missouri, exceeds seven thousand
five hundred (7,500), people then he/she shall be required to be a
licensed attorney;
2.
He/she shall not be required to 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 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, provided that such
employment does not conflict with the Code of Judicial Conduct as
provided for in Missouri Supreme Court Rule 2; and
8.
He/she must within six (6) months after his/her election or
selection to the position, satisfactorily complete a course of instruction
for municipal judges as prescribed by the State Supreme Court, unless
previously completed.
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.
[R.O. 2004 §140.070(A); CC 1990 §140.070(A); Ord. No. 322 §9, 1-30-1979]
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 same shall be prepared under oath by the
Municipal Court Clerk or the Municipal Judge. 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 Jefferson 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.
[R.O. 2004 §140.080; CC 1990 §140.080; Ord. No. 322 §11, 1-30-1979]
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. Any and all
rules made or adopted hereunder 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 as adopted by the State
Supreme Court or the Statutes of the State of Missouri.
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.
[Ord. No. 1313 §1, 9-16-2013]
The Municipal Judge shall be paid a sum as fixed by ordinance
from time to time. The salary of the Municipal Judge shall be set
by the Board of Aldermen, and increases in pay will be at the discretion
of the Board of Aldermen. The Municipal Judge shall not receive any
other compensation except for travel and conference expenses as approved
by the Board of Aldermen.
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.
[R.O. 2004 §140.090; CC 1990 §140.090; Ord. No. 322 §12, 1-30-1979]
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. The Clerk of the Municipal Court is hereby designated
as the Violations Clerk for said Bureau, if established.
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, Sheriff or Deputy 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 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.
[R.O. 2004 §140.105; Ord. No. 941 §1, 12-4-2000]
A.
Search Warrant Defined — Who May Issue And Execute.
1.
An "administrative search warrant" is a written
order of the Municipal Judge commanding the search or inspection of
any property, place or thing and the seizure, photographing, copying
or recording of property or physical conditions found thereon or therein
to determine or prove the existence of violations of any ordinance
or Code Section of the Pevely Code relating to the use, condition
or occupancy of property or structures located within the City of
Pevely or to enforce the provisions of any such ordinance or Code
Section.
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 Pevely 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 refused to allow same after
official request by the City Inspector or Police Officer.
3.
Any such warrant shall be directed to the Chief of Police or any
other Police Officer of the City of Pevely and shall be executed by
the Chief of Police or said Police Officer within the City of Pevely
limits and not elsewhere.
B.
Who May Apply For Warrant — Contents Of Application.
1.
Any Police Officer or an attorney of the City of Pevely may make
application to the Municipal Judge for the issuance of an administrative
search warrant.
2.
The application shall:
a.
Be in writing;
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 or places to be
entered, searched, inspected or seized has been requested by the City
Inspector to allow such action and has refused to allow such action;
e.
State facts sufficient to show probable cause for the issuance of a search warrant, as provided in Subsection (C)(1) hereof, to:
(1)
Search or inspect for violations of an ordinance or Code Section
specified in the application, or
(2)
Show that entry or seizure is authorized and necessary to enforce
an ordinance or Code Section specified in the application and that
any required due process has been afforded prior to the entry or seizure.
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.
C.
Hearing And Procedure — Contents Of Warrant — Execution
And Return.
1.
Hearing and procedure.
a.
The Municipal Judge shall hold a non-adversary hearing to determine
whether probable cause exists to inspect or search for violations
of any Pevely ordinance or Code Section or to enforce any such ordinance
or Code Section.
b.
In doing so the Municipal Judge shall determine whether the action
to be taken by the inspector 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 Pevely ordinance or Code Section.
c.
If it appears from the application and any supporting affidavit that
there is probable cause to inspect or search for violations of any
Pevely ordinance or Code Section or to enforce any such ordinance
or Code Section, a search warrant shall immediately be issued.
d.
The warrant shall issue in the form of an original and two (2) copies
and the application, any supporting affidavit and one (1) 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 of Pevely;
b.
Be directed to any Police Officer or inspector in the City of Pevely;
c.
State the time and date the warrant was issued;
d.
Identify the property or places to be searched, inspected or entered
upon in sufficient detail and particularity that the officer executing
the warrant can readily ascertain it;
e.
Command that the described property or places be searched or entered
upon and that any evidence of any Pevely ordinance violations found
therein or thereon or any property seized pursuant thereto or a description
of such property seized be returned, within ten (10) days after filing
of the application, to the Municipal Judge who issued the warrant
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 Section shall be executed only
by a Pevely inspector or Police Officer, provided however, that one
(1) or more designated Pevely officials may accompany the officer
and the warrant shall be executed in the following manner:
(1)
The warrant shall be executed by conducting the search, inspection,
entry or seizure as commanded and shall be executed as soon as practicable
and in a reasonable manner.
(2)
The officer shall give the owner or occupant of the property
searched, inspected or entered upon a copy of the warrant.
(3)
Property seized.
(a)
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.
(b)
A copy of the itemized receipt of any property taken shall be
delivered to an attorney for the City of Pevely within two (2) working
days of the search.
(c)
The disposition of property seized pursuant to a search warrant
under this Section shall be in accordance with an applicable Pevely
ordinance or Code Section but, in the absence of same, then with Section
542.301, RSMo.
(4)
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.
(5)
An officer making a search pursuant to an invalid warrant, the
invalidity of which is not apparent on its face, may use such force
as he/she would be justified in using if the warrant were valid.
(6)
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.
Return procedure.
(1)
After execution of the search warrant, the warrant, with a return
thereon signed by the officer making the search, shall be delivered
to the Municipal Court.
(2)
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.
(3)
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.
(4)
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
of Pevely;
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.
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.
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.
[R.O. 2004 §370.060; CC 1990 §370.060; Ord. No. 297 §6, 1-31-1978]
The Municipal Judge of the Court of the City of Pevely, Missouri,
when a person has been found guilty of violating any municipal ordinance
involving the operation of a motor vehicle, may suspend sentencing
pending educational training designed to improve the safety habits
of drivers or may order the convicted person to attend such a course
in lieu of, or in addition to, the penalty otherwise provided by law
for the offense.
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 Municipal
Judge may also be disqualified in accordance with the procedures set
forth in Rule 51 in the Missouri Supreme Court Rules of Civil Procedure.
If a Municipal 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 §140.230; Ord. No. 820 §§1 — 4, 9-5-1995]
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 Pevely 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;
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.
4.
He/she fails to timely act and dispose of the charges and fully pay
any applicable fines and Court costs after assessment of same.
B.
The
Clerk of the Court may send such failure to appear notices and driver's
license suspension warnings, requests to suspend and notice of compliance
in such form as may be approved by the Judge of the City's Municipal
Court.
C.
Nothing
in this Section shall prevent the exercise of the Municipal Court
of its power to punish for contempt.
