Village of Orfordville, WI Chapter 26 Court, Municipal

[HISTORY: Adopted by the Village Board of the Village of Orfordville 3-31-1992 as §§ 2-3-11 and 2-3-12 of the 1992 Code. Amendments noted where applicable.]

§ 26-1 Establishment.

[Amended 12-12-2011]

A. Pursuant to the authority granted by Ch. 755, Wis. Stats., there is hereby established a Municipal Court for the Village of Orfordville. The Municipal Court is a coequal branch of the municipal government, subject to the superintending authority of the Supreme Court, through the chief judge of the judicial administrative district.

B. The Municipal Court shall be maintained at the expense of the Village. The Village Board shall determine the amount budgeted for Court maintenance and operations. The budget of the Municipal Court shall be separate from, or contained on a separate line item from, the budget or line items at all other municipal departments.

§ 26-2 Municipal Judge.

[Amended 12-12-2011]

Pursuant to the authority granted by Ch. 755, Wis. Stats., there is hereby created the office of Municipal Judge for the Municipal Court for the Village of Orfordville.

A. Election; term. The Municipal Judge shall be elected at large at the spring election in the odd-numbered years for a term of four years commencing on May 1 succeeding the election. The Municipal Judge shall be subject to the Wisconsin Code of Judicial Ethics and shall file an annual financial statement.

B. Salary. The Village Board shall fix the salary of the Municipal Judge. The salary of the Municipal Judge may be increased for a new term prior to the beginning of the term for the Judge, or for the second year of a term before the start of the second year of the term of the Judge, but the salary shall not be decreased during the term of the Judge. Salaries may be paid annually or in equal installments as determined by the Village Board, but no Judge may be paid a salary for that portion of any term during which portion the Judge has not executed the official bond or official oath as required by § 755.03, Wis. Stats.

C. Bond; oath. Within 10 days after a Municipal Judge takes the oath, the judge shall file the oath and bond with the Clerk of the Village. The judge shall also file a certified copy of the oath with the Office of Director of State Courts within the ten-day period after the judge takes the oath.

D. Training. The Judge shall participate in a program of continuing education as required by the Supreme Court. The Village shall pay the cost of said continuing education.

§ 26-3 Procedure.

[Amended 12-12-2011]

A. The procedure in Municipal Court for the Village of Orfordville shall be as provided in Chapter 26 of the Village Ordinances, Chapter 800 of the Wisconsin Statutes, and all other applicable state statutes, regulations and ordinances.

B. The Municipal Court shall be open as determined by the Municipal Judge and approved by the Village Board.

C. The Municipal Judge shall keep his/her office and hold Court in the Municipal Building, 106 N. Center Street, Village of Orfordville. The Village Board shall provide the judge with an office or appropriate work space at the Municipal Building.

D. If the Municipal Judge is temporarily absent, sick or disabled, the provisions of § 800.06(1), Wis. Stats., shall apply, and if the Municipal Judge becomes incompetent or unable to act or fails to act, the provisions of § 800.06(2), Wis. Stats., shall apply. In the event of a permanent vacancy, the provisions of § 800.06(3), Wis. Stats. shall apply. Any substitute Municipal Judge designated or assigned hereunder shall be compensated as authorized by the Village Board. The Municipal Judge shall satisfy all continuing education requirements for municipal judges pursuant to § 755.18(1), Wis. Stats., and the Village shall pay the cost of such continuing education.

E. Upon the proper and timely written request for substitution of the Municipal Judge, the provisions of § 800.05, Wis. Stats., shall apply.

F. The procedures of the Municipal Court shall be in accord with the applicable Wisconsin Statutes and Village ordinances. The Court shall abide by the Wisconsin Rules of Evidence. The deposit in traffic cases shall be made as provided in § 345.26, Wis. Stats. In boating cases, the deposit shall be made as provided in §§ 23.66 and 23.67, Wis. Stats. In all other cases, the Municipal Court, with the approval of the Village Board, shall set the deposit schedule. No deposit amount shall exceed the maximum penalty which could be imposed for the ordinance violation, plus costs, fees and surcharges imposed under Chapter 814 of the Wisconsin Statutes.

§ 26-4 Deposits, forfeitures and costs.

[Amended 12-12-2011; 3-10-2014]

A. Bonds for appearance, partial payments and other funds collected by the Court shall be treated as escrow funds and deposited with the Village Clerk-Treasurer.

B. The Clerk of the Municipal Court shall collect all forfeitures and costs in any action or proceeding before him and shall pay over such moneys to the Village Clerk-Treasurer not later than the end of each month. At the time of payment, the Municipal Court Clerk shall report to the Village Clerk-Treasurer the title of the action, the offense for which the forfeiture was imposed and the total amount of the forfeiture, fees, penalty assessments and costs, if any. The Village Clerk-Treasurer shall disburse the fees as provided in § 814.65, Wis. Stats., and disburse any penalty assessments pursuant to § 66.0114, Wis. Stats.

C. In a Municipal Court action, except for a financial responsibility violation under § 344.62(2), Wis. Stats., or for a violation of an ordinance in conformity with § 343.51(lm)(b) or § 347.48(2m), Wis. Stats., the Municipal Judge shall collect a fee of $38 on each separate matter, whether it is on default of appearance, a plea of guilty or no contest, on issuance of a warrant or summons, or the action is tried as a contested matter. Of each fee received by the Judge under this subsection, the Municipal Treasurer shall pay monthly $5 to the Secretary of Administration for deposit in the general fund and shall retain the balance for the use of the municipality.

§ 26-5 Authority to abolish Court.

[Amended 12-12-2011

The Village Board may, by ordinance or by law, abolish the Municipal Court at the end of any term for which the Judge has been elected or appointed.

§ 26-6 Statutes adopted by reference.

Chapters 755 and 800, Wis. Stats., are hereby adopted by reference.

§ 26-7 Contempt of Court.

A. "Contempt of Court" means any of the following intentional acts:

(1) Misconduct in the presence of the Court that interferes with the Court proceeding or with the administration of justice, or that impairs the respect due the Court.

(2) Refusal of a witness to appear without reasonable excuse.

B. The Municipal Judge may impose a forfeiture in an amount not to exceed $200 for a contempt of Court.

C. For a contempt of Court described in Subsection A(1), the judge may impose imprisonment in the county jail for not more than seven days and impose a forfeiture. These penalties shall be imposed immediately after the contempt of Court has occurred and only under the following conditions:

(1) For the purpose of preserving order in the Court and protecting the authority and dignity of the Court.

(2) After allowing the person who committed the contempt of Court an opportunity to address the Court.

D. For a contempt of Court described in Subsection A(2), the judge may do any of the following:

(1) Issue a warrant to bring the witness before the Court for the contempt and to testify.

(2) In addition to ordering the witness to pay a forfeiture under Subsection B, the judge may order the witness to pay all costs of the witness' apprehension.

§ 26-8 Court Clerk.

[Amended 12-12-2011]

A. Appointment. The Municipal Judge shall, in writing, appoint the personnel that are authorized by the Village Board. The Village Board shall authorize at least one Clerk of the Municipal Court. The hiring, termination, hours of employment and Clerk responsibilities of the Court personnel, when working during hours assigned to the Court, shall be under the judge's authority. The Clerk's salary shall be fixed by the Village Board. The Clerk of the Municipal Court shall hold office for an indefinite term of office. The Clerk shall, before entering upon the duties of his or her office, take the oath provided by § 19.01, Wis. Stats., and give such bond as the Board may require. The oath and bond of the Clerk of Municipal Court shall be filed with the Village Clerk-Treasurer. The cost of such bond shall be paid by the Village.

B. Duties. The Court Clerk shall:

(1) File and review citations and complaints assuring their correctness.

(2) Reply to departmental mail concerning routine matters as prescribed by the Municipal Judge.

(3) Assign docket numbers to citations and complaints, type of docket sheets and gather all material pertinent to cases.

(4) Determine and schedule Court dates and facilities.

(5) Communicate with law officers, attorneys and defendants regarding Court proceedings.

(6) Balance dockets at the conclusion of Court proceedings.

(7) Prepare and mail warrants and summons.

(8) Prepare a monthly report of financial activities.

(9) Assist in the collection of traffic bonds.

(10) Prepare necessary communications for jury trials and transfers to Circuit Court.

(11) Perform such other duties as may be required by the Municipal Judge and Village Board.

C. Training. The Clerk shall participate in a program of continuing education as required by the Supreme Court. The Village shall pay the cost of such continuing education.

§ 26-9 Court officer.

[Added 1-24-2022; amended 3-2-2022]

A full-time officer of the Village of Orfordville Police Department shall attend all sessions of the municipal court. The officer shall be present to provide security, help maintain order, and provide other services as requested by the Municipal Judge during any session of municipal court. If during any session of the municipal court there is an emergency that requires the officer's immediate attention, the officer shall leave to report to said emergency. Upon the officer's departure, the Municipal Judge shall have the option, in the Judge's sole discretion, to adjourn the ongoing session of municipal court.