City of St. Francis, WI Chapter 40 Court, Municipal

[HISTORY: Adopted by the Common Council of the City of St. Francis as § 1.20 of the 1981 Code. Amendments noted where applicable.]

§ 40-1 Municipal Judge.

[Amended 7-1-2008 by Ord. No. 1259; 3-1-2011 by Charter Ord. No. C-12]

A. There is created and established in the City of St. Francis, Wisconsin, a municipal court designated "Municipal Court for the City of St. Francis, Wisconsin." A municipal court created under this subsection 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. A temporary or permanent vacancy in the office of municipal judge shall be filled under § 8.50(4)(fm), Wis. Stats., by an licensed attorney member of the Wisconsin State Bar in good standing. The municipal court is not a court of record. The court shall be maintained at the expense of the City of St. Francis. The municipal governing body 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 of all other municipal departments.

B. A municipal court shall appoint a guardian ad litem for any defendant that the court has reason to believe is mentally incompetent.

C. Election; term. The Municipal Judge shall be elected at large at the spring election in even-numbered years for a term of four years commencing on May 1 next succeeding his or her election. Midterm vacancies in the office of Municipal Judge shall be filled by special election to be held not less than 55 days nor more than 70 days after the order of the Council thereof.

D. Salary. The Municipal Judge shall receive a salary and other emoluments as set by the Common Council from time to time, which shall be in lieu of fees and costs. No salary shall be paid to the Judge for any time during his term for which he has not executed and filed his official bond and oath.

E. Bond; oath. The Municipal Judge shall, after election or appointment, take and file the official oath as prescribed in § 757.02(1), Wis. Stats., and at the same time execute and file an official bond in the sum as provided in § 105-5 of this Code. The governing body shall pay the costs of the bond. No judge may act as such until such judge files a certified copy of the oath with the office of director of state courts within the ten-day time period after the judge takes the oath.

F. Jurisdiction. The Municipal Judge shall have jurisdiction as provided by law and exclusive jurisdiction of violations of City ordinances, resolutions, and bylaws.

G. Change of Judge. Whenever it shall become necessary, by reason of request for a new Judge being filed with the St. Francis Municipal Judge or for other good reasons, to utilize the service of a Municipal Judge not of St. Francis, then the City, upon voucher, shall compensate such outside Municipal Judge from time to time for each day, or fractional part thereof, of actual and necessary attendance at such St. Francis Municipal Court.

§ 40-2 Court established.

The Municipal Court for the City is established pursuant to § 755.01 and Ch. 755, Wis. Stats.

§ 40-3 Hours.

The Municipal Court for the City shall be open as determined by order of the Municipal Judge.

§ 40-4 Location.

The Municipal Judge shall keep his office and hold court in the City Hall.

§ 40-5 Procedure.

The procedure in Municipal Court for the City shall be as provided by this chapter and the state law, including, without limitation because of enumeration, Chs. 800, 755 and 778 and §§ 23.66 to 23.99 and 345.20 to 345.53, Wis. Stats.

§ 40-6 Collection and return of forfeitures.

The Municipal Court shall collect all forfeitures, penalty assessments, fees, and taxable costs in any action or proceeding before it and shall pay over such moneys to the City Treasurer within seven days of collection. At such time the Municipal Judge shall also report to the City Clerk the title, nature of offenses and total amount of judgments imposed in actions and proceedings in which such moneys were collected.

§ 40-7 Contempt of court.

[Amended 3-20-2012 by Ord. No. 1314]

A. In this section, "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) of this section, the Municipal Judge may impose imprisonment in the county jail or house of correction 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) of this section, the Municipal 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 Municipal Judge may order the witness to pay all costs of the witness's apprehension.

§ 40-8 Stipulations and deposits.

A. Deposit schedule to be established. The Wisconsin Uniform Traffic and Misdemeanor Deposit Schedule is to be used for citations in Municipal Court. Where no such deposit exists, the Municipal Judge shall establish and submit to the Common Council for approval in accordance with Ch. 800, Wis. Stats., a schedule of deposits for such violations. When approved by the Council, such deposit schedule shall be on file with the Police Department.

B. Stipulation and deposit in lieu of court appearance. Persons cited in Municipal Court shall be permitted to make a stipulation of no contest and a deposit in lieu of court appearance as provided in Ch. 800, Wis. Stats., unless a provision of law does not so provide and appearance is mandated.

§ 40-9 Statutory counterpart ordinances.

The City of St. Francis has adopted and may, from time to time, adopt certain sections of the Wisconsin Statutes in this Code. Pursuant to the authority granted in § 66.0113(1)(a), Wis. Stats., violations of such sections may be cited in Municipal Court, and that specific authority is hereby adopted and authorized. Uniform citations as provided in the Wisconsin Statutes and in this Code shall be used for any such violations, as may be appropriate.

§ 40-10 Court costs and fees.

[Amended 7-1-2008 by Ord. No. 1259; 11-19-2013 by Ord. No. 1354]

Added to all deposits, stipulations, and forfeitures shall be court costs and fees, as provided in § 814.65, Wis. Stats. The fee assessed pursuant to § 814.65(1), Wis. Stats., shall be $38 for 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.