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| Home > Statutes > Usa Missouri |
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USA Statutes : missouri
Title : COURTS
Chapter : Chapter 479 Municipal Courts and Traffic Courts
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Violations of municipal ordinances shall be tried only before
divisions of the circuit court as hereinafter provided in this chapter.
(L. 1978 H.B. 1634)
Effective 1-2-79
*No continuity with § 479.010 as repealed by L. 1978 H.B. 1634.
(1990) Mayor's commission on human rights and community relations has no
jurisdiction to hear and determine an allegation of a violation of a city
ordinance by reason of Mo. const. art. V., sec. 23, therefore
commission's order is null, void, of no effect, and for naught. Yellow
Freight Systems, Inc. v. Mayor's Commission on Human Rights of the City
of Springfield, 791 S.W.2d 382 (Mo. banc).
1. Any city not within a county may establish, by order or
ordinance, an administrative system for adjudicating parking and other
nonmoving municipal code violations consistent with applicable state law.
Such administrative adjudication system shall be subject to practice,
procedure, and pleading rules established by the state supreme court,
circuit court, or municipal court. This section shall not be construed to
affect the validity of other administrative adjudication systems
authorized by state law and created before August 28, 2004.
2. The order or ordinance creating the administrative adjudication system
shall designate the administrative tribunal and its jurisdiction,
including the code violations to be reviewed. The administrative tribunal
may operate under the supervision of the municipal court, parking
commission, or other entity designated by order or ordinance and in a
manner consistent with state law. The administrative tribunal shall adopt
policies and procedures for administrative hearings, and filing and
notification requirements for appeals to the municipal or circuit court,
subject to the approval of the municipal or circuit court.
3. The administrative adjudication process authorized in this section
shall ensure a fair and impartial review of contested municipal code
violations, and shall afford the parties due process of law. The formal
rules of evidence shall not apply in any administrative review or hearing
authorized in this section. Evidence, including hearsay, may be admitted
only if it is the type of evidence commonly relied upon by reasonably
prudent persons in the conduct of their affairs. The code violation
notice, property record, and related documentation in the proper form, or
a copy thereof, shall be prima facie evidence of the municipal code
violation. The officer who issued the code violation citation need not be
present.
4. An administrative tribunal may not impose incarceration or any fine in
excess of the amount allowed by law. Any sanction, fine or costs, or part
of any fine, other sanction, or costs, remaining unpaid after the
exhaustion of, or the failure to exhaust, judicial review procedures
under chapter 536, RSMo, shall be a debt due and owing the city, and may
be collected in accordance with applicable law.
5. Any final decision or disposition of a code violation by an
administrative tribunal shall constitute a final determination for
purposes of judicial review, subject to review under chapter 536, RSMo.
After expiration of the judicial review period under chapter 536, RSMo,
unless stayed by a court of competent jurisdiction, the administrative
tribunal's decisions, findings, rules, and orders may be enforced in the
same manner as a judgment entered by a court of competent jurisdiction.
Upon being recorded in the manner required by state law or the uniform
commercial code, a lien may be imposed on the real or personal property
of any defendant entering a plea of nolo contendere, pleading guilty to,
or found guilty of a municipal code violation in the amount of any debt
due the city under this section and enforced in the same manner as a
judgment lien under a judgment of a court of competent jurisdiction. (L.
2004 H.B. 1407)
1. Any city, town or village, including those operating under a
constitutional or special charter, may, and cities with a population of
four hundred thousand or more shall, provide by ordinance or charter for
the selection, tenure and compensation of a municipal judge or judges
consistent with the provisions of this chapter who shall have original
jurisdiction to hear and determine all violations against the ordinances
of the municipality. The method of selection of municipal judges shall be
provided by charter or ordinance. Each municipal judge shall be selected
for a term of not less than two years as provided by charter or ordinance.
2. Except where prohibited by charter or ordinance, the municipal judge
may be a part-time judge and may serve as municipal judge in more than
one municipality.
3. No person shall serve as a municipal judge of any municipality with a
population of seven thousand five hundred or more or of any municipality
in a county of the first class with a charter form of government unless
the person is licensed to practice law in this state unless, prior to
January 2, 1979, such person has served as municipal judge of that same
municipality for at least two years.
4. Notwithstanding any other statute, a municipal judge need not be a
resident of the municipality or of the circuit in which the municipal
judge serves except where ordinance or charter provides otherwise.
Municipal judges shall be residents of Missouri.
5. Judges selected under the provisions of this section shall be
municipal judges of the circuit court and shall be divisions of the
circuit court of the circuit in which the municipality, or major
geographical portion thereof, is located. The judges of these municipal
divisions shall be subject to the rules of the circuit court which are
not inconsistent with the rules of the supreme court. The presiding judge
of the circuit shall have general administrative authority over the
judges and court personnel of the municipal divisions within the circuit.
6. No municipal judge shall hold any other office in the municipality
which the municipal judge serves as judge. The compensation of any
municipal judge and other court personnel shall not be dependent in any
way upon the number of cases tried, the number of guilty verdicts reached
or the amount of fines imposed or collected.
7. Municipal judges shall be at least twenty-one years of age. No person
shall serve as municipal judge after that person has reached that
person's seventy-fifth birthday.
8. Within six months after selection for the position, each municipal
judge who is not licensed to practice law in this state shall
satisfactorily complete the course of instruction for municipal judges
prescribed by the supreme court. The state courts administrator shall
certify to the supreme court the names of those judges who satisfactorily
complete the prescribed course. If a municipal judge fails to complete
satisfactorily the prescribed course within six months after the
municipal judge's selection as municipal judge, the municipal judge's
office shall be deemed vacant and such person shall not thereafter be
permitted to serve as a municipal judge, nor shall any compensation
thereafter be paid to such person for serving as municipal judge. (L.
1978 H.B. 1634, A.L. 1993 S.B. 88, A.L. 1996 H.B. 1169 & 1271 merged with
S.B. 722 merged with S.B. 869, A.L. 2001 S.B. 267, A.L. 2004 H.B. 795, et
al. merged with S.B. 1211)
1. Every municipality with a population of less than four
hundred thousand which makes provision for a municipal judge or judges
shall notify in writing the circuit clerk of the county in which the
municipality or major geographical portion thereof is located before the
municipal judge or judges hear and determine any cases; provided,
however, that until March 1, 1979, municipal judges may hear and
determine cases prior to such notification.
2. Judges of municipal courts in office on January 1, 1979, may serve out
the terms which they are then serving as municipal judges of the circuit
court if the municipality makes provision for the office of a municipal
judge even though such judge may not meet the requirements of subsections
3, 7 and 8 of section 479.020.
3. Each judge of a municipal court in a city with a population of over
four hundred thousand who is in office on January 1, 1979, and who is a
full-time judge, shall become a municipal judge for that city without
action being required on the part of the city, shall serve out the term
for which he was selected, and subject to the provisions of chapter 479,
shall be eligible for retention in office at the end of such term under
the provisions of any plan of merit retention for municipal court judges
in effect on January 1, 1979, which shall be deemed to be continued in
effect without action on the part of the city. (L. 1978 H.B. 1634)
Effective 1-2-79
*No continuity with § 479.030 as repealed by L. 1978 H.B. 1634.
1. Any city, town or village with a population of less than four
hundred thousand may elect to have the violations of its municipal
ordinances heard and determined by an associate circuit judge of the
circuit in which the city, town or village, or the major geographical
portion thereof, is located; provided, however, if such election is made,
all violations of that municipality's ordinances shall be heard and
determined before an associate circuit judge or judges. If a municipality
has elected to have the violations of its municipal ordinances heard and
determined by an associate circuit judge, the municipality may thereafter
elect to provide for a municipal judge or judges to hear such cases;
provided, however, if such later election is made, all violations of that
municipality's ordinances shall be heard and determined before a
municipal judge. Nothing in this subsection shall preclude the transfer
or assignment of another judge to hear and determine a case or class of
cases when otherwise authorized by provisions of the constitution, law,
or court rule. Nothing in this section shall preclude an election made
under the provisions of subsection 4 of this section.
2. If, after January 1, 1980, a municipality elects to have the
violations of its municipal ordinances heard and determined by an
associate circuit judge, the associate circuit judge or judges shall
commence hearing and determining such violations six months after the
municipality notifies the presiding judge of the circuit of its election.
With the consent of the presiding judge, the associate circuit judge or
judges may commence hearing such violations at an earlier date.
3. Associate circuit judges of the circuit in which the municipality, or
major geographical portion thereof, is located shall hear and determine
violations of municipal ordinances of any municipality with a population
of under four hundred thousand for which a municipal judge is not
provided.
4. Any city, town or village with a population of less than four hundred
thousand located in a county which has created a county municipal court
under the provisions of section 66.010, RSMo, may elect to enter into a
contract with the county to have violations of municipal ordinances
prosecuted, heard, and determined in the county municipal court. If a
contract is entered into under the provisions of this subsection, all
violations of that municipality's ordinances shall be heard and
determined in the county municipal court. The contract may provide for a
transition period after an election is made under the provisions of this
subsection. (L. 1978 H.B. 1634, A.L. 1993 S.B. 177, A.L. 1996 H.B. 1169 &
1271 merged with S.B. 722)
*No continuity with § 479.040 as repealed by L. 1978 H.B. 1634.
The municipal judge or judges, or, in those municipalities where
the violations of municipal ordinances are heard and determined by an
associate circuit judge, or judges, the associate circuit judge, or
judges, may establish a traffic violations bureau in any municipality,
and shall establish such a bureau when a request therefor is made by the
governing body of the municipality. The traffic violations bureau shall
operate under the supervision of the circuit court and those judges
regularly hearing and determining municipal ordinance violation cases of
the particular municipality and shall be operated in accordance with the
rules of the supreme court and the rules of the circuit court. All
expenses incident to the operation of the traffic violations bureau,
including salaries of clerical personnel, shall be paid by the
municipality. The municipality shall provide suitable quarters for the
traffic violations bureau; and all fines and costs shall be paid into the
municipal treasury; provided, however, that when a municipality's
ordinance violation cases are heard and determined by an associate
circuit judge, or judges, provision may be made by circuit court rule for
a traffic violation bureau to be operated by the staff available to the
associate circuit judge and in such case fines and costs shall be paid
over and distributed as provided in subsection 2 of section 479.080. (L.
1978 H.B. 1634)
Effective 1-2-79
*No continuity with § 479.050 as repealed by L. 1978 H.B. 1634.
1. Where municipal violations are to be tried before a municipal
judge or judges, the governing body of the municipality shall provide by
ordinance for a clerk or clerks and such other nonjudicial personnel as
may be required for the proper functioning of the municipal division or
divisions and shall provide a suitable courtroom in which to hold court.
The salaries of the judges, clerks and other nonjudicial personnel and
other expenses incidental to the operation of the municipal divisions
shall be paid by the municipality.
2. Where the violations of municipal ordinances are heard and determined
by an associate circuit judge and, at the request of the municipality,
the associate circuit judge sits at the municipality rather than in the
courtroom provided by the county, the municipality shall provide a
suitable courtroom in which to hold court.
3. Where the violations of municipal ordinances are heard and determined
by an associate circuit judge and, at the request of the municipality, a
clerk or clerks or other nonjudicial personnel are located in the
municipality rather than at the courthouse provided by the county, the
salaries of such personnel and other expenses incidental to the operation
of their offices shall be paid by the municipality. (L. 1978 H.B. 1634)
Effective 1-2-79
*No continuity with § 479.060 as repealed by L. 1978 H.B. 1634.
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. The municipal judge shall have the power
to 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. (L. 1978 H.B. 1634)
Effective 1-2-79
*No continuity with § 479.070 as repealed by L. 1976 S.B. 658.
1. In the prosecution of violations of municipal ordinances
before a municipal judge, all fines and costs shall be paid to and
deposited not less frequently than monthly into the municipal treasury.
2. In the prosecution of violations of municipal ordinances before an
associate circuit judge, all fines shall be paid to and deposited not
less frequently than monthly into the municipal treasury and all court
costs shall be accounted for and remitted to the state treasury in the
same manner as provided by law for costs in misdemeanor cases.
3. The supreme court by administrative rule may provide for uniform
procedure, and reporting forms for the collection and transmittal of
fines and costs. Until modified or otherwise provided by such
administrative rule, the municipal judge, or associate circuit judge
hearing and determining violations of municipal ordinances, shall cause
the clerk serving his division, within the first ten days of every month,
to make out a list of all the 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. Such clerk or the judge shall verify such
lists and statements by affidavit, and file the same forthwith with the
clerk of the municipality, who shall lay the same before the governing
body or the municipality at its first session thereafter. The official
collecting fines shall, within the ten days aforesaid, pay to the
municipal treasurer the full amount of all fines collected by him during
the preceding month if not previously paid to the municipal treasurer.
(L. 1978 H.B. 1634)
Effective 1-2-79
*No continuity with § 479.080 as repealed by L. 1978 H.B. 1634.
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. (L. 1978
H.B. 1634)
Effective 1-2-79
*No continuity with § 479.090 as repealed by L. 1978 H.B. 1634.
All warrants issued by a municipal judge, or an associate
circuit judge hearing violations of municipal ordinances, 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. (L. 1978
H.B. 1634)
Effective 1-2-79
*No continuity with § 479.100 as repealed by L. 1976 S.B. 658.
The city marshal, chief of police or other police officer of any
municipality shall, 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 hearing violations of
municipal ordinances. (L. 1978 H.B. 1634)
Effective 1-2-79
*No continuity with § 479.110 as repealed by L. 1978 H.B. 1634.
It shall be the duty of an attorney designated by the
municipality to prosecute the violations of the municipality's ordinances
before the municipal judges or before the associate circuit judges
hearing the violations of that municipality's ordinances. The salary or
fees of the attorney and his necessary expenses incurred in such
prosecutions shall be paid by the municipality. (L. 1978 H.B. 1634)
Effective 1-2-79
*No continuity with § 479.120 as repealed by L. 1976 S.B. 658.
Any person charged with the violation of a municipal ordinance
of a city of the third or fourth class shall be entitled to a trial by
jury, as in prosecutions for misdemeanors before an associate circuit
judge. (L. 1978 H.B. 1634)
Effective 1-2-79
*No continuity with § 479.130 as repealed by L. 1976 S.B. 658.
In any trial for the violation of a municipal ordinance, all
issues of fact shall be tried by the judge except where trial by jury is
authorized by law and the defendant or his attorney requests a trial by
jury. (L. 1978 H.B. 1634)
Effective 1-2-79
*No continuity with § 479.140 as repealed by L. 1976 S.B. 658.
1. In any municipality, whenever a defendant accused of a
violation of a municipal ordinance has a right to a trial by jury and
demands such trial by jury, except as provided in subsection 2 of this
section, the municipal judge shall certify the case for assignment.
2. Any municipality requiring by ordinance that the municipal judge be a
licensed attorney and which has a population in excess of one hundred
thousand persons which is located in a county of the first class not
having a charter form of government and which does not adjoin another
first class county may elect by passage of an appropriate municipal
ordinance to hear jury cases before the municipal court; provided, such
jury cases are heard in accordance with the following procedures:
(1) Cases shall be heard with a record being made as required in jury
cases before the associate circuit court and the trial shall be conducted
and the jury selected in accordance with procedures applicable before
circuit courts;
(2) In any case tried with a jury in a municipal court under provisions
of this subsection, appeals may be had upon the record to the appropriate
state appellate court, and the record for appeal in such cases shall be
prepared in accordance with the same rules prescribed by the supreme
court for trials on the record before associate circuit courts;
(3) The costs of equipment or stenographic services for jury trials a
municipality should elect to hold under this section shall be paid by the
municipality, except where the supreme court has by rule provided for
reimbursement by the defendant for the cost of transcription, and any
person who requests a jury trial shall be responsible for all costs
incurred in the securing of a jury if such person thereafter waives his
right to a jury trial;
(4) The failure to request a jury trial while the case is pending before
the municipal court shall be deemed a waiver of the right to a jury trial
and after such jury trial there shall be no right to a trial de novo in
circuit court;
(5) If the municipal judge is disqualified, the rules for appointment of
another municipal judge of the city to hear such cases shall apply;
provided, however, that in the event there is no other municipal judge
qualified to hear the case, the case shall be certified for assignment.
(L. 1978 H.B. 1634, A.L. 1984 H.B. 1142 & 894, A.L. 2001 S.B. 267)
1. 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 judges and shall be taxed as other costs
in the case.
2. 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 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. (L. 1978 H.B. 1634)
Effective 1-2-79
*No continuity with § 479.160 as repealed by L. 1976 S.B. 658.
If, in the progress of any trial before a 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 as municipal judge, he shall immediately stop all further
proceedings before him as municipal judge and cause the complaint to be
made before some associate circuit judge within the county. (L. 1978 H.B.
1634)
Effective 1-2-79
*No continuity with § 479.170 as repealed by L. 1976 S.B. 658.
If a municipality has no suitable and safe place of confinement,
the defendant may be committed to the county jail by the judge, 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. (L. 1978 H.B. 1634)
Effective 1-2-79
*No continuity with § 479.180 as repealed by L. 1978 H.B. 1634.
1. Any judge hearing violations of municipal 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 such judge. When a person is placed on probation he shall be
given a certificate explicitly stating the conditions on which he is
being released.
2. 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:
(1) Restitution to the victim or any dependent of the victim, in an
amount to be determined by the judge; and
(2) The performance of a designated amount of free work for a public or
charitable purpose, or purposes, as determined by the judge.
3. A person may refuse probation conditioned on the performance of free
work. If he 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 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.
4. The court may modify or enlarge the conditions of probation at any
time prior to the expiration or termination of the probation term. (L.
1978 H.B. 1634, A.L. 1990 S.B. 497)
*No continuity with § 479.190 as repealed by L. 1978 H.B. 1634.
1. In any case tried before a municipal judge who 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 associate circuit judge.
2. In any case tried before a municipal judge who is licensed to practice
law in this state or before an associate circuit judge, 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. An application for
a trial de novo shall be filed within ten days after judgment and shall
be filed in such form and perfected in such manner as provided by supreme
court rule.
3. In any case tried with a jury before an associate circuit judge a
record shall be made and appeals may be had upon that record to the
appropriate appellate court.
4. The supreme court may provide by rule what record shall be kept and
may provide that it be a stenographic record or one made by the
utilization of electronic, magnetic, or mechanical sound or video
recording devices. (L. 1978 H.B. 1634)
Effective 1-2-79
*No continuity with § 479.200 as repealed by L, 1978 H.B. 1634.
(1985) Defendant, convicted in municipal court of violating a city
ordinance is entitled to request a trial by jury upon appeal to the
circuit court. State ex. rel. Estill v. Iannone (Mo.banc), 687 S.W.2d 172.
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 municipality 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. All moneys recovered in such actions shall be
paid over to the municipal treasury to the general revenue fund of the
municipality. (L. 1978 H.B. 1634)
Effective 1-2-79
*No continuity with § 479.210 as repealed by L. 1978 H.B. 1634.
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
affidavit or disqualification in the same case. (L. 1978 H.B. 1634)
Effective 1-2-79
*No continuity with § 479.220 as repealed by L. 1976 S.B. 568.
1. 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:
(1) In municipal court divisions having more than one judge, the
presiding judge of the municipal division, if any, or if there is not a
designated presiding judge of the municipal division, any other municipal
judge in said municipal division may request the presiding judge of the
circuit court to designate a special municipal judge as provided in
subsection 2 of this section until such absence or disqualification shall
cease, subject to subdivision (4) of this subsection;
(2) The presiding judge of the municipal division may, by written
directive, designate a written procedure delegating authority by which
the municipal court administrator, if any, or the municipal court clerk,
is authorized to notify and request the presiding judge of the circuit
court to designate a special municipal judge as provided in subsection 2
of this section;
(3) In the absence of multiple judges in a municipal division, and in the
absence of a written directive and policy authorizing the procedure, the
mayor or chairman of the board of trustees may request the presiding
judge of the circuit court to designate a special municipal judge as
provided in subsection 2 of this section or in cases of circumstances
making it impossible to reach the presiding judge of the circuit court in
a timely manner, the mayor or chairman of the board of trustees may
designate some competent, eligible person to act as municipal judge until
the presiding judge of the circuit court can designate a special
municipal judge as provided for under subsection 2 of this section;
(4) Notwithstanding the provisions of subdivisions (1) to (3) of this
subsection, should a vacancy occur in the office of an elected municipal
judge more than six months before a general municipal election, then a
special election shall be held to fill such vacancy; and in case of
vacancy in the office of an elected municipal judge within less than six
months of a general municipal election, the office may be filled by a
competent, eligible person under the procedures set forth in subdivisions
(1), (2), and (3) of this subsection.
2. The presiding judge of the circuit court may appoint any other
municipal judge within the circuit to act as a special interim municipal
judge for a municipal judge of the circuit who is absent, sick or
disqualified from acting. The presiding judge shall act upon the request
of those with authority to make such request under subsection 1 of this
section.
3. The governing body of the municipality shall provide by ordinance for
the compensation of any person designated to act as municipal judge under
the provisions of this section. (L. 1978 H.B. 1634, A.L. 1993 S.B. 88,
A.L. 2005 H.B. 353)
When a fine is assessed for 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. (L. 1978 H.B. 1634)
Effective 1-2-79
*No continuity with § 479.240 as repealed by L. 1978 H.B. 1634.
In the trial of municipal ordinance violation cases, a copy of a
municipal ordinance which is certified by the clerk of the municipality
shall constitute prima facie evidence of such ordinance. If such
certified copy is on file with the clerk serving the judge hearing a case
and readily available for inspection by the parties, the judge may take
judicial notice of such ordinance without further proof. (L. 1978 H.B.
1634)
Effective 1-2-79
*No continuity with § 479.250 as repealed by L. 1978 H.B. 1634.
1. Municipalities by ordinance may provide for fees in an amount
per case to be set pursuant to sections 488.010 to 488.020, RSMo, for
each municipal ordinance violation case filed before a municipal judge,
and in the event a defendant pleads guilty or is found guilty, the 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. The fees authorized in this subsection are in addition to service
charges, witness fees and jail costs that may otherwise be authorized to
be assessed, but are in lieu of other court costs. The fees provided by
this subsection shall be collected by the municipal division clerk in
municipalities electing or required to have violations of municipal
ordinances tried before a municipal judge pursuant to section 479.020, or
to employ judicial personnel pursuant to section 479.060, and disbursed
as provided in subsection 1 of section 479.080. Any other court costs
required in connection with such cases shall be collected and disbursed
as provided in sections 488.010 to 488.020, RSMo; provided that, each
municipal court may establish a judicial education fund in an account
under the control of the municipal court to retain one dollar of the fees
collected on each case and to use the fund only to pay for:
(1) The continuing education and certification required of the municipal
judges by law or supreme court rule; and
(2) Judicial education and training for the court administrator and
clerks of the municipal court.
Provided further, that no municipal court shall retain more than one
thousand five hundred dollars in the fund for each judge, administrator
or clerk of the municipal court. Any excess funds shall be transmitted
quarterly to the general revenue fund of the county or municipal treasury.
2. In municipal ordinance violation cases which are filed in the
associate circuit division of the circuit court, fees shall be assessed
in each case in an amount to be set pursuant to sections 488.010 to
488.020, RSMo. In the event a defendant pleads guilty or is found guilty,
the judge shall 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. In the event a defendant is acquitted or the case is
dismissed, the judge shall not assess costs against the municipality. The
costs authorized in this subsection are in addition to service charges,
witness fees and jail costs that may otherwise be authorized to be
assessed, but are in lieu of other court costs. The costs provided by
this subsection shall be collected by the municipal division clerk in
municipalities electing or required to have violations of municipal
ordinances tried before a municipal judge pursuant to section 479.020, or
to employ judicial personnel pursuant to section 479.060, and disbursed
as provided in subsection 2 of section 479.080. Any other court costs
required in connection with such cases shall be collected and disbursed
as provided in sections 488.010 to 488.020, RSMo.
3. A municipality, when filing cases before an associate circuit judge,
shall not be required to pay fees.
4. No fees for a judge, city attorney or prosecutor shall be assessed as
costs in a municipal ordinance violation case.
5. In municipal ordinance violation cases, when there is an application
for a trial de novo, there shall be an additional fee in an amount to be
set pursuant to sections 488.010 to 488.020, RSMo, which shall be
assessed in the same manner as provided in subsection 2 of this section.
6. Municipalities by ordinance may provide for a schedule of costs to be
paid in connection with pleas of guilty which are processed in a traffic
violations bureau. If a municipality files its municipal ordinance
violation cases before a municipal judge, such costs shall not exceed the
court costs authorized by subsection 1 of this section. If a municipality
files its municipal ordinance violations cases in the associate circuit
division of the circuit court, such costs shall not exceed the court
costs authorized by subsection 2 of this section. (L. 1978 H.B. 1634,
A.L. 1982 S.B. 497, A.L. 1996 S.B. 869, A.L. 1997 S.B. 248)
Effective 7-1-97
If transferred by the supreme court or if assigned by the
presiding judge of the circuit or pursuant to court rule, a circuit judge
may hear municipal ordinance violation cases in those instances where
provision is made in this chapter for such cases to be initially heard by
an associate circuit judge and may exercise the other powers granted
associate circuit judges by this chapter. Costs shall be assessed in the
same amounts as if the cause was heard by an associate circuit judge.
Such transfer or assignment may be on a case-by-case or general basis.
(L. 1978 H.B. 1634)
Effective 1-2-79
*No continuity with § 479.270 as repealed by L. 1978 H.B. 1634.
1. In the twenty-first judicial circuit, a majority of the
circuit judges, en banc, may establish a traffic court, which shall be a
division of the circuit court, and may authorize the appointment of not
more than three municipal judges who shall be known as traffic judges.
The traffic judges shall be appointed by a traffic court judicial
commission consisting of the presiding judge of the circuit, who shall be
the chair, one circuit judge elected by the circuit judges, one associate
circuit judge elected by the associate circuit judges of the circuit, and
two members appointed by the county executive of St. Louis County, each
of whom shall represent one of the two political parties casting the
highest number of votes at the next preceding gubernatorial election. The
procedures and operations of the traffic court judicial commission shall
be established by circuit court rule.
2. Traffic judges may be authorized to act as commissioners to hear in
the first instance nonfelony violations of state law involving motor
vehicles, and such other offenses as may be provided by circuit court
rule. Traffic judges may also be authorized to hear in the first instance
violations of county and municipal ordinances involving motor vehicles,
and other county ordinance violations, as provided by circuit court rule.
3. In the event that a county municipal court is established pursuant to
section 66.010, RSMo, which takes jurisdiction of county ordinance
violations the circuit court may then authorize the appointment of no
more than two traffic judges authorized to hear municipal ordinance
violations other than county ordinance violations, and to act as
commissioner to hear in the first instance nonfelony violations of state
law involving motor vehicles, and such other offenses as may be provided
by rule. These traffic court judges also may be authorized to act as
commissioners to hear in the first instance petitions to review decisions
of the department of revenue or the director of revenue filed pursuant to
sections 302.309 and 302.311, RSMo, and, prior to January 1, 2002,
pursuant to sections 302.535 and 302.750, RSMo.
4. After January 1, 2002, traffic judges, in addition to the authority
provided in subsection 3 of this section, may be authorized by local
court rule adopted pursuant to article V, section 15 of the Missouri
Constitution to conduct proceedings pursuant to sections 302.535 and
302.750, RSMo, subject to procedures that preserve a meaningful hearing
before a judge of the circuit court, as follows:
(1) Conduct the initial call docket and accept uncontested dispositions
of petitions to review;
(2) The petitioner shall have the right to the de novo hearing before a
judge of the circuit court, except that, at the option of the petitioner,
traffic judges may hear in the first instance such petitions for review.
5. In establishing a traffic court, the circuit may be divided into such
sectors as may be established by a majority of the circuit and associate
circuit judges, en banc. The traffic court in each sector shall hear
those cases arising within the territorial limits of the sector unless a
case arising within another sector is transferred as provided by
operating procedures.
6. Traffic judges shall be licensed to practice law in this state and
shall serve at the pleasure of a majority of the circuit and associate
circuit judges, en banc, and shall be residents of St. Louis County, and
shall receive from the state as annual compensation an amount equal to
one-third of the annual compensation of an associate circuit judge. Each
judge shall devote approximately one-third of his working time to the
performance of his duties as a traffic judge. Traffic judges shall not
accept or handle cases in their practice of law which are inconsistent
with their duties as a traffic judge and shall not be a judge or
prosecutor for any other court. Traffic judges shall not be considered
state employees and shall not be members of the state employees' or
judicial retirement system or be eligible to receive any other employment
benefit accorded state employees or judges.
7. A majority of the judges, en banc, shall establish operating
procedures for the traffic court which shall provide for regular sessions
in the evenings after 6:00 p.m. and for Saturday or other sessions as
efficient operation and convenience to the public may require.
Proceedings in the traffic court, except when a judge is acting as a
commissioner pursuant to this section, shall be conducted as provided in
supreme court rule 37. The hearing shall be before a traffic judge
without jury, and the judge shall assume an affirmative duty to determine
the merits of the evidence presented and the defenses of the defendant
and may question parties and witnesses. In the event a jury trial is
requested, the cause shall be certified to the circuit court for trial by
jury as otherwise provided by law. Clerks and computer personnel shall be
assigned as needed for the efficient operation of the court.
8. In establishing operating procedure, provisions shall be made for
appropriate circumstances whereby defendants may enter not guilty pleas
and obtain trial dates by telephone or written communication without
personal appearance, or to plead guilty and deliver by mail or electronic
transfer or other approved method the specified amount of the fine and
costs as otherwise provided by law, within a specified period of time.
9. Operating procedures shall be provided for electronic recording of
proceedings, except that if adequate recording equipment is not provided
at county expense, then, in that event, a person aggrieved by a judgment
of a traffic judge or commissioner shall have the right of a trial de
novo. The procedures for perfecting the right of a trial de novo shall be
the same as that provided under sections 512.180 to 512.320, RSMo, except
that the provisions of subsection 2 of section 512.180, RSMo, shall not
apply to such cases.
10. The circuit court shall only have the authority to appoint two
commissioners with the jurisdiction provided in subsection 3 of this
section.
11. All costs to establish and operate a county municipal court under
section 66.010, RSMo, and this section shall be borne by such county. (L.
1992 S.B. 529 § 1, A.L. 1996 H.B. 1169 & 1271 merged with S.B. 722, A.L.
2001 H.B. 302 & 38)
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