Municipal Clerk Manual – Courts with JIS - Chapter 1 -Administrative Procedures: General Administration

Clerk Handbooks

Municipal Clerk Manual – Courts with JIS

		Section/Rule:	1.1
Subject:	Chapter 1 -Administrative Procedures	Publication / Adopted Date:	September 1995
Topic:	General Administration	Revised / Effective Date:	January 2020

Municipal Clerk Handbook
Courts with JIS
Chapter One - Administrative Procedures

1.1 - General Administration

References
Statutes: 479.030, 479.040, 479.060, 479.070, 479.080, 479.130, 479.155, 479.172, 610.026 and 610.029, RSMo
Supreme Court Rules: 37.04, 37.49 and 37.61
Court Operating Rule: 4.29 and 13
Missouri Constitution: Article II
Publication Date: September 1995
Revised: January 2020

Quick Index

Copy Fees for Public Records
Code of Conduct for Municipal Division Personnel
Court Clerk
Electronic Record Keeping Systems
Fines and Costs
General Administration
Intoxication Related Traffic Offenses
Lawful Enforcement of Legal Financial Obligations
Minimum Operating Standards
Municipal Court Budget
Municipal Division Operating Order
Municipal Judge
Municipalities May Establish a Violations Bureau
Municipalities to Provide Clerks, Courtroom
Notice of Rights for Defendants Appearing in Municipal Divisions
Municipal Divisions Reporting Requirement to Missouri Supreme Court
Presiding Judge
Three Departments of Government
Trials
Treatment Court Cases

Introduction

This chapter discusses the administrative responsibilities of judicial personnel in the municipal division, describes the separation of powers between the governmental branches, and outlines the duties of the municipal judge and municipal clerk. Direct any questions about the general administration of your court to the municipal judge.

General Administration

Three Departments of Government (Article II of the Missouri Constitution)

The powers of government shall be divided into three distinct departments – the legislative, executive, and judicial. Each department shall be separate from the other departments; no person within one of the departments shall exercise powers belonging to one of the other departments, except where the constitution expressly permits. (See Organizational Charts in Appendix A2.)

Presiding Judge (SCR 37.04 and Section 479.070, RSMo)

Article V, Section 15.3 of the Missouri Constitution, adopted by the voters in 1976, creates the position of presiding judge for each judicial circuit. The presiding judge has general administrative authority over all divisions of the circuit court within the circuit including the municipal division.

If the municipal judge has any questions concerning the administration of the court, the presiding judge may be contacted for assistance. The presiding judge of the circuit shall have general administrative authority over the judges and court personnel of all divisions of the circuit court hearing and determining ordinance violations within the circuit. Municipal divisions shall operate in substantial compliance with the minimum operating standards set out in Appendix A of Rule 37.04. The judges of all such divisions shall be subject to the rules of the circuit court that are not inconsistent with this Rule 37. See “Protocols for Presiding Circuit Court Judges in Supervising Municipal Division Judges”, adopted revisions by the Supreme Court of Missouri, June 29, 2018 and effective July 1, 2018.

If the municipal judge has any questions concerning the administration of the court, the presiding judge may be contacted for assistance.

Municipal Judge (Section 479.070, RSMo)

The municipal judge shall be the conservator of the peace and have the power to administer oaths and enforce due obedience to all orders, rules and judgments. The dockets and records maintained by the municipal judge shall be records of the circuit court. The judge can serve in no more than five municipalities and the judge must be under 75 years of age.

The judge may fine or imprison for contempt committed before the judge while holding court, in the same manner and to the same extent as a circuit judge.

Municipalities May Establish a Violations Bureau (SCR 37.49)

Any judge having original jurisdiction of all violations contained in the uniform fine schedule established by Rule 37.495, except those that are not offenses within the respective municipality or county, may establish by court order a local Violations Bureau. The order shall designate a violations clerk who shall perform the duties designated by the court, including accepting appearance, waiver of trial, plea of guilty, and payment of fine and costs for the designated violations, entering the plea on the record, and transmitting the violation record as required by law.

Not all violations may be handled through the Violations Bureau. The violations within the authority of the bureau shall be designated by the order and the following offenses may not be processed through the violations bureau:

Any violation submitted by the prosecutor for disposition through a court appearance;

Any violation for which a summons to appear is issued;

Any violation resulting in personal injury or property damage;

Operating a motor vehicle while intoxicated or under the influence of intoxicants or drugs;

Operating a vehicle with a counterfeited, altered, suspended, or revoked license;

Fleeing or attempting to elude an officer; and

Any other violation excluded by law.

See section 1.7, Violations Bureau of this handbook for additional information.

Intoxication Related Traffic Offenses (Section 479.172, RSMo)

Each municipal judge shall adopt a written policy requiring that municipal court personnel timely report all dispositions of all charges for intoxication-related traffic offenses to the central repository maintained by the Missouri State Highway Patrol (MSHP). Acope of this written policy shall be provided to the Office of State Courts Administrator (OSCA) and MSHP.

Each municipal division of every circuit court shall prepare a report every six months. The report shall include the total number and disposition of every intoxication-related traffic offense adjudicated, dismissed or pending in its municipal court division. The municipal division shall submit the report to the circuit court en banc. The report shall include the six-month period beginning January 1 and ending June 30 and the six-month period beginning July 1 and ending December 31 of each year. The report shall be submitted no later than 60 days following the end of the reporting period. The circuit court en banc shall make recommendations or take any action it deems appropriate based on its review of the report. See section 1.4, Reporting Requirements of this manual for additional information.

Treatment Court Cases (Section 479.040, RSMo)

A municipality may elect to have an associate circuit court or county municipal court hear and determine violations of municipal ordinances where the accused has special needs due to mental disorder or illness, or whose special needs, circumstances, and charges cannot be adequately accommodated by the municipal court, provided the associate circuit court or county municipal court has established specialized dockets or courts to provide adequate accommodations and resources for specifically handling such matters. If the associate circuit court or county municipal court determines that the accused does not have such special needs, the matter shall be transferred back to the municipal division. See section 2.10, Municipal Cases Certified to Treatment Court of this manual.

Municipal Division Reporting Requirements to Missouri Supreme Court (Section 479.155, RSMo)

The Presiding Judge of each circuit is required to appoint a Security Point of Contact for each municipal division in the circuit. It is the responsibility of the Security Point of Contact to maintain all municipal court and municipal personnel information, name, address, telephone number and all pertinent information for each municipal division within the Municipal Division Management Portal. Updates to court information can be made under the Action of Maintain Municipal Division Court and updates to municipal personnel information can be made under the Action of Maintain Municipal Division Personnel within the portal.

If a municipality elects to establish a municipal division, discontinue their municipal division, transfer into the associate division, or contract with another municipal division, then those actions will also need to be reported within the portal under Maintain Municipal Division Court. The municipal division’s Security Point of Contact will need to submit these changes in the portal. The submission of these actions will trigger an automated system e-mail to the Presiding Judge. The Presiding Judge of the Circuit will then need to go into the portal and approve these particular submissions.

The Presiding Judge has an ongoing obligation to report to the Clerk of the Supreme Court, any municipal division change, within 90 days of the action.

Note: It is important that the municipal divisions notify their Security Point of Contact of any changes within the division. Most of the information entered in the portal will display on the state court’s website (www.courts.mo.gov) which will then be viewable to the public.

You may find who your Security Point of Contact is by accessing the Municipal Divisions page on CIC. There you will find a link to view who the Security Point of Contact is for your division. Also, you can find the document describing the Responsibilities for the Municipal Division Security Point of Contact at the end of this section.

Municipalities to Provide Clerks, Courtroom (Section 479.060, RSMo)

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 non-judicial personnel as may be required for the proper functioning of the municipal court. The municipality is also required to provide a suitable courtroom to conduct court.

Municipal Court Budget (COR 13)

Each municipal division should have its own operating budget set apart from other city departments' budgets. The municipal judge is responsible for preparing the budget and supervising expenditures.

If a municipality and the municipal division of the circuit clerk are unable to resolve a budget dispute, COR 13 gives either party the authorization to file a request for a settlement conference with the presiding judge of the circuit. The presiding judge shall promptly schedule the conference at which the municipal division shall have the burden of proving the budget request is reasonable. The presiding judge will issue a written recommendation following the conference.

The municipal division may seek review of any recommendation of the presiding judge regarding the municipal division's budget request by filing a petition for review with the Judicial Finance Commission acting as the Municipal Finance Commission. The municipal judge has the burden of proof that the budget request is reasonable. The Commission will issue a written recommendation following review of the issues.

Fines and Costs (COR 4.29 and Section 479.080, RSMo)

All fines and costs ordered by a Municipal Judge or an Associate Circuit Judge in Municipal Court shall be paid to and deposited not less frequently than monthly into the municipal treasury. On or before the 15^th of each month, the Municipal Division shall submit to the municipality a copy of the monthly case load summary report for the preceding month required by Court Operating Rule 4.28.

Trials (SCR 37.61 and Section 479.130, RSMo)

According to SCR 37.61:

(a) All trials of ordinance violations shall be held in open court in an orderly manner according to law.

(b) If practical, traffic cases shall be heard and tried separately from other types of cases. Where a particular session of court has been designated a traffic case session, only traffic cases shall be tried except for good cause shown.

(c) The judge shall determine all issues of fact in ordinance violation cases unless a jury trial is authorized by law and requested by the defendant.

(d) A request for a jury trial shall be made by motion filed at least ten days prior to the scheduled trial date. If the designation of the trial date occurs less than ten days before trial, the application may be filed any time prior to trial. The judge shall promptly rule on a motion for jury trial. If the motion is sustained, the case shall be certified to the presiding judge for assignment for trial by jury, unless otherwise provided by statute.

(e) All jury trials shall proceed in the manner provided for the trial of a misdemeanor by the rules of criminal procedure.

(f) If the defendant files a written motion so requesting and attaches thereto a waiver of the right to a jury trial, the case may be remanded to the municipal division for trial.

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. (Section 479.130, RSMo). See section 2.7, Certification of Case for Jury Trial for additional information.

Electronic Record Keeping Systems (Section 610.029, RSMo)

Section 610.029, RSMo provides that courts keeping records in an electronic format are to provide access to its public records in a format that shall allow viewing and printing of those records to the greatest extent feasible.

Automated case management systems approved by the State Judicial Records Committee follow all guidelines set forth in section 610.029, RSMo and COR 1, 2 and 4. An approved list of vendors can be found on the Court Information Center (CIC), Municipal Information, Vendors.

Copy Fees for Public Records (Section 610.026, RSMo)

The court may assess and collect a reasonable charge for making photocopies of public records when the photocopies are requested by the public or any interested person. Fees for copying records shall not exceed 10 cents per page, with the hourly fee for duplicating time not to exceed the average hourly wage for clerical staff. Research time required for fulfilling records requests may be charged at the actual cost of research time.

Court Clerk (Section 479.060, RSMo)

Section 479.060.1, RSMo provides "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...".

Municipal Division Operating Order

Pursuant to section 479.172, RSMo, municipal divisions shall adopt a written policy outlining the requirements and procedures to report disposition information on all intoxication related traffic offenses to the Office of State Courts Administrator (OSCA) and the Missouri State Highway Patrol (MSHP). To comply with this requirement a copy, including revisions, shall be on file with OSCA and MSHP. In order to promote higher standards of judicial administration, the Missouri Municipal and Associate Circuit Judges Association has created a model operating order for municipal divisions. It is recommended that the municipal divisions adopt the order to enhance the professionalism and financial accountability standards in the court. A copy of the Municipal Division Operating Order can be found at the end of this section. See section 1.4, Reporting Requirements of this handbook for additional information.

Minimum Operating Standards (SCR 37.04A)

By September 1 of each year, every principal/chief municipal judge and every non-principal/non-chief municipal judge, shall certify to the Office of State Courts Administrator compliance with all the minimum operating standards. This certification should be submitted electronically utilizing the Minimum Operating Standards report from the Municipal Division Management Portal. The portal can be accessed from the Court Information Center (CIC).

1. Municipal divisions shall ensure that when individuals must be held in jail in the interests of justice, this is done strictly in accordance with the principles of due process of law.

2. Municipal divisions shall inquire of defendants and allow them to present information about their financial condition when assessing their ability to pay and establishing payment requirements for monies due.

3. Municipal divisions shall not condition an indigent defendant’s access to a judicial hearing or the granting of probation upon the payment of fines or fees.

4. Municipal divisions shall neither assess or collect unauthorized fines, costs or surcharges.

5. All municipal judges shall be lawfully selected, lawfully authorized to act in specific cases, and adequately prepared for their duties through appropriate training and continuing education.

6. Municipal divisions shall be operated in a manner reasonably convenient to the public and in facilities sufficient to the purpose.

7. Municipal divisions shall be operated in a manner that upholds the constitutional principles of separation of powers and the integrity of the judiciary as a separate and independent branch of government.

8. Municipal divisions shall be operated in accordance with the constitutional principles and legal requirements of open courts and open records.

9. Municipal divisions shall advise litigants of their rights in court.

10. Municipal divisions shall be well-managed and accountable to the law, with appropriate oversight of municipal division operations provided by the circuit court presiding judge of the judicial circuit.

Code of Conduct for Municipal Division Personnel (SCR 37.04B)

This code of conduct applies to all full-time, part-time and temporary court system employees for municipal divisions, who are identified in this code as "court professionals."

Notice of Rights for Defendants Appearing in Municipal Divisions (SCR 37.04C)

“Your Missouri Municipal Courts”, was approved by the Supreme Court of Missouri to notify defendants of their rights in Municipal Divisions.

Lawful Enforcement of Legal Financial Obligations - A Bench Card for Judges (SCR 37.04D)

Courts may not incarcerate a defendant/respondent, or revoke probation, for nonpayment of a court-ordered legal financial obligation unless the court holds a hearing and makes one of the following findings:

1. The failure to pay was not due to an inability to pay, but was willful or due to failure to make bona fide efforts to pay; or

2. The failure to pay was not the fault of the defendant/respondent and alternatives to imprisonment are not adequate in a particular situation to meet the State's interest in punishment and deterrence.

If a defendant/respondent fails to pay a court-ordered legal financial obligation but the court, after opportunity for a hearing, finds that the failure to pay was not due to the fault of the defendant/respondent, but rather due to lack of financial resources, the court should consider alternative measures of punishment rather than incarceration.

Protocols for Presiding Circuit Court Judges in Supervising Municipal Division Judges (SCR 37.04E)

The presiding circuit judge has the authority to take prompt and appropriate action in regard to the municipal division itself, to the municipal judge, or both, as appropriate, if the annual review or other information brought to the attention of the presiding circuit judge indicates that the municipal division or judge is having difficulty substantially complying with the law and minimum operating standards.

The presiding circuit judge must submit to the clerk of the Supreme Court of Missouri by October 1 of each year, each judge's executed minimum operating standards form referenced in Appendix A to Rule 37.04 and to provide a list of any judges or divisions that did not return the form for the most recent reporting period. The presiding judge can review and approve these reports utilizing the Municipal Division Management Portal, which can be accessed from the Court Information Center (CIC).

Forms

Lawful Enforcement of Legal Financial Obligations - A Bench Card for Judges
Municipal Division Operating Order
Notice of Rights for Defendants Appearing in Municipal Divisions
Protocols for Presiding Circuit Court Judges in Supervising Municipal Division Judges