Municipal Clerk Manual – Courts without JIS - Chapter 2 - Pre-Trial/Trial Procedures: Case Initiation

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Municipal Clerk Manual – Courts without JIS

		Section/Rule:	2.1
Subject:	Chapter 2 - Pre-Trial/Trial Procedures	Publication / Adopted Date:	September 1995
Topic:	Case Initiation	Revised / Effective Date:	September 2020

Municipal Clerk Handbook
Courts Without JIS
Chapter 2 - Pre-Trial/Trial Procedures

2.1 - CASE INITIATION

References
Statutes: N/A
Supreme Court Rules: 37.33, 37.34 and 37.35
Court Operating Rules: 4.04, 4.08, 4.09 and 4.14
Publication Date: September 1995
Revised: September 2020

Introduction

When a case is opened, it should be assigned a case number. The case type describes the category of the judicial proceeding that is requested. The prosecutor provides the court with the Missouri state charge code for any violation filed with the court.

Filing Procedures (Supreme Court Rules 37.34, and 37.35)

Municipal traffic and ordinance violations are filed and prosecuted by information and supported by a violation notice pursuant to the Supreme Court Rule (SCR). The information shall be in writing, signed by the prosecutor, and filed in the court having jurisdiction. An information may be the signed Uniform Citation or its own document.

Note: A case should not be created until the court receives the signed information from the prosecutor.

Violation Notice (SCR 37.33)

A violation notice shall be in writing and shall:

(1) State the name and address of the court;

(2) State the court date and time for initial appearance;

(3) State the name of the prosecuting county or municipality;

(4) State the name and date of birth of the accused or, if not known, designate the accused by any name or description by which the accused can be identified with reasonable certainty;

(5) State the date and place of the ordinance violation as definitely as can be done;

(6) State the facts that support a finding of probable cause to believe the ordinance violation was committed and that the accused committed it;

(7) State that the facts contained therein are true;

(8) Be signed and on a form bearing notice that false statements made therein are punishable by law;

(9) Cite the chapter and section of the ordinance alleged to have been violated and the chapter and section that fixes the penalty or punishment;

(10) State other legal penalties prescribed by law may be imposed for failure to appear and dispose

(11) State the Missouri charge code if one exists.

Note: The clerk may not edit the information or add the state charge code.

Case Numbering (Court Operating Rule 4.04)

Cases filed by Uniform Citation shall use the nine digit Uniform Citation number as the case number.

For cases not filed by Uniform Citation, a uniform case numbering system is required. The court should assign a unique number to every case as it is filed by the prosecutor.

Sample case number: MUA1095MT

§ MU - 2 character prefix for the case category;

§ A1 - Example of 2 character physical filing location code as assigned by the Statistics Unit at the Office of State Courts Administrator, (888) 251-4894;

§ 09 - Example of 2 digit code representing the year that the case was filed;

§ 5 - Example of sequential case number starting at “1” at the beginning of each calendar year;

§ MT - Alphabetic suffix for the specific case type;

§ MT - Municipal Traffic

§ MO - Municipal Ordinance

INDEXING (COR 4.09 & 4.14)

Case and judgment Index records shall be maintained for all municipal cases. See additional indexing information in section 1.3 Indexes to Cases.

The case and judgment index shall include; full name of the defendant, case number, date the case was filed, date of disposition, case disposition information, and a summary of the sentencing order.

CLERK'S DUTIES/PROCEDURES

1. Date file stamp the Uniform Citation or information upon receipt and assign a case number.

2. If the case is filed by information, prepare a summons or warrant as directed by the court. See section 2.4, Service of Summonses or Warrant.

3. For manually processing courts or case management systems not approved by the State Judicial Records Committee, prepare separate case index cards for each defendant named.

4. File Uniform Citations alphabetically by defendant last name and court date.

5. Prior to the court date, attach the court's copy of the Uniform Citation to a backer sheet. See a backer sheet at the end of this section. (optional)

FORMS
Backer Sheet