Plead and Pay
1. What is Plead and Pay?
2. Since a summons issued on the case will not allow the case to be eligible on Plead and Pay, what should the court send out to notify the defendant of their court date in situations such as when the court date on the ticket does not match the actual court date set by the court?
To allow the case to still be
eligible to be handled through the violations bureau and thus, available on
Plead and Pay, it is suggested a notice is sent to the defendant with the
correct court date in a situation like this. Issuing a summons would remove the
case from being available on Plead and Pay.
3. Is there a notice available in Show-Me Courts (SMC) to send to the defendant notifying of the correct court date?
Yes, currently courts can use OSCA Reports to issue a Notice of Entry. There is also a newer statewide notice form – 'Notice of New Court Date' (MU150 and CR400) – which is available in SMC. Some courts may also have a local template for a notice that could be used.
4. Is there a suggested docket code to use when issuing the defendant a notice of their new court date?
Yes, it is suggested to use the
NHEAR – Notice of Hearing docket code to document the notice was sent to the defendant.
5. If the court issues a summons on a case then the case will be removed from being eligible on Plead and Pay. However, can the defendant still resolve their case through the violations bureau such as mailing in the payment or making payment at the window?
This is up to the court’s
discretion whether or not to allow payment through the violations bureau after
a summons has been issued.
6. What is the difference between Plead and Pay and Pay By Web?
Plead and Pay is used prior to the disposition of the case, where the defendant pleads guilty and pay his or her fine and costs in full online. The case has to be a case that is eligible to be resolved through the violation bureau.
7. If a defendant uses Plead and Pay to plead guilty and pay the fine and costs in full, what do I as the clerk need to do on the case?
All actions are performed by the system. These actions include automatically dispose of the charge and the case with the DDGPW code, close the scheduled event, assess the fine and costs to the case, and receipt the payment all without clerk intervention. You will see the receipts for violations disposed and receipted through Plead and Pay on the Pay By Web cashier sessions. The system will also automatically attach the CR380 - Guilty Plea and Waiver of Counsel - Non-Appearance form to the DDGPW disposition docket code.
The clerk with security to Approve Deposits will need to approve the automatically closed Pay By Web cashier session the next business day. If a Pay By Web cashier session does not automatically close the next business day, contact the OSCA Accounting Assistance Unit for further instructions. All Pay By Web cashier sessions still open on the last business day of the month need to be closed and approved for deposit by COB on that day.
8. How does a case come off of Plead and Pay once it is on there?
If there is no
future pending SCIR - Initial Appearance event scheduled on the case or the
case is disposed, the case will not be eligible for Plead and Pay. Also, if a summons or warrant has been issued on the case, the case will not be eligible. If the defendant hires an attorney, the case will not be eligible.
If the court does
not do any further processing on the case, then the case will be automatically
removed from displaying on Plead and Pay once the time reaches midnight of the
day the SCIR - Initial Appearance was scheduled for. For example, if the
Initial Appearance was scheduled for June 18 at 1 p.m., and the defendant
does not appear in court, the case will remain on Plead and Pay until 11:59 p.m.,
June 18 as long as the court takes no further
action on the case, such as closing the Initial Appearance event prior to
midnight.
10. If a warrant is issued on the case, will the case still be available for Plead and Pay?
The case will be removed from Plead and Pay if a warrant has been issued on the case.
11. How does Plead and Pay know what court costs to add?
Plead and Pay is programmed to add
court costs based on the type of charge code and case type using the existing
"X" docket code setups which add court costs for a location the same
as Show-Me Courts and JIS.
12. If the defendant uses Plead and Pay will the case still show when our court runs its docket?
No. When the
defendant pleads guilty and pays the fine and costs through Plead and Pay, the
system will automatically dispose of the case, including receipting the Pay By
Web payment to the case. It will also close out the scheduled Initial
Appearance on the case. Any case resolved through Plead and Pay prior
to when the court runs its OSCA Report - Circuit Court Calendar, will not
display on their docket when the report is ran.
13. How does our division establish a violations bureau?
If the circuit court hears municipal divisions in the associate division of the circuit court, orders are needed under Rule 37.49 to establish violations bureaus for each municipal division heard.
14. What if our municipal division does not wish to operate a violations bureau?
15. Can our municipal division operate a violations bureau but opt out of Plead and Pay?
No. For a case to be resolved electronically through the violations bureau for a municipal division using JIS/SMC, Plead and Pay must be used to be able to accept payment of fine and costs.
Per Rule 37.49 (e), Any person charged with a violation designated within the order may pay the specified amount of the fine and costs to the bureau:
(1) through an electronic payment system
authorized in the order; (2) in person; or (3) by mail. Full payment received
before the court date and time for initial appearance constitutes a guilty plea
and waiver of trial. Full payment received on or after the initial appearance
date and time may, in the court's discretion, be accepted as a guilty plea and
waiver of trial.
16. Is there an easy way to see the cases that were resolved of through Plead and Pay?
Yes. In Cognos there
is the ‘Cases Disposed by Plead and Pay’ report that can be ran to find cases that
have been disposed through Plead and Pay. The report is found under Public
Folders>JIS Reports>Circuit Courts – All Divisions>Management>Case
Disposed by Plead and Pay.
17. How should law enforcement communicate Plead and Pay to the defendant?
18. Why is the case still Plead and Pay eligible if the defendant has posted a bond?
When the prosecuting attorney files the case with the initiating document "Information Filed by Citation," the case is violations bureau/Plead and Pay eligible if the charge is listed on the schedule. The defendant may use Plead and Pay as long as auto create case/the municipal clerk uses the initial appearance code SCIR and no summons is issued, as well.
The suggested best practice is for clerks to review at least monthly the OSCA Reports Open Items Report Bond Listing Detail for bonds held on disposed cases. The clerk would then submit the bond to the judge for a refund determination.