Supreme Court of Missouri
PO Box 150
Jefferson City, MO 65102
(573) 751-0178
MunicipalWorkGroup@courts.mo.gov
The Supreme Court of Missouri created its municipal division work group by order dated May 14, 2015, to review matters relevant to practice in the municipal divisions throughout the state, with ensuring public input, and with recommending appropriate improvements to the system.
At the time, the Court said: “We trust this ‘blue ribbon’ group to be both thoughtful and outspoken as they tackle the incredibly important work of formulating practical solutions to ensure our state’s municipal court divisions are places where defendants can trust they will be treated fairly and with respect, where their rights will be protected, and where the focus will be on due process of law.”
The Court received that group's final report March 1, 2016.
Reports and Documents Received
The work group has received a number of reports and other documents, including:
- 2013-2014 – Conference of State Courts Administrators policy paper about limited jurisdiction courts
- December 16, 2013 – Ad Hoc Committee to Study Court Costs report to Supreme Court of Missouri
- August 2014 – Arch City Defenders municipal courts white paper
- March 4, 2015 – Department of Justice report about Ferguson
- April 13, 2015 – Missouri Office of State Courts Administrator report about Ferguson municipal division
- April 15, 2015 – Missouri Office of State Courts Administrator's information technology review of the Ferguson case management contract
- May 1, 2015 – Missouri Municipal and Associate Circuit Judges Association letter to Supreme Court of Missouri
- May 4, 2015 – National Center for State Courts evaluation of Kansas City municipal division
- May 11, 2015 – Missouri Office of State Courts Administrator and Interim Ferguson Municipal Judge Roy Richter report about Ferguson municipal division
- June 19, 2015 – National Center for State Courts report about Ferguson municipal division
- June 30, 3015 – Advisory Committee report and recommendation about municipal divisions and rules of professional responsibility
- August 14, 2015 – Feinzig, McAllister & Harvey report, It's Not Just Ferguson: Consolidate the Municipal Courts
- September 14, 2015 – Ferguson Commission report, “Forward through Ferguson,” and commission’s calls to action regarding municipal court divisions
- October 2015 – Better Together report about public safety and municipal divisions
- November 2015 – National Center for State Courts final report of best practice recommendations for Missouri municipal divisions
- November 12, 2015 – binder provided by witnesses to work group at St. Louis public hearing
- December 3, 2015 – presentation by Kansas City municipal court division
- February 1, 2016 – lawsuit filed by Department of Justice against Ferguson
- February 8, 2016 – Missouri Municipal and Associate Circuit Judges Association letter to Supreme Court of Missouri
- February 9, 2016 – media advisory issued by Ferguson about agreement with Department of Justice
The work group also has been provided relevant constitutional and statutory provisions, excerpts from the Missouri Practice Series, and Supreme Court rules and operating rules, as well as the text of Senate Bill No. 5, passed during the 2015 legislative session.
Meetings, Public Hearings and Reports
The work group has held monthly meetings.
- July 2, 2015: Agenda
- August 3, 2015: Agenda
- September 25, 2015: Agenda
- October 16, 2015: Agenda
- November 12, 2015: Agenda
- December 4, 2015: Agenda
- January 13, 2016: Agenda
- February 19, 2016: Agenda
The work group also held three public hearings in the fall of 2015. Here are the transcripts of those hearings:
- Springfield public hearing, September 25: transcript
- St. Louis public hearing, November 12: transcript
- Kansas City public hearing, December 4: transcript
The municipal division work group issued its interim report September 1, 2015. In response, the Supreme Court issued this letter dated September 22, 2015. The work group filed its final report March 1, 2016.