{"id":1971,"date":"2020-06-15T21:39:13","date_gmt":"2020-06-15T21:39:13","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/cityofesmo.com\/municipalcourt\/?page_id=1971"},"modified":"2024-08-02T15:38:31","modified_gmt":"2024-08-02T15:38:31","slug":"your-rights-in-municipal-court","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/cityofesmo.com\/municipalcourt\/index.php\/your-rights-in-municipal-court\/","title":{"rendered":"Your Rights in Municipal Court"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<div data-wp-interactive=\"core\/file\" class=\"wp-block-file\"><object data-wp-bind--hidden=\"!state.hasPdfPreview\" hidden class=\"wp-block-file__embed\" data=\"https:\/\/cityofesmo.com\/municipalcourt\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/02\/Courtroom-Flyer-portrait-2024.pdf\" type=\"application\/pdf\" style=\"width:100%;height:600px\" aria-label=\"Embed of Courtroom Flyer (portrait) 2024.\"><\/object><a id=\"wp-block-file--media-632d659f-e679-4e82-9261-4e495225bd60\" href=\"https:\/\/cityofesmo.com\/municipalcourt\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/02\/Courtroom-Flyer-portrait-2024.pdf\">Courtroom Flyer (portrait) 2024<\/a><a href=\"https:\/\/cityofesmo.com\/municipalcourt\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/02\/Courtroom-Flyer-portrait-2024.pdf\" class=\"wp-block-file__button wp-element-button\" download aria-describedby=\"wp-block-file--media-632d659f-e679-4e82-9261-4e495225bd60\">Download<\/a><\/div>\n\n\n<p><strong>KNOW YOUR RIGHTS IN MUNICIPAL COURT<\/strong><\/p>\n<p><strong><em>Your presence in municipal court is perhaps your first experience in any court. This information has been prepared to help you understand the court proceedings and to inform you of your rights.<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n<p><strong>RIGHT TO KNOW WHEN COURT IS OPEN:<\/strong>\u00a0Every court has different hours it is open. It is important that you check the court&#8217;s website or call the court&#8217;s clerk to determine when it is open. A comprehensive listing of contact information for all municipal division courts in Missouri can be found at\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/www.courts.mo.gov\/mcw\/findacourt\">https:\/\/www.courts.mo.gov\/mcw\/findacourt<\/a><\/p>\n<p><strong>RIGHT TO ATTEND COURT:\u00a0<\/strong>Courts in Missouri are open to the public of all ages.<\/p>\n<p><strong>RIGHT TO RELEASE PENDING HEARING:<\/strong>\u00a0If you are in jail for a municipal charge, you have the right to be released unless the court decides you need to be in jail for the protection of the community or because you may not appear for court. If the court orders your release from jail, there may be conditions on your release, including bail.<\/p>\n<p><strong>RIGHT TO AN ATTORNEY:<\/strong>\u00a0You have the right to be represented by an attorney and may hire one at any time. When you first appear in court, you may ask to postpone the hearing one time so you can hire an attorney. However, you are not required to have an attorney represent you. You may represent yourself.<\/p>\n<p><strong>RIGHT TO A COURT APPOINTED ATTORNEY:<\/strong>\u00a0If you show you cannot afford an attorney and the city is seeking jail, the court will provide an attorney to represent you.\u00a0You may be required to fill out paper work about your finances and\/or provide financial documents as a part of this process.<\/p>\n<p><strong>RIGHT TO REQUEST A DIFFERENT JUDGE:\u00a0<\/strong>You may request a change of judge for any reason within ten (10) days after you enter your initial plea. If it is past the ten (10) days, then you must show cause why the judge should be changed.<br \/>In addition, a judge may decide he or she cannot hear the case if they have a<br \/>conflict of interest in the case or if the judge will appear as the prosecuting<br \/>attorney in a neighboring county where the prosecuting attorney will serve as<br \/>judge.<\/p>\n<p><strong>RIGHT TO TRIAL:<\/strong>\u00a0If you plead NOT GUILTY, your case will be scheduled for trial. Because of the number of cases the court hears each month and the need to have the officer(s) and any witnesses present, your case cannot be heard that night. You will be given a future court date for trial.<br \/>When your case is scheduled for trial, it will be in the same court in which<br \/>you appear, UNLESS you request a jury trial. A request for a jury trial<br \/>should be made by written motion ten (10) days prior to the scheduled trial date.<br \/>If the motion is timely, your case will be sent to the presiding judge of the<br \/>circuit court for a new trial date with a jury.<br \/>1. At trial, you have a right to testify or remain silent. If you remain<br \/>silent, it is not considered an admission of guilt. If you testify, the judge<br \/>may consider any statement you make in deciding your guilt or innocence.<br \/>2. At trial, you have the right to ask questions of witnesses testifying<br \/>against you.<br \/>3. You have the right to ask the clerk to issue a subpoena to require<br \/>witnesses to come to trial and testify.<br \/>4. If you are found not guilty, the case ends.<br \/>5. If you are found guilty, you can accept the decision or appeal to the<br \/>circuit court. If you appeal your case, you will be granted a new trial before<br \/>a different judge. The request for appeal must be made in writing within\u00a0ten<br \/>(10) days of the court&#8217;s decision and cannot be extended for any reason.<br \/>You can appeal even if you are not able to pay.<\/p>\n<p><strong>Trial Process<\/strong><br \/>1. The case is ready to be heard by the judge.<br \/>2. Witnesses are given an oath to testify.<br \/>3. The city&#8217;s witnesses explain their version of what happened.<br \/>4. You or your attorney can ask questions of the City&#8217;s witnesses.<br \/>5. You may testify and call witnesses to explain your version of what<br \/>happened.<br \/>6. The city prosecutor may question you and your witnesses, if you and<br \/>your witnesses testify.<br \/>7. The judge makes the decision.<\/p>\n<p><strong>PUNISHMENT &amp; FINES<\/strong><br \/>If you plead guilty or are found guilty, you may face the following punishments<br \/>or fines:<br \/>1. Minor traffic violations\u2014up to $225 total fine and costs.<br \/>2. Housing, zoning or building code violations\u2014up to $200 total fine and<br \/>costs for the first violation in a year, $275 for the second violation in a year, $350<br \/>for the third violation in a year, and $450 for the fourth and any subsequent<br \/>violation in a year.<br \/>3. All other municipal code violations\u2014up to $500.00 fine plus court costs.<\/p>\n<p><strong>JAIL:\u00a0<\/strong>In addition to these fines and costs, certain violations may result in jail<br \/>time. Such violations include any violation involving alcohol or drugs,<br \/>violations endangering the health or welfare of others, or giving false<br \/>information to a police officer. You may face up to\u00a090 days in jail.<\/p>\n<p><strong>PROBATION:\u00a0<\/strong>Additionally, you may receive up to two (2) years of unsupervised<br \/>(Court) or supervised probation with certain conditions.<\/p>\n<p><strong>RIGHT TO APPEAL:\u00a0<\/strong>If you are found guilty, you can accept the decision or appeal to the circuit court. If you appeal your case, you will be granted a new trial before a different judge. The request for appeal must be made in writing within\u00a0ten (10) days of the court&#8217;s decision and cannot be extended for any reason. You may appeal even if you are not able to pay.<\/p>\n<p><strong>RIGHT TO ACCESS COURT RECORDS:<\/strong>\u00a0If you have a case in a municipal division court, you have the right to see the court records for your case. This includes records that show charges, court rulings, fines and other information regarding\u00a0your case.<\/p>\n<p><strong>RIGHT TO HAVE JUDGE DECIDE IF YOU CAN AFFORD AN ATTORNEY OR PAY FINES:<\/strong>\u00a0If you wish to have an attorney but cannot afford one, you\u00a0may ask that the judge decide if you qualify for a court appointed attorney.\u00a0You\u00a0may also request the judge to decide if you are able to pay court fines or to<br \/>be granted an alternative sentence such as community service.\u00a0You may be required to fill out paper work about your finances and\/or provide financial documents as a part of this process.<br \/>You may not be put in jail for failure to pay fines or costs unless the judge finds<br \/>you have the ability to pay but are unwilling to pay or when alternative<br \/>sanctions to jail are not sufficient.<\/p>\n<p><strong>NON U. S. CITIZENS<\/strong><br \/>If you are not a citizen of the United States, you should know that a guilty<br \/>plea or conviction may result in your deportation, denial of admission to the<br \/>United States, or you may be denied naturalization under United States law.<br \/>You may wish to speak with an attorney, especially before entering a guilty<br \/>plea to any charges.<\/p>\n<p><strong>ADA ACCOMMODATIONS<\/strong><br \/>You have rights under the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA). For<br \/>example, if you or a witness are deaf or hearing impaired, you have the right<br \/>to request assistance, including an interpreter. For help, please contact the<br \/>court&#8217;s ADA coordinator. A list of ADA coordinators can be found at<br \/>http:\/\/www.courts.mo.gov\/page.jsp?id=180.<br \/>If you need help with other ADA disabilities, please call (573)751-4377 or<br \/>send an email to access2justice@courts.mo.gov.<\/p>\n<p><strong>COURTROOM RULES<\/strong><br \/>Stay seated until your name is called<\/p>\n<p>No food or drinks<\/p>\n<p>No chewing, smoking or vaping<\/p>\n<p>No talking while court is in session<\/p>\n<p>No weapons<\/p>\n<p>Remove sunglasses and hats (religious hats or head coverings are acceptable)<\/p>\n<p>Silence cell phones and other electronic devices<\/p>\n<p>No sleeping or disrupting court proceedings<\/p>\n\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>KNOW YOUR RIGHTS IN MUNICIPAL COURT Your presence in municipal court is perhaps your first experience in any court. This information has been prepared to help you understand the court proceedings and to inform you of your rights. RIGHT TO KNOW WHEN COURT IS OPEN:\u00a0Every court has different hours it is open. It is important &hellip; <a href=\"https:\/\/cityofesmo.com\/municipalcourt\/index.php\/your-rights-in-municipal-court\/\" class=\"more-link\">Continue reading <span class=\"screen-reader-text\">Your Rights in Municipal Court<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"parent":0,"menu_order":2,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","template":"","meta":{"footnotes":""},"class_list":["post-1971","page","type-page","status-publish","hentry"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/cityofesmo.com\/municipalcourt\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/1971","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/cityofesmo.com\/municipalcourt\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/cityofesmo.com\/municipalcourt\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/page"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cityofesmo.com\/municipalcourt\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cityofesmo.com\/municipalcourt\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1971"}],"version-history":[{"count":16,"href":"https:\/\/cityofesmo.com\/municipalcourt\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/1971\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":3158,"href":"https:\/\/cityofesmo.com\/municipalcourt\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/1971\/revisions\/3158"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/cityofesmo.com\/municipalcourt\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1971"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}