(A) Selection, tenure, and compensation.
(1) The Municipal Judge shall be appointed by the Mayor, subject to the approval of the Board of Aldermen.
(2) The position is subject to reappointment every two years upon electoral change in administration.
(3) The compensation of the Municipal Judge shall be set by the Board of Aldermen and shall not be dependent in any way upon the number of cases tried, the number of guilty verdicts reached, or the amount of fines imposed or collected.
(B) Qualifications.
(1) The Municipal Judge shall be at least 21 years of age. No person shall serve as Municipal Judge after that person has reached that person’s seventy-fifth birthday.
(2) The Municipal Judge need not be a resident of the municipality, but shall be a resident of the state.
(3) The Municipal Judge may be a part-time judge and may serve as Municipal Judge in more than one municipality.
(C) Duties, powers, jurisdiction of Municipal Judge.
(1) The judge selected shall be a Municipal Judge of the circuit court of the circuit in which the city is located.
(2) The Municipal Judge shall be subject to the rules of the circuit court which are not inconsistent with the rules of the supreme court.
(3) The presiding judge of the circuit shall have general administrative authority over the judges and court personnel of the municipal division.
(4) The Municipal Judge shall not hold any other office in the city.
(5) The Municipal Judge shall be a conservator of the peace.
(6) The Municipal Judge shall keep a docket in which every case commenced before the court and the proceedings shall be entered therein. Such docket and records shall be records of the circuit court.
(7) Said docket and records and all books and papers pertaining to the Municipal Judge’s office shall be delivered to the successor of the office or to the presiding judge of the circuit.
(8) The Municipal Judge shall have the power to administer oaths and enforce due obedience to all orders, rules, and judgments made, and the Municipal Judge may fine or imprison for contempt committed while holding court, in the same manner and to the same extent as a circuit judge.
(9) The Municipal Judge shall have the power to place on probation persons convicted of any offense within the Municipal Court’s jurisdiction, except as otherwise provided by state law.
(Ord. 98-002, passed 2-10-1998)
Statutory reference:
Similar provisions, RSMo. § 479.070