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Rights in Court
Municipal Court Procedures
Office Hours: 8:00 to 5:00 p.m., Monday – Friday
Appearance in Court
Right to an Attorney
Before Court Begins
Plea of Guilty
Plea of Nolo Contendere
Plea of Not Guilty
Your Trial
Presenting Your Case
The Verdict
Fines
Habitual Driving Offenses
Right to Appeal
Your presence in the City of Mission 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
and duties. We want every person to leave this Court feeling that he or she
has been treated fairly.
Municipal Court is the judicial branch of City Government.
Traffic violations and violations of City Ordinances are tried in Municipal
Court, and upon conviction carry a maximum fine of $2,500 and a possible
maximum jail term of up to 1 year.
Trials are conducted under the Code of Criminal Procedure,
Code for Municipal Courts and the Kansas Rules of Evidence as adopted by the
Kansas Legislature.
Appearance in Court
When you appear in Court you will be required to obey the
following rules:
- Your clothing must include a shirt, pants or skirt, and
shoes
- The wearing of hats and caps is not allowed
- Food and drinks are not allowed in the Courtroom
- While the Court is in session, talking is not allowed,
except with authorized Court personnel
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Right to an Attorney
In all cases in the Municipal Court, you may have an
attorney represent you. When you are charged with an offense that may result
in jail time as part of your sentence, you will need to decide whether you
want to continue with or without an attorney. If you desire an attorney, and
the court finds you do not have the means to hire, the Court may appoint an
attorney to represent you. If you are found guilty or plead guilty to the
charge, the Court can assess your attorney fees as part of the Court costs.
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Before Court Begins
You must decide upon and enter a plea to the charge
against you on or before the appearance date on your citation. If you signed
a citation in front of an officer, you did not plead guilty, but only signed
a promise to appear in court on your scheduled data. There are three possible
pleas to a complaint:
"Guilty"
"Nolo Contendere" (No Contest)
"Not Guilty"
Your decision on what plea to enter is the most important
decision you will have to make. We suggest that you read the explanations of
all three pleas before entering your plea.
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Plea of Guilty
By a plea of guilty, you admit that you committed the act
charged, that law prohibits the act, and that you have no defense for your
act.
Before entering your plea of guilty, you need to
understand the following:
The City has the burden of proving its case against you.
You have the right to hear the City's evidence and to require it to prove its
case. If it does not, the law does not require you to prove anything.
If you were involved in a traffic accident at the time of
the alleged offense, your plea of guilty could be used later in a civil suit
for damages as an admission by you that you were at fault or were the party
responsible for the accident.
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Plea of Nolo Contendere
A plea of nolo contendere, also known as "no
contest", simply means that you do not wish to contest the City's charge
against you. The Judge will enter judgement and a fine amount will be set. A
plea of "nolo contendere" cannot be used against you in a civil
suit for damages.
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Plea of Not Guilty
A plea of not guilty means that you are informing the
Court that you deny guilt and that the City must prove its charges against
you.
If you plead not guilty, you will need to decide whether
to employ an attorney to represent you at trial. You may defend yourself, but
no one else except an attorney may represent you. However, if you are a minor
(under 18 years of age) one of your parents should be present.
If you defend yourself, please consult the following
sections of this web-site information regarding your rights for the trial
procedure and the manner of presenting your case.
Under our American system of justice, all persons are
presumed to be innocent until proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt. On a
plea of "Not Guilty", a trial is held and the City is required to
prove all the allegations against you as contained in the formal complaint
"beyond a reasonable doubt," before a verdict of guilty can be
reached.
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Your Trial
Under Kansas Law, you can be brought to trial only after a
complaint or traffic citation has been filed, and you have entered a plea of
not guilty to the charge or charges. The complaint or citation is a document
that alleges what you are supposed to have done, and that your actions are
unlawful
- You have a right to inspect this complaint before trial,
and have it read to you at trial.
- You do not have the right to have your case tried before
a jury in Municipal Court.
- You are entitled to hear all testimony introduced
against you.
- You have a right to testify in your own behalf. You also
have a constitutional right not to testify. If you choose not to
testify, your refusal cannot and will not be used against you in
determining your guilt or innocence. However, if you do choose to
testify, the prosecutor will have the right to cross-examine you.
- You may call witnesses to testify in your behalf. You
also have the right to have the Court issue subpoenas for witnesses to
ensure their appearance at trial. However, you must furnish the names,
addresses and telephone numbers of these witnesses to the Court as soon
as possible so that the witnesses may be located and the subpoenas
served. (In all cases this must be supplied more than 1 day before the
scheduled date of the trial).
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Presenting Your Case
As in all trials, the City will present its case first by
calling witnesses to testify against you.
After each prosecution witness has finished his or her
testimony, you will have the right to cross-examine him or her. Your
examination must be in the form of questions and you must not argue with the
witness. Do not attempt to tell your side of the story at this time. You will
have an opportunity to do so later in the trial.
After the prosecution has presented its case, you may
present your case. You have the right to call any witness who knows anything
about the incident.
As stated previously, if you so desire, you may testify in
your own behalf, but cannot be compelled to do so. It is your choice and your
silence will not and cannot be used against you.
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The Verdict
The verdict of the Judge will be based on the testimony of
witnesses, evidence, and on the facts presented during the trial. In making
his determination he can only consider the testimony of the witnesses who are
under oath.
If the Judge finds you guilty, he will announce the
penalty at that time. You should be prepared to pay the fine at this time.
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Fines
The facts and circumstances of the case affect the amount
of fine assessed by the Court. Mitigating circumstances may lower the fine,
even if you are guilty. However, aggravating circumstances may increase the
fine. In no case may a fine exceed $500 for most traffic violations; and up
to $2,500 for City ordinance violations including driving under the influence
of intoxicating liquor or drugs.
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Habitual Driving
Offenses
The State of Kansas has a Habitual Driving Statute. The
convictions that constitute offenses for the Habitual Driving Statute are:
- Driving under the influence of intoxicating liquor or
drugs
- Reckless driving
- Driving without insurance
- Driving on a suspended driver's license
If you are convicted of three of the above offenses in a
five-year period, the State will declare you to be a Habitual Violator and
your driving privileges will be revoked for a period of three (3) years. If
you drive a vehicle during this period, and you are stopped and convicted,
you will be charged with a Class "E" felony, which is punishable by
a sentence of 1 to 2 years in the State Penitentiary.
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Right to Appeal
If you are not satisfied with the judgment of the Court,
you have the right to appeal your case to the District Court of Johnson
County, Kansas. If you choose to appeal the judgment, you must file a written
Notice of Appeal, post an Appeal Bond, and pay a filing fee at the office of
the Clerk of the Mission Municipal Court. (The filing fee is set by State
Statute and is currently $67.50). The Appeal must be filed with the Clerk
within 10 days from the date of judgment.
Your appeal will be set for a new trial before a different
Judge, and/or Jury, in the District Court.
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