Court Policies & Procedures

Cellphones & Devices

Attorneys may bring cellphones to court, set on SILENT due to their use of calendars. Calls will not be answered or made in the courtroom while court is in session.

All other electronic devices are banned (cellphones, recorders, cameras, pagers, etc.). People appearing in court have a right to privacy. You may wish to return to your vehicle and lock such items out of sight.

Guilty Verdict

If you are found guilty after a trial, you are entitled to a “trial de novo” (basically, a “do-over”) before a different judge in State Court – again, that will be in Clayton.

If you plead guilty, there is no trial of any type, and you waive your right to trial, to appeal, to an attorney, and to confront the witnesses against you.

Fines

If a fine is assessed and you cannot pay in full, a payment plan can (and will) be arranged. The plan may require that you appear at a later date if you are not complying with it—if you don’t appear as required, a warrant for your arrest could be issued. You will not be penalized for missing a payment; you will be arrested because you did not appear to explain why you were not complying with the plan YOU agreed to.

If you are unable to pay any fine, community service in lieu of a fine will be considered, as well as the following;

Waiver or suspension of imposition of any fine, fee, or cost or the amount previously assessed and due; Imposition of a lower amount of any fine, fee, or cost or of the amount previously assessed and due;

 Community Service in lieu of any fine fee or cost: The Court may order community service, so long as no fee is charged for the performance of the community service. The Court should assign a monetary equivalent value to each hour of community service performed, which should be no less than Missouri's minimum wage at the time the community service is imposed. The monetary equivalent value of the total community service imposed should not exceed the monetary value of the fine, fee, or cost previously assessed. 

or Court-approved programs or sanctions such as: 

o Driver improvement courses; 

o Education programs; 

o Job skills training; 

o Life skills courses; o Animal care classes;

 o Mental health evaluation and/or treatment; o Substance abuse/alcohol evaluation and/or treatment; 

o Underage tobacco prevention courses;

 o Victim impact classes; 

o Domestic violence intervention programs; 

o Anger control education; 

o Parenting classes; 

o Larceny prevention programs; o Budgeting and money management courses; 

o Mediation; or 

o Essay/Letter of apology. 

Any alternative sanction imposed due to a defendant's inability to pay should be, whenever possible, free of charge. At no point should an alternative sanction imposed in lieu of fines, fees, or court costs result in a greater monetary cost to the defendant than the original fines, fees, or court costs imposed.

You may be required to appear in court at a future date if you fail to meet your community service obligations – if you fail to appear to discuss why you were unable to fulfill the obligation YOU requested, a warrant may be issued for your arrest for failing to appear.

Uniform Fine

There is a Uniform Fine Schedule in place for ‘routine’ offenses. By law, some offenses cannot be resolved without a Court appearance – those exceptions include:

• Any violation resulting in personal injury or property damage
• Operating a motor vehicle while intoxicated or under the influence of intoxicants or drugs
•  Operating a vehicle with a counterfeited, altered, suspended, or revoked license
• Fleeing or attempting to elude an officer
• Any other violation excluded by law.

MISSOURI STATUTE 302.341

1. If a Missouri resident charged with a moving traffic violation of this state or any county or municipality of this state fails to dispose of the charges of which the resident is accused through authorized prepayment of fine and court costs and fails to appear on the return date or at any subsequent date to which the case has been continued, or without good cause fails to pay any fine or court costs assessed against the resident for any such violation within the period of time specified or in such installments as approved by the court or as otherwise provided by law, any court having jurisdiction over the charges shall within ten days of the failure to comply inform the defendant by ordinary mail at the last address shown on the court records that the court will order the director of revenue to suspend the defendant's driving privileges if the charges are not disposed of and fully paid within thirty days from the date of mailing. Thereafter, if the defendant fails to timely act to dispose of the charges and fully pay any applicable fines and court costs, the court shall notify the director of revenue of such failure and of the pending charges against the defendant. Upon receipt of this notification, the director shall suspend the license of the driver, effective immediately, and provide notice of the suspension to the driver at the last address for the driver shown on the records of the department of revenue. Such suspension shall remain in effect until the court requests setting aside the noncompliance suspension pending final disposition, or satisfactory evidence of disposition of pending charges and payment of fine and court costs, if applicable, is furnished to the director by the individual.

Request for Continuance

One continuance by phone will be granted if made prior to the initial court date.  Any additional request for a continuance must be submitted in writing to the Judge at least 48 hours in advance of the Court date. The request can be submitted either by mail, fax, email, or dropped off in person at the Court Window.  Please use the form below for the request.

Request for Continuance Policy

Request for Continuance Form