Appeals judge appointed to take over Ferguson court

JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. -- A Missouri appeals court judge was appointed Monday to take over Ferguson's municipal court and make "needed reforms" after a critical U.S. Department of Justice report that was prompted by the fatal police shooting of Michael Brown.

The Missouri Supreme Court said it is assigning state appeals Judge Roy Richter to hear all of Ferguson's pending and future municipal court cases.

The high court said Richter also will have the authority to overhaul court policies to ensure defendants' rights are respected and to "restore the integrity of the system."

Ferguson Municipal Judge Ronald J. Brockmeyer resigned Monday, saying through a spokesman he was stepping down to promote public confidence in the court and help Ferguson "begin its healing process."

Richter will take charge of the court March 16. The Supreme Court said it also is assigning staff from the state court administrator's office to aid Richter in reviewing Ferguson's municipal court practices.

"Judge Richter will bring a fresh, disinterested perspective to this court's practices, and he is able and willing to implement needed reforms," Chief Justice Mary Russell said in a statement.

"Extraordinary action is warranted in Ferguson, but the Court also is examining reforms that are needed on a statewide basis," Russell said.

The change comes after the Justice Department released a report last week that cited cases of racial profiling and bigotry by police and chided what it described as a profit-driven municipal court system in the predominantly black St. Louis suburb where Brown, 18, was shot by a white Ferguson police officer in August. The shooting prompted protests in the St. Louis area and across the nation.

A St. Louis County grand jury and the U.S. Justice Department declined to bring charges against officer Darren Wilson. But the Justice Department said Ferguson's police and court systems functioned as a moneymaking enterprise that heightened tensions among residents.

"It is not difficult to imagine how a single tragic incident set off the city of Ferguson like a powder keg," Holder said while releasing the report.

The federal report noted that Ferguson was counting on revenue from fines and fees to generate $3.1 million, or nearly one-quarter of its total $13.3 million budget for the 2015 fiscal year.

Although it was rare for the court to sentence people to jail as a penalty for city code violations, the Justice Department report said the city's court almost always imposes monetary penalties and then issues arrest warrants when people fail to pay on time or miss a court date. As a result, relatively minor violations can -- and frequently do -- lead to arrests and jail time, the report said.

Also Monday, the Ferguson City Council went into a closed meeting, and a city spokesman wouldn't disclose the purpose.