Missouri Supreme Court issues municipal court standards

ST. LOUIS -- The Missouri Supreme Court has issued minimum standards for municipal courts in response to accusations courts in the St. Louis area routinely violate the rights of the poor.

Some have decried the practice of holding defendants in jail who aren't able to pay fines or bail and sometimes have to wait days or weeks to see a judge, according to the St. Louis Post-Dispatch.

The state Supreme Court established a requirement for municipal courts to have a judge on duty at all times to rule on warrants and bail, and to offer alternative sentences for people who can't afford to pay fines. Municipal courts also must have a clerk on duty for at least 30 hours a week, and must at least be pursuing court automation to allow online payments. Under the new standards, the courts have to make available free online access to information about pending cases, outstanding warrants and scheduled dockets.

Courts must also meet in a space that is large enough to accommodate the public.

Bryan Dunlop, a lawyer who works as a municipal judge in Maplewood and Beverly Hills, said he doesn't see any problems with the new standards.

Some critics say the new standards, which don't have any penalties for failure to comply, do not go far enough. Municipal courts have to certify only twice a year to the presiding judge in their circuit the standards are being met.

One of the recommendations from the Ferguson Commission suggested the consolidation of the county's 80 courts. The commission was appointed by Gov. Jay Nixon to study ways to resolve issues in the community after the fatal shooting of Michael Brown by a police officer in August 2014.

Brendan Roediger is an associate law professor at Saint Louis University who has sued several courts in St. Louis County on behalf of poor clients.

"The presiding judge and the Supreme Court don't have the inclination or the time to supervise these courts," Roediger said. "What we need are rules that can be enforced in an individual case."

The standards went into effect Tuesday when the order was issued.