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New standards now in effect for Missouri's municipal courts

As of Saturday, all of Missouri's municipal courts, including the one in Sunset Hills, have had to meet new minimum standards.
File photo | Kameel Stanley | St. Louis Public Radio
As of Saturday, all of Missouri's municipal courts, including the one in Sunset Hills, have had to meet new minimum standards.

As of Saturday, municipal courts across Missouri have had to meet some new operating standards.

The state Supreme Court set the minimum requirements for the court in 2016. Courts must now have a judge available at all times, and cannot charge illegal fines or fees, among other things. The rules were the Supreme Court's response to findings by the U.S. Department of Justice and legal advocacy groups that the municipal courts operated in large part to fund city operations.

The municipal courts have to give a progress report every six months to the presiding judge in the circuit where they operate. Judge Douglas Beach, the presiding judge in the 21st Circuit, said the 77 courts he oversees in St. Louis County are working hard to comply with the new standards.

"We do go out and randomly check, and when we've seen problems, I call them up and we talk about it," Beach said. "I haven't had anyone push back and say, 'No, we're not going to do it.'"

Thomas Harvey, the executive director of the legal advocacy group ArchCity Defenders, gave Beach high marks for the way he's supervising the municipal courts. But, Harvey said, those courts are still making it a crime to be poor.

"We’re not at a point where we’re treating people in a humane fashion and where we’re actually privileging public safety over revenue," Harvey said. 

The new standards have led to consolidation among some North County courts. The community development organization Beyond Housing worked with 11 municipalities to consolidate their courts into two locations.

Follow Rachel on Twitter: @rlippmann

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Lippmann returned to her native St. Louis after spending two years covering state government in Lansing, Michigan. She earned her undergraduate degree from Northwestern University and followed (though not directly) in Maria Altman's footsteps in Springfield, also earning her graduate degree in public affairs reporting. She's also done reporting stints in Detroit, Michigan and Austin, Texas. Rachel likes to fill her free time with good books, good friends, good food, and good baseball.
Rachel Lippmann
Lippmann returned to her native St. Louis after spending two years covering state government in Lansing, Michigan. She earned her undergraduate degree from Northwestern University and followed (though not directly) in Maria Altman's footsteps in Springfield, also earning her graduate degree in public affairs reporting. She's also done reporting stints in Detroit, Michigan and Austin, Texas. Rachel likes to fill her free time with good books, good friends, good food, and good baseball.