What is the Law on Criminal Damage to Property in Mission Municipal Court?
The City of Mission Kansas is governed by City Ordinances. City Ordinances are just another way of saying city laws. The City ordinances are written and voted on by the city council, if they pass through the legislative process then they become city ordinances. The problem with city ordinances is there is a lot of them, they cover all aspects of life within the city limits of Mission. That creates a general problem because the city council only meets a few times a month and doesn't have the time and resources to author and pass an entire city code one by one. To solve this problem the city of Mission, like most cities, adopted a a prewritten set of ordinances to cover nearly all conduct that the city wishes to criminalize. Here is the City Ordinance that adopted the "Uniform Public Offense Code"
"Section 215:010 Incorporation of the Uniform Public Offense Code
A. There is hereby incorporated by reference for the purpose of regulating public offenses within the corporate limits of the City of Mission, Kansas, that a certain code known as the "Uniform Public Offense Code," 2023 Edition, prepared and published in book form by the League of Kansas Municipalities, Topeka, Kansas, save and except such Articles, Sections, parts or portions as are hereby omitted, deleted, modified or changed."
After the city adopted the Uniform Public Offense Code, this became the law in the city of Mission prohibiting Criminal Damage to Property within the city limits. All cases involving alleged violations of this ordinance are heard in the Mission Municipal Court.
Sec. 6.6. Criminal Damage to Property.
(a) Criminal damage to property is by means other than by fire or explosive:
Knowingly damaging, destroying, defacing or substantially impairing the use of any property in which another has an interest without the consent of such other person; or
Damaging, destroying, defacing or substantially impairing the use of any property with intent to injure or defraud an insurer or lienholder.
(b) Criminal damage to property is a Class B violation if the property damaged is of the value of less than $1,000 or is of the value of $1,000 or more and is damaged to the extent of less than $1,000.
(c) In determining the amount of damage to property, damages may include the cost of repair or replacement of the property that was damaged, the reasonable cost of the loss of production, crops and livestock, reasonable labor costs of any kind, reasonable material costs of any kind and any reasonable costs that are attributed to equipment that is used to abate or repair the damage to the property. (K.S.A. 21-5813)
Possible Punishment
*Class B Violations are punishable by up to 180 days in the Johnson County Jail, however, most Class B Violations are eligible for probation
I've been charged with Criminal Damage in Mission Municipal Court, what do I do next?
If you have found yourself on this page, you’re doing the right thing by researching. Gathering as much information as you can about the law you have been accused of violating is very important. You will now want to sit down with an experienced lawyer who practices in Mission Municipal Court. You should take this opportunity to ask them any questions you may have about your case and especially about how the court may have handled cases similar to yours in the past.