Municipal Court Appeals Lawyer
In Kansas, not all cases originate in district court. The majority of criminal cases originate in municipal court. The goal of the municipalities is to help manage the lives of citizens across the state. These “arms of state” are still the government and are subject to restraints outlined by the Constitution and Kansas state law. It's important to recognize that municipal court isn't the same as district court. Although they both have a judge and prosecutor, municipal court lacks many of the protections that a district court possesses. The average person that gets in trouble and walks into municipal court is in for a far different experience than someone charged in district court. The absence of a jury and the general informal nature of a municipal court are two of the most stark differences that the casual observer would recognize. The State of Kansas recognizes that municipal court might not fully protect the full constitutional rights of defendants that find themselves charged with a crime in municipal court. Because of this, the State has provided for a direct appeal of nearly any final decision that is made in municipal court and a strict framework for removal of your case from municipal court to district court. Below is an overview of the municipal court appeals process written by a lawyer who practices municipal court appeals.
Municipal Courts
Article 12, Section 5 of the Kansas Constitution states that municipalities can create and enforce their own laws. City prosecutors will try the cases which are considered violations of city ordinances. Ordinances govern minor matters, such as noise ordinances, traffic laws and other misdemeanor offenses. A municipal court judge will handle all trials, and there are no juries available in municipal court. Kansas does not require a municipal court judge to be an attorney and municipal trials are more informal than trials at district court. It is also common for individuals to represent themselves in municipal court.
Municipal courts still deal with serious cases and must provide constitutional rights and protections for the accused. A municipal court defendant has the right to confront their accuser, present evidence on their own behalf, use the court's subpoena power, and their right against self-incrimination. Ordinances, like all crimes, have to be proven beyond a reasonable doubt. One right that is absent in municipal court is the right to a jury trial. The United States Supreme Court held that “petty offenses” are not entitled to the right to a jury trial as guaranteed under the Sixth Amendment. In Blanton v. City of North Las Vegas, a petty offense was defined as one that carries either a fine of $5,000 or more or incarceration less than 6 months. This standard means that the vast majority of city ordinance violations will not be covered by the right to a jury trial under the Sixth Amendment. The State of Kansas has also defined Petty offense in State v. Wolverton. In general, most class B misdemeanors are classified as Petty Offenses. That doesn't mean that you can never have a jury trial on a case that originates in municipal court it just means that you need to assert your right to have a jury trial as soon as you appeal the case to district court.
Municipal courts must operate inside their own jurisdiction. This limited jurisdiction means than municipal courts can’t hear felony crimes or state misdemeanor crimes. A municipal court also has to make sure their ordinances do not go against state laws. In State v. Jenkins, the city of Wichita impermissibly charged Jenkins with an ordinance violation of theft. Due to his past convictions, Jenkins qualified for a felony theft charge. The Kansas Supreme Court stated that a city can’t prosecute an ordinance when the state had previously criminalized the conduct as a more serious crime; they can only do so when the state declines to prosecute. Basically, city courts have to stay in their lane and not prosecute state crimes.
Appealing A Municipal Court Judgment
Below is the actual law that allows appeals out of municipal court.
Appeals from municipal courts. (a) The defendant shall have the right to appeal to the district court of the county from any judgment of a municipal court which adjudges the defendant guilty of a violation of the ordinances of any municipality of Kansas or any findings of contempt. The appeal shall be assigned by the chief judge to a district judge. The appeal shall stay all further proceedings upon the judgment appealed from.
(b) An appeal to the district court shall be taken by filing, in the district court of the county in which the municipal court is located, a notice of appeal and any appearance bond required by the municipal court. Municipal court clerks are hereby authorized to accept notices of appeal and appearance bonds under this subsection and shall forward such notices and bonds to the district court. No appeal shall be filed until after the sentence has been imposed. No appeal shall be taken more than 14 days after the date the sentence is imposed.
(c) The notice of appeal shall designate the judgment or part of the judgment appealed from. The defendant shall cause notice of the appeal to be served upon the city attorney prosecuting the case. The judge whose judgment is appealed from or the clerk of the court, if there is one, shall certify the complaint and warrant to the district court of the county, but failure to do so shall not affect the validity of the appeal.
(d) Except as provided herein, the trial of municipal appeal cases shall be to the court unless a jury trial is requested in writing by the defendant not later than seven days after first notice of trial assignment is given to the defendant or such defendant's counsel. The time requirement provided in this subsection regarding when a jury trial shall be requested may be waived in the discretion of the court upon a finding that imposing such time requirement would cause undue hardship or prejudice to the defendant. A jury in a municipal appeal case shall consist of six members. All appeals taken by a defendant from a municipal judge in contempt findings, cigarette or tobacco infraction or traffic infraction cases shall be tried by the court.
(e) Notwithstanding the other provisions of this section, appeal from a conviction rendered pursuant to K.S.A. 12-4416(b), and amendments thereto, shall be conducted only on the record of the stipulation of facts relating to the complaint.
(f) At the conclusion of the case, the district court shall send notice of dismissal, conviction or acquittal to the municipal court clerk.
KSA 22-3609, permits a convicted defendant to appeal their case to the district, or state level, court. This appeal request must be made within 14 days of the conviction. A state judge will hear the case unless the defendant requests a jury trial. Unlike appeals to Kansas’ higher courts, municipal cases are reviewed, “de novo”, meaning the city has to reprove every element of the violation. New evidence can be introduced by both sides as well. When the ordinance violation is decided, that decision is able to appealed further to the Kansas Court of Appeals. All of the familiar requirements of district court are present in the appeal. The judge who hears these cases are the same judges who hear felony cases. The rules of evidence are also used at trial. Further, the accused again has constitutional rights. Finally, section 22-3402 mandates that the appeal be tried within 180 days, absent special circumstances.
Municipal violations are not to be taken lightly. Although they carry lesser penalties than felonies, they can still carry fines and incarceration. The relaxed nature of city court can lead to individuals wanting to defend themselves pro se. This is often a mistake. Hiring a criminal defense lawyer is still beneficial to help avoid large fines, convictions on your record, and incarceration. Even if a case is lost in municipal court, it is not uncommon to take the case to district court and retry the case ultimately to receive an acquittal on appeal. The short timeline to decide to appeal a conviction means no time can be wasted in hiring a lawyer. If you have been charged with a crime or want to appeal a municipal court decision for any Johnson County city including Prairie Village, Olathe, Fairway, Lenexa, Mission, Merriam, Shawnee, or Overland Park, please feel free to contact our office.
So how do I Appeal a Municipal Court decision?
Nearly all decisions made my a municipal court are appealable to the District Court. It is a really easy process to begin the appeal. All you have to do is wait until you are sentenced on a municipal court case, then ask the judge to set an appeal bond. You then have to pay the appeal bond and file a notice of appeal with the municipal court clerk. You then need to provide notice to the city prosecutor and the clerk will send the case to district court. You will get a new court date in district court and you get to start your case all over again.