Municipal Court Contact Information: Ottawa Municipal Court 715 W 2nd Ottawa, KS 66067 (785) 242-5333 Fax (785) 242-2564 Judge James Campbell Connie Sams, Court Administrator Office Hours The Clerk's Office and Municipal Court are located at 715 W 2nd. Hours are Monday-Friday 8:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. Rights in Municipal Court Your presence in Municipal Court is perhaps your first appearance in any court. This website has been prepared to help you understand the Court proceedings and to inform you of your rights and duties. We want every person to leave this Court feeling he or she has been treated fairly. Municipal Court is the judicial branch of the city government. Traffic infractions and violations of City Ordinances are tried in Municipal Court, and upon conviction carry a maximum fine of $2,500 and a possible jail term. Trials are conducted under the Code of Criminal Procedure, Code for Municipal Courts and the Kansas Rules of Evidence as adopted by the Kansas Legislature. Appearance in Court When you appear in court you will be required to obey the following rules: 1) Appropriate clothing and shoes will be worn. 2) The wearing of hats or caps is not allowed in the courtroom. 3) Food and drinks are not allowed in the courtroom. 4) While the court is in session, talking is not allowed, except with authorized personnel. 5) There will be NO SMOKING in any city building 6) CELL PHONES OR PAGERS must be placed on silent mode. Violators may be held in contempt of court. 7) No weapons, knives, mace, or pointed objects will be permitted in the courtroom. If you have any of these items they will need to be left in your car or at home. 8) All purses, bags, briefcases, etc. are subject to search Right to an Attorney In all cases in the Municipal Court, you may have an attorney represent you. When you are charged with an offense that may result in jail time as part of your sentence, you will need to decide whether you want to continue with or without an attorney. If you desire an attorney, and if the Court finds you do not have the means to hire one, the Court will consider appointing an attorney to represent you. If you decide to proceed without an attorney the Judge will ask you to sign a waiver of council form. Before Court Begins You must decide upon and enter a plea to the charge against you. If you signed a citation in front of an officer, you did not plead guilty, but only signed a promise to appear in court on your appearance date. There are three possible pleas to a complaint: 1) Not guilty 2) No Contest 3) Guilty Your decision on what plea to enter is the most important decision you will have to make. We suggest that you read the following explanation of all three pleas before entering your plea. Plea of Not Guilty A plea of NOT GUILTY means that you are informing the Court that you deny guilt and that the City must prove its charge against you. If you plea NOT GUILTY you will need to deicide whether to employ an attorney to represent you at trial. You may defend yourself, but no one else except an attorney may represent you. However, if you are a minor (under 18 years of age) one of your parents should be present. If you defend yourself please consult the section of the website regarding the trial procedure and the manner of presenting your case. Under our American system of justice, all persons are presumed to be innocent until proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt. On a plea of NOT GUILTY a trial is held and the city is required to prove all the allegations against you as contained in the formal complaint beyond a reasonable doubt before a verdict of guilty can be reached. Plea of No Contest A plea of NO CONTEST simply means that you do not wish to contest the City's charge against you, but wish to talk to the Judge about mitigating circumstances. Judgment will be entered by the Judge and some penalty will be set. A plea of No Contest cannot be used against you in a civil suit for damages. Plea of Guilty By a plea of guilty you admit that you committed the act charged, that the act is prohibited by law and that you have no defense for your act. Before entering your plea of guilty you need to understand the following: 1) The city has the burden of proving its case against you. You have the right to hear the city's evidence and to require it to prove its case when you go to trial. The law does not require you to prove anything. 2) If you were involved in a traffic accident at the time of alleged offense, your plea of guilty could be used later in a civil suit for damages as an admission by you that you were at fault or were the party responsible for the accident. The Trial Under Kansas Law you can be brought to trial only after a complaint or citation had been filed. The complaint or citation is a document that alleges what you are supposed to have done, and that your actions were unlawful. You have a right to inspect this complaint before trial, and have read to you at trial. You DO NOT have the right to have your case tried before a jury in the Municipal Court. You are entitled to hear all testimony introduced against you. You have the right to testify on your own behalf. You also have a constitutional right not to testify. If you choose not to testify, your refusal cannot and will not be used against you in determining guilt or innocence. However, if you do choose to testify, the prosecutor will have the right to cross-examine you. You may call witnesses to testify on your own behalf. You also have the right to have the Court issue subpoenas for witnesses to ensure their appearance at trial. However, you must furnish the names, addresses, and telephone numbers, of these witnesses to the Court at least ten working days before your trail date so that the witnesses may be located and the subpoenas served. The court will only serve subpoenas within the City of Ottawa; any service outside the city will be your responsibility. Presenting the Case As in all trials, the city will present its case first by calling witnesses to testify against you. After the prosecution witnesses have finished his/her testimony, you will have the right to cross-examine him/her. Your examination must be in the form of questions and you must not argue with the witness. Do not attempt to tell your side of the story at this time. You will have the opportunity to do so later in the trial. After the prosecution has presented its case, you may present your case. You have the right to call any witness who knows anything about the incident, and to introduce exhibits such as photographs and diagrams. The Verdict The verdict of the Judge will be based upon the testimony that sounds most reasonable and the facts presented during the trail. In making determination he can only consider the testimony of the witnesses who are under oath. If the Judge finds you guilty, he will announce the penalty at that time. You should be prepared to pay the fine at this time. However, you may be granted an extension of ten days to appeal the ruling of the judge. Right to Appeal If you are not satisfied with the judgment of the Court you have the right to appeal your case to the Franklin County District Court. If you do appeal the Judge's judgment you must file a written notice of appeal with the Clerk of the District Court, deliver a copy to the city's Attorney's office, and post an appeal appearance bond in the amount set by the Judge. You will also have to pay a filing fee with the District Court. The appeal must be filed within ten days from the date of judgment. After filing your appeal you will be assigned a new court date to appear in District Court for new arraignment date. After arraignment another date will then be scheduled for a completely new trial before a different Judge or jury in the District Court. Fines The amount of fine assessed by the Court is affected by facts and circumstances of the case. Mitigating circumstances may lower the fine, even if you are guilty. However, aggravating circumstances may increase the fine. The fine will not exceed $500.00 for most traffic violations; and up to $2,500.00 for Ordinance violations involving driving under the influence of alcohol or drugs. Accident Cases The Ottawa Municipal Court has no jurisdiction over damages caused by auto accidents. Settlement of damages is a matter for civil court to decide, and in order to recover for any damages you will have to file a separate civil suit in another court. Municipal Courts hear only criminal misdemeanor cases involving violation of City Ordinances.