RUSTON MUNICIPAL COURT
LOCAL RULES
Table of Rules
1. Purpose, Scope and Construction
1.1 Adoption
1.2 Title of Rules
1.3 Effect of Local Rules
1.4 Reservation of Discretion
3. Rights of Defendant
3.1 Arraignment Date
4. Procedures Prior to Trial
4.1 Appearance of Defendant
4.2 Continuances
4.3 Pretrial Conference
4.4 Trial Readiness Hearing
6. Procedures at Trial
6.1 Jury Instructions
8. Infractions
8.1 Decision on Written Statements
9. Miscellaneous
9.1 Schedule of Fees
RULE 1.1 ADOPTION
These rules are adopted pursuant to CrRlJ 1.7 and GR 7 and
supersede any and all Local Court Rules heretofore adopted
by the
Ruston Municipal Court.
{ Adopted effective September 1, 2002 }
RULE 1.2 TITLE OF RULES
These rules may be known and cited as Ruston Municipal Court
Local Rules, and shall be referred to as RUMCLR.
{ Adopted effective September 1, 2002 }
RULE 1.3 EFFECT OF LOCAL RULES
The provisions of the Local Rules are supplemental to the
Rules for the Courts of Limited Jurisdiction, as adopted or
hereafter amended by the Supreme Court of the State of Washington, and
shall not be construed in conflict with them.
{ Adopted effective September 1, 2002 }
RULE 1.4 RESERVATION OF DISCRETION
The Ruston Municipal Court reserves the authority to
interpret and/or suspend or modify these rules in individual cases on
motion of a party for good cause or on a motion of the Court
in the interest of justice and/or the efficient operation of the
Court.
{ Adopted effective September 1, 2002 }
RULE 3.1 ARRAIGNMENT DATE
The arresting officer shall set the defendant’s arraignment
date and time when issuing a citation in all cases charging a
criminal offense. The date set shall be the next regularly scheduled
arraignment date, except as provided below.
For citations charging Driving Under the Influence, Driver
Under Twenty-one Consuming Alcohol, Physical Control of Vehicle
under the Influence or Minor Under the Influence, as defined in
R.C.W. 46.61.502, 503 or 504 or any Domestic Violence
offense as defined in R.C.W. 10.99.020 as enacted or hereinafter
amended, the court date shall be the next regularly scheduled court
session.
{ Adopted effective September 1, 2002 }
RULE 4.1 APPEARANCE OF DEFENDANT
Pursuant to CrRLJ 3 and 4, an attorney may enter an
appearance and/or plea of not guilty on behalf of a client in any
criminal or traffic offense, if said appearance or plea is made in
writing or made in open court unless the defendant is charged with
Driving Under the Influence, Driver Under Twenty-one
Consuming Alcohol, Physical Control of Vehicle under the Influence or
Minor Under the Influence, as defined in R.C.W. 46.61.502, 503 and
504 or any Domestic Violence offense as defined in R.C.W.
10.99.020 as enacted or hereinafter amended, in which instances the
defendant must appear personally before the court for
arraignment.
{ Adopted effective September 1, 2002 }
RULE 4.2 CONTINUANCES
(a) All motions for continuance shall be in writing and
must set forth the reason for the requested continuance and the dates
of prior continuances indicating which party requested each.
(b) Requests for Continuance of Jury Trial must be received
by the Court no less than 48 hours prior to jury trial.
Failure to comply with this rule may result in the
imposition of terms relating to the expense incurred by the Court
including, but not limited to, the costs of jury fee payments and
mileage reimbursements.
{ Adopted effective September 1, 2002 }
RULE 4.3 PRETRIAL CONFERENCE
(a) Hearing to be set. In all cases in which a defendant
has entered a plea of not guilty, a pretrial hearing shall be
set. The hearing shall provide an opportunity for plea negotiations,
resolutions of discovery issues, and trial setting. If a plea is not
negotiated, an order shall be entered setting forth the following:
(i) discovery schedule,
(ii) date and nature of pretrial motions,
(iii) date of readiness hearing, if set,
(iv) date of trial and
(v) time for filing witness lists.
(b) Presence Required. The prosecuting attorney, defense
attorney and defendant shall be required to attend the pretrial
hearing. Personal appearance of any of these parties shall not be waived
without prior court approval.
{ Adopted effective September 1, 2002 }
RULE 4.4 TRIAL READINESS HEARING
(a) Readiness Hearing Set. The Court shall, in its
discretion, set trial readiness hearings in criminal cases set for
trial.
(b) Appearance. Appearance by the attorneys and the
defendant is required. Appearance by the attorneys who will be trying
the case is preferred. For good cause, substitute counsel may attend
on behalf of trial counsel so long as counsel is prepared to answer the
inquiries of the court.
(c) Procedure at Hearing. At the trial readiness hearing,
the Judge may inquire as to whether the case is expected to go to trial,
whether the defendant expects to waive his/her right to jury, the number of
witnesses expected to be called, the anticipated length of the trial,
the number and nature of any motions and any other matter necessary to administer the trial
efficiently. Any anticipated problems should be brought to the court’s attention.
(d) Failure to Appear at Hearing. The Court will strike the jury trial and
may issue a bench warrant for a party who fails to appear at
the Readiness Hearing.
{ Adopted effective September 1, 2002 }
RULE 6.1 JURY INSTRUCTIONS
Jury instructions shall be filed with the Court and provided
to the opposing party on the day of trial, unless otherwise
ordered by the Court. Two sets of instructions shall be filed
with the court, one with citations, and one without
citations. The set with citations shall be assembled in
numbered sequence and stapled together. The set without
citations shall be submitted to the court in the
same order as the cited set, and shall be paper clipped
together. One copy of the set with citations shall be
provided to the opposing counsel or party.
{ Adopted effective September 1, 2002 }
RULE 8.1 DECISION ON WRITTEN STATEMENTS
Mitigation and Contested hearings based on written
statements, given under penalty of perjury as provided
for in IRLJ 2.4 (b) (4) and IRLJ 2.6 (c) are authorized.
The procedures authorized by IRLJ 3.5 are adopted by this
court. To be considered, the written statement (s) must be received by
the court pursuant to written instructions provided to the Defendant.
{ Adopted effective February 8, 2002 }
RULE 9.1 SCHEDULE OF FEES
The following shall be the schedule of fees charged for
certain official services provided by the Municipal Court.
These amounts are consistent with R.C.W. 3.62.060.
Duplication of Electronic Records $ 10.00 Per Tape
Paper Copy Expense $ 1.00 1st page
Each Additional Page .15 cents
Certified Copy $ 5.00 document
Postage Actual Cost
Appeals (Preparation & Tapes) $ 40.00
JIS Data dissemination charges will be set in accordance
with the Administrative Office of the Courts.
This rules does not apply to law enforcement agencies,
governmental agencies, or other departments within the Town of Ruston, or criminal
cases involving indigence.
{ Adopted effective September 1, 2002 }
|
