Posted on 02/03/2020 1:41:06 PM PST by kathsua
Kansas municipal courts violate both the state and federal constitutions.
Kansas municipal courts don't have the constitutional authority to legally fine people, take property or place people in jail, but do so anyway. The Kansas Constitution assigns the judicial power to courts under the administrative control of the Kansas Supreme Court. Cities have no authority to operate separate court systems under the control of city governments. Cities can only exercise governmental powers as an agency of the state of Kansas because the U.S. Constitution only allows state and federal government agencies to exercise governmental powers.
Kansas municipal court "judges" are really private contractors who are retained to raise revenue for cities by imposing fines on those accused by the city of violating its ordinances. The "judge" negotiates a contract to perform a service for the city government in exchange for a salary. Allowing the city manager who is the boss of the police department to be the boss of the municipal court judge violates the due process clause of the 14th Amendment because the courts must be independent of law enforcement to insure the opportunity for a fair trial. Using fines and court costs imposed on defendants to fund the court gives the court a vested interest in finding people guilty.
In many cities, the city governing body determines who will get the contract to run the "court" for the city. Some use a more questionable process with the city manager choosing the "judge" along with the prosecutor and police chief. "Judges" who fail to raise sufficient revenue may find themselves replaced by someone who might do a better job. One of the main reasons for making the federal courts separate from the executive branch and providing fair trial guarantees was to prevent misuse of the criminal justice system and insure that only those who actually violated legitimate laws were punished. Defendants can have no expectation of fair treatment when the same body hires and fires both the judge and the police chief.
The use of fines as a revenue source has enough potential for abuse even with independent judges because government may enact laws, including minor traffic laws such as "speed traps", for the primary purpose of raising money rather than to prevent behavior that threatens public safety. The U.S. Constitution made the judiciary a separate branch of government to prevent the executive branch from misusing the criminal justice system to punish political opponents, rather than to allow Supreme Court justices to impose their political views on elected officials. The framers of the Constitution recognized that an independent judiciary was more likely to respect the rights of defendants than take orders from the executive. An official who signs a contract with the executive to handle cases involving violations of local ordinances may have the title of "judge", but does not qualify as the independent arbiter required by the U.S. Constitution to determine whether those accused of violating laws can be punished. An ambitious attorney might be able to put together a class action law suit on behalf of those illegally fined or jailed by the municipal court. False imprisonment cases could be lucrative because the attorney could sue the judge, the city and any county jail that accepts city prisoners.
How can a judge, who is paid by the government, be independent with respect to an issue you may have with the same government?
Now read 12-4104 of the Code of Kansas.
Surely all judges should work for free, right?
Looks like someone got a speeding ticket and is mad about it.
“Class action” is the hobby horse of the legal illiterate. Sounds great right until the point where the buzz saw of judicial immunity gets applied to it.
12-4104. Municipal court; jurisdiction; search warrants proscribed. (a) The municipal court of each city shall have jurisdiction to hear and determine cases involving violations of the ordinances of the city, including concurrent jurisdiction to hear and determine a violation of an ordinance when the elements of such ordinance violation are the same as the elements of a violation of one of the following state statutes and would constitute, and be punished as, a felony if charged in district court:
(1) K.S.A. 8-1567, and amendments thereto, driving under the influence;
(2) K.S.A. 2019 Supp. 21-5414, and amendments thereto, domestic battery;
(3) K.S.A. 2019 Supp. 21-5801, and amendments thereto, theft;
(4) K.S.A. 2019 Supp. 21-5821, and amendments thereto, giving a worthless check; or
(5) subsection (b)(3) of K.S.A. 2019 Supp. 21-5706, and amendments thereto, possession of marijuana.
(b) Search warrants shall not issue out of a municipal court.
History: L. 1973, ch. 61, § 12-4104; L. 2007, ch. 168, § 3; L. 2009, ch. 32, § 20; L. 2010, ch. 74, § 1; L. 2011, ch. 30, § 101; July 1.
Source or Prior Law:
13-602, 13-628m, 14-801, 15-503.
Good luck with that. Declare yourself a citizen of the world and quit paying income taxes......you should be fine
the same way 4 senators who run for president can vote to remove their opponent from office.
Compounding the original offense with criminal dumbnitude.
“the U.S. Constitution only allows state and federal government agencies to exercise governmental powers. “
The U.S Constitution does not “allow” state governmental agencies to exercise governmental powers. You’ve got the whole “Who is giving power to Whom” thing bass ackwards.
The original sovereignty resides in the individual States. By agreement, as embodied in the Constitution, the States yielded limited, enumerated, powers to the Federal government. The States retain all power not granted by the Constitution to the Federal government. Granted the Feds have aggrandized their powers, to the point where their “limited” and “enumerated” power have gotten quite expansive, but that does not change the way powers flow - from the States to the Feds.
This is a rather fundamental point.
It’s likely better to not slip ads and use the ads for bathroom breaks when going for the YouTube law degree. You might come to realize how full of bovine excrement these legal advice channels are. Stop speeding.
In this country, local government is often most responsive to the individual citizen. If you live in a town with 1,000 voters, you have more say in what happens in that city, than you do in a county with 100,000 voters, a State with 1,000,000 voters, or a nation with 100,000,000 voters. And for citizens that don't like their local government, it's relatively easy for many to 'vote with their feet' - something that can become nearly impossible at the national level...
The janitor needs to flush.
I am not familiar with Kansas law, but sounds to me like the municipal courts are similar to magistrates here in PA who exist to keep the real courts from being bogged down with every minor issue. The magistrate can rule, but everything they rule can be appealed to “real” court if either party desires.
They shouldn’t be paid by the same people that I am contesting.
This is a rather fundamental point. <<
EXACTLY!
(but tell that to the Judge..../s..)
If one would research a bit more they might find that all state /city employees are private contractors (think police, sheriffs, State Patrol) same same. “
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