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Municipal Court - FAQ'SOn this page:
Q. Can I pay my ticket with a check or credit card? A. You may pay with cash, check, MasterCard, or Visa. Other credit cards are not accepted. The City does accept credit card payments via telephone, but not by mail. Your ticket may be paid by credit card via telephone only if a plea has been previously entered on the ticket. A. Court clerks are authorized to give a two week continuance from original court date. In order to receive this continuance, you must phone in prior to your court date and request the continuance. Q. I have not paid my ticket and my court date is today? A. If you haven't paid your ticket before your court date, you must come to court. Q. Can I have an attorney represent me? A. In all cases in Municipal Court, you have a right to representation by an attorney. If you have been charged with an offense that may result in jail time as part of the sentence, and you want an attorney but cannot afford one, an attorney will be appointed for you. The Court will only appoint an attorney if you are indigent and there is a possibility you may go to jail. You will be asked to fill out a financial statement regarding your income and expenses and the judge will either approve or disapprove the appointment of counsel. Q. Do I need an attorney to plead not guilty? A. No. The decision to be represented by an attorney is entirely up to you. You have the right to represent yourself in any proceedings this is called Pro Se representation. Q. Can I get my ticket amended? A. The Shawnee Municipal Court has recently put into place a policy for getting traffic tickets that are moving violations amended to parking violations. Previously if you wanted your ticket amended, you had to see the prosecutor personally on your court date. We believe our new policy will provide better service to the residents of our community. Click here for more information about the Amendment Policy. A. Arraignment is that session of court in which you, the defendant, enter a plea to the charge against you. You may enter one of three pleas:
Pleading "guilty" means you admit to committing the act charged, that the act is prohibited by law, and that you had no defense for the act. Before entering a plea of guilty you should know that the City has the burden of proving its case against you. Pleading "no contest" means you do not wish to contest the City's
charge. Upon a plea of no contest, the judge will enter a finding of
guilty and order a fine, jail time or other appropriate sentence. A plea
of no contest is not an admission of fault and can't be used against you
in a civil suit for damages. A. No. You can not have your case tried before a jury in Municipal Court. Q. Can I call my own witnesses? A. You have the right to have the court issue subpoenas for witnesses to ensure their appearance at trial. However, you must furnish names, addresses and telephone numbers of these witnesses to the court as quickly as possible so they can be located and subpoenas served no later than 10 days before the scheduled date of your trial. At the trial, the prosecutor will call witnesses to testify against you. After each prosecution witness testifies, you have a right to cross-examine each witness. After the prosecution has presented its case, you have the right to call any witness on your behalf. |
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City of Shawnee, 5860 Renner Road, Shawnee, KS
66217
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