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Saint Ann adopts ordinance formalizing municipal prosecutor plea arrangements
Summary
The Board approved an ordinance that codifies practices used by the municipal prosecutor to increase flexibility in plea arrangements; the city attorney said the change formalizes existing local practice after consultation with state courts.
The Board of Aldermen on May 5 adopted an ordinance amending chapter 215 of the Saint Ann Municipal Code to establish a new section (2.15.2200) that pertains to miscellaneous health and safety offenses and formalizes plea arrangement practices for the municipal prosecutor.
City staff said the municipal prosecutor requested the ordinance to give prosecutors more flexibility in negotiating pleas and that the change formalizes practices already used in the municipal court after feedback from state courts. "The municipal prosecutor requested that the city adopt this ordinance, which basically gives the prosecutor more flexibility in dealing with, making plea arrangements with defendants and their attorneys," the city attorney said.
Aldermen approved the ordinance without recorded amendment; it became Ordinance No. 3405. The measure was described as a formal codification of existing process rather than a change to substantive penalties. No changes to fines, jail terms or judicial procedures were listed at the meeting.
What happens next: The municipal prosecutor will implement the ordinance as part of court practice; the city will publish the new code section.
