Municipal Court

 

505 South Main Street

Lamar, CO 81052

Phone: 719.336.1368 Fax: 719.336.5501

Business Hours Monday – Friday

8 a.m. to 5 p.m.

 

E-mail:  muni.court@ci.lamar.co.us

 

Our mission is to administer equitable, fair and impartial justice in a timely and courteous manner; protect fundamental rights; promote public safety; and facilitate community professionalism.

 

The municipal court has authority over violations of the Lamar Municipal Code.  Some charges require an appearance in court, while others may be resolved by simply mailing in fine.  City ordinances, court rules and state statues govern court proceedings.  Court employees are not allowed to give legal advice, but are happy to answer procedural questions. 

 

Information on this site applies only to Lamar Municipal Court.  All summonses are written by Lamar Police Officers and are written into Lamar Municipal Court as well as Prowers County Court.

 

Please check your summons for:

 

·         the appropriate court

·         the date & time you are to appear in court

 

The Municipal Court is not a court of record.  The Lamar Municipal Court hears misdemeanor and traffic offenses of alleged violations of city ordinances.

Criminal Court

 

Initial appearances before the court on violations of city criminal ordinances are held on Thursday’s @ 1:30 p.m.   If you are under 18 years of age, your parent or guardian must appear in court with you.  Any violation that is not a traffic violation is considered to be a criminal violation.  There are some traffic violations that carry criminal penalties, which will be handled in accordance with the criminal court process.  These charges include but are not limited to No Proof of Insurance, Speed Contest, Reckless Driving, Careless Driving, and Speeding 25 mph or more; note all No proof of insurance citations are written into Prowers County Court.

 

Police officers schedule a specific appearance date and time when a criminal summons is written.  This date and time is written on summons.

 

Some violations are payable violations that do not require a court appearance.   If the violation you have been cited for is payable, the summons will indicate so.  In such cases, payment must be received prior to the appearance date.

 

If you decide not to pay the summons and cannot appear in court on the date specified, you may call the court at 719.336.1368 before the first appearance date to reschedule a new appearance date.  We can only extend the hearing for up to two weeks.

 

The summons contains the date and location of the violation, followed by the section code that you have been charged with violating.  If you want to read that law ordinance, you may review the Lamar Municipal Code.

 

At the beginning of the first appearance session, the judge will advise you of your constitutional rights. This information outlines each person’s rights in this court.  The judge will then call each case on the docket.  You will be asked to enter a plea of “not guilty” or “guilty,” or with the consent of court, “no contest,” you may explain to the judge what happened.   The judge may or may not accept the plea.  The judge may or may not impose a sentence at the initial appearance.  You may plea “not guilty” and:

 

·         Set the case for trial to court.  Witnesses will need to appear at the scheduled trial or in certain limited circumstances, or you may:

 

You have the right to have witnesses subpoenaed to testify at trial on your behalf.  Please provide the court with the number of subpoenas you will need at least three weeks prior to the trial date.  You may obtain subpoena forms from the court clerk or request that they are mailed to you.  On the subpoena forms you receive will be instructions on completing the subpoena forms and having them served.  Correct names and correct addresses will ensure that whoever you choose to serve them will be able to successfully serve the subpoenas in sufficient time.  If a witness is not placed under subpoena and does not appear in court at the time of trial, a judge is not likely to grant a continuance for that person to be properly subpoenaed.

 

Judges

 

Larry E. Stutler, Presiding Judge

 

Judge is a licensed attorney at law.  The municipal judge is appointed by City Council and serves as the presiding judge.  He also presides as Prowers County Judge. 

 

You can talk to judge about the case only if all other people involved are present.  You may not speak to judge personally.  If you want to discuss an issue with the judge you must put in writing and file it with the court. 

 

 

Payments

 

Payment of all fines, costs, fees and restitution is due and payable in full immediately upon plea of guilty or finding of guilty.

 

The court receives payments for both traffic and criminal summonses and complaints, parking summonses, jury fees, court and warrant costs, and for restitution.  Information regarding payment options is printed on the back of the summons or parking summons.

 

A traffic or criminal summons may be resolved by a written plea of guilty and /or payment by mail if the officer has marked a payable amount on the front of the summons form.  The court must receive all payments made before the court date indicated on the summons.  If there is no payment amount indicated, the summons is not payable and a court appearance is required. 

 

By paying the fine instead of appearing in court, you give up all legal rights to which you are entitled.  Payment is a plea of guilty to the offense(s) charged.  The Division of Motor Vehicle may assess penalty points against your driving record.  If you do not wish to plead guilty, you should appear on your court date. 

 

Court costs of $20 are applied to all payments made on or after the court date.  Additional costs or fees may be assessed if the bank returns a check, or if you fail to appear in court.  Failure to appear in court may result in a warrant and you could be taken into custody at any time.  An outstanding warrant may result in the cancellation of your Colorado Driver’s License.

 

Payments by Mail:  Mail your copy of the citation along with the payment on the address on the back of the citation.  All payments can be mailed to: 505 South Main Lamar, CO 81052 payable to: Lamar Municipal Court.  By paying the penalty assessment you acknowledge guilt or liability and waive your rights.  To ensure proper credit, write your citation number on your check or money order.  Please keep a copy for your records.  DO NOT SEND CASH.

 

Payments by Credit Card: Call 719.336.1368 between 8 a.m. – 5 p.m. Monday – Friday (except holidays).

 

Payment in Person: You can make a payment in person by coming to the City Complex Building, Lamar Police Department at 505 S. Main Street, Lamar, CO 81052.

 

 

Traffic Court

 

Traffic summons (municipal summons and complaint) are issued by a Lamar police officer.  The copy the officer provides you with should contain the court address and the appearance date and time.  If that address reads LAMAR MUNICIPAL COURT AT: 505 SOUTH MAIN, SECOND FLOOR your summons is written into this court.   There are some traffic violations that carry criminal penalties that will be handled in accordance with the criminal court process.  These charges include but are not limited to No Proof of Insurance, Speed Contest, Reckless Driving, Careless Driving, and Speeding 25 mph or more.   Refer to criminal court information.

 

Initial appearances before the court on a traffic violation are held Thursday afternoon at 1:30 p. m. The order of the docket is called in the following sequence first traffic violations, followed with ordinance violations with juvenile violations being last. 

 

If you want to read the law, you may review the Lamar Municipal Code.  Traffic violations referenced by the Model Traffic Code, are not available through this source, but may be viewed at the Lamar Municipal Court office at 505 South Main, Lamar CO 81052. 

 

For your convenience, many municipal summons are payable in advance and if paid, do not require a court appearance.  The summons indicates whether you can pay by mail or must appear.  You may choose to either appear in court on the date specified, or pay the amount indicated before the appearance date.  If you are under 18 years of age, your parent or guardian must also sign Advisement Regarding a Penalty Assessment / Summons and Complaint form given to you at the time your summons is written.  If you choose to appear in court a parent or guardian must accompany you.  

 

Payments are considered a guilty plea and notice will be sent to the Colorado Department of Motor Vehicle on traffic offenses.  Penalty points may be assessed against your driver’s license.  If your driver’s license has been issued by another state and that state has a reciprocal agreement with Colorado, they will receive the penalty points.  Accrual of too many penalty points results in the loss of your license.

 

Payments by mail must be check or money order.  Payment in person may be by cash, check, money order, VISA, and MasterCard.  Send mail payments to:

 

Lamar Municipal Court

505 South Main

Lamar, CO 81052

 

Please write your summons number on your check or money order and make a copy for your records. 

 

If you MUST appear in court, or if you choose to appear in court:

 

·          The first time you appear in court, you will be advised of your constitutional rights.

·         Then once you’ve been advised, judge will ask you how you would like to plea.

·         If you want to exercise your right to have a trial the judge will schedule a trial date for you to return, with any subpoenaed witnesses.   The City Attorney and issuing officer will also be subpoenaed.

If you decide not to pay the summons and cannot appear in court on the date specified, you may call the court at 719.336.1368 before the first appearance date to reschedule a new appearance date.   We can extend this appearance by only 2 weeks.

 

Failure to either timely pay a traffic summons in full or appear in court when scheduled will result in the issuance of a default on your driving privilege or cancellation of your driver’s license by the Colorado Division of Motor Vehicle.

 

 

 

Warrants

 

Bench warrants are court orders to the police to arrest someone and place them in custody.  Municipal court warrants are issued for failure to appear in court at a scheduled court date as promised in writing, or for failure to comply with other orders of the court.  The judge issuing the warrant will set a dollar amount of bail.  In addition to the bail amount set by the judge, a $35 warrant fee will be imposed by court order on each warrant issued.  People must post a bond in the amount of the bail to secure their release from custody. 

 

To resolve a warrant you should appear at the municipal court at 505 South Main in Lamar, CO 81052 on the date your release papers from the jail state. 

 

A bond must be posted on a bench warrant to secure release from custody.  You may post bond:

 

•       By posting the full amount in cash, either by the defendant or by another person (this amount may be applied against any future fine imposed by the court or retuned in full if all subsequent court appearances and obligations are met).

 

 

Colorado law requires the Division of Motor Vehicle to cancel your driver’s license when a bench warrant is issued for your failure to appear or comply with conditions of a traffic summons.   To reinstate your driver’s license, the law imposes a $30 fee in addition any other warrant fees and costs that might apply.  If you are licensed to drive in another state, the Colorado Division of Motor Vehicle will initiate license revocation proceedings in that state.