Your Rights in Court

You have the following rights in this court:

• The right to be fully advised of the nature of the charges against you.
• The right to be represented by an attorney.
• If you are indigent and cannot afford an attorney, you may be able to have an attorney appointed to represent you.
• The right to a trial or a trial by jury of 12 people and all 12 jurors would have to find you guilty before you would be found guilty.
• The right to confront and cross-examine (ask questions) of witnesses who appear to testify against you at a trial.
• The right to bring witnesses to testify on your behalf at a trial.
• The right to subpoena witnesses (to order them to appear at trial) to testify on your behalf.
• The right to remain silent at trial, not be forced to testify if you did not want to testify and your silence could not be used against you.
• At trial you would be presumed innocent and the City would have to prove that you are guilty beyond a reasonable doubt at your trial.
• If you have a trial and found guilty, you have the right to appeal that decision to the Associate Circuit Court in St. Louis County and could have a new trial.
• If you plead guilty or found guilty, you may present evidence of your financial situation for the Court to consider in determining your ability to pay fines and/or court costs and to establish payment requirements.

If you plead guilty you give up all the rights listed above. If you have any questions about these procedures be sure to ask them prior to the beginning of the trial.