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Ryan Reilly Ferguson arrest jurisdiction filing

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    IN THE MISSOURI COURT OF APPEALS

    EASTERN DISTRICT

    STATE OF MISSOURI, ex rel. )

    RYAN REILLY )

    )Relator, )

    )

    v. ) No. _______________  

    )

    HON. CRAIG CONCANNON, )

    JUDGE OF THE MUNICIPAL COURT OF )

    ST. LOUIS COUNTY, 21ST JUDICIAL CIRCUIT, ) From the Municipal Court

    ) of Saint Louis County

    Respondent. ) No. 15247691

    PETITION FOR A WRIT OF PROHIBITION OR,

    ALTERNATIVELY, MANDAMUS

    COMES NOW Relator Ryan Reilly, pursuant to MO. SUP. CT. R.  84.24, 94, and 97,

    and requests that this Court issue a Writ of Prohibition or, Alternatively, Mandamus

    ordering Respondent to dismiss county ordinance violation charges brought against him

    in St. Louis County Municipal Court in connection with his work as a reporter for The

     Huffington Post  covering the unrest in Ferguson following the shooting death of Michael

    Brown. Mr. Reilly has been charged with violating St. Louis County ordinances that

     prohibit trespassing and interfering with an officer in unincorporated portions of St. Louis

    County. These ordinances have no application within the City of Ferguson, which is the

    incorporated municipality where the alleged conduct giving rise to Mr. Reilly’s arrest

    occurred. The County’s prosecution of Mr. Reilly violates restrictions on the powers of

    county government embodied in the Missouri Constitution, basic due process rights

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    guaranteed by the Missouri and United States Constitutions, and the County’s own

    charter and ordinances.

    The County concedes that it has no legislative authority to extend the ordinances

    at issue to conduct that is alleged to have occurred in the City of Ferguson. Nonetheless,

    the County argues that the St. Louis County Municipal Court may exercise jurisdiction

    over alleged county ordinance violations based on conduct that occurred outside of its

     jurisdiction. The County’s attempt to assert extra-jurisdictional powers to prosecute Mr.

    Reilly for conduct relating to his work as a reporter is lawless and unprecedented. The

    County is prosecuting Mr. Reilly for conduct that it acknowledges occurred entirely

    within the geographic borders of the City of Ferguson. In order to justify this

    unconstitutional jurisdictional overreach, the County asserts it is acting pursuant to

    “emergency powers.” As discussed below and in Mr. Reilly’s Suggestions in Support of

    His Petition for a Writ of Prohibition or, Alternatively, Mandamus, filed herewith, the

    County’s manufactured “emergency powers” justification has no basis in law or fact.

    I. Statement of the Facts

    (1)   Ryan Reilly was arrested in a McDonald’s restaurant in the City of

    Ferguson on August 13, 2014 while performing duties as a news reporter for The

     Huffington Post   covering the unrest following the shooting death of Michael Brown.

    These were events of national and international interest and raised important issues

    regarding the manner in which the government interacts with its citizens in a democracy.

    (2)   Following his arrest, Mr. Reilly was transported to the Ferguson Jail, along

    with Wesley Lowery of The Washington Post , another reporter who was arrested at the

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    trespassing and interference ordinances to unincorporated areas of St. Louis County. Mr.

    Reilly’s motion further argued that the County exceeded its authority under the Missouri

    Constitution, which restricts a county’s power to regulate conduct in incorporated

    municipalities. Because the county ordinances that Mr. Reilly is charged with violating

    have no application to alleged conduct that occurs within incorporated municipalities,

    including the City of Ferguson, St. Louis County Municipal Court has no jurisdiction in

    the present case.

    (7)   On November 18, 2015, the County filed its response to Mr. Reilly’s

    motion to dismiss. The County conceded that it did not have legislative authority to

    charge Mr. Reilly for alleged St. Louis County ordinance violations that are based on

    conduct that occurred in the City of Ferguson. The County, however, contends that its

    lack of any legislative authority to charge Mr. Reilly is “irrelevant.” Ex. 3, St. Louis

    County’s Mem. in Opp. to Def’s Mot. to Dismiss, at 3. The County argues that it has

    “emergency powers” that give the County Counselor the authority to charge individuals

    with St. Louis County ordinance violations even when the St. Louis County Municipal

    Court has no jurisdiction. Id.

    (8)   On November 23, 2015, Mr. Reilly filed his reply in support of his motion

    to dismiss. Mr. Reilly’s reply argued that the County’s attempt to rely on “emergency

     powers” to cloak the County Counselor with the power to prosecute Mr. Reilly in St.

    Louis County Municipal Court should be rejected. The County Counselor has no

    authority to confer jurisdiction upon the St. Louis County Municipal Court. Ex. 4, Reply

    in Supp. of Ryan Reilly’s Mot. to Dismiss for Lack of Jurisdiction.

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    (9)   Respondent heard oral argument on Mr. Reilly’s motion on November 23,

    2015.

    (10)   In an order dated January 11, 2016, and received by mail by Mr. Reilly’s

    counsel on January 19, 2016, Respondent denied Mr. Reilly’s Motion to Dismiss. The

    order stated only that the motion to dismiss was denied “for the reasons outlined in St.

    Louis County’s Memorandum in Opposition to Defendant’s Motion to Dismiss.” Ex. 5,

    January 11, 2016 Order.

    (11)   This matter is not currently set for trial, but Mr. Reilly has filed his jury

    trial demand and intends to seek a speedy trial. Ex. 6, Demand for Jury Trial.

    II. Relief Sought

    (12)   Mr. Reilly seeks an order: (1) directing Respondent to vacate the January

    11, 2016 Order denying his Motion to Dismiss for Lack of Jurisdiction; (2) directing

    Respondent to dismiss the charges against Mr. Reilly; and (3) barring Respondent from

    taking any further action in this case.

    III. Reasons Why the Writ Should Issue

    (13)   The Court should issue a remedial writ because Respondent has abused his

    discretion and acted in clear excess of his jurisdiction by allowing the County to proceed

    with an unconstitutional and extra-jurisdictional prosecution of a news reporter who was

    exercising First Amendment rights that are at the very core of our democracy. “Where,

    as here, the court is wholly wanting in jurisdiction to proceed in the case, appeal is not an

    adequate remedy because any action by the court is without authority and causes

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    unwarranted expense and delay to the parties involved.” State ex rel. T.J.H. v. Bills, 504

    S.W.2d 76, 79 (Mo. Banc 1974).

    (14)   The trespassing ordinance Mr. Reilly is charged with violating, § 716.150,

    appears within a chapter of the St. Louis County municipal code that explicitly states:

    “[t]he provisions of sections 716.040 through 716.180 shall apply to the area of St. Louis

    County outside incorporated cities, towns, and villages.” Ex. 7, Excerpt of Chapter 716

    of the Revised Ordinances of St. Louis County, § 716.020 (“Scope”) (emphasis added);

    id., § 716.150. There is no dispute that County’s charges are based on conduct alleged to

    have occurred in the incorporated City of Ferguson, an area where the trespassing

    ordinance does not apply.

    (15)   The interference with an officer ordinance, § 710.110, does not contain a

     provision specifically addressing its geographic scope because it was enacted at a time

    when it was unconstitutional for the County to legislate within incorporated

    municipalities. The County’s interference with an officer ordinance was enacted on

     November 4, 1968, at which time Article VI, § 18(c) of the Missouri Constitution

    explicitly limited the County’s legislative power to “the part of the county outside

    incorporated cities.” Ex. 8, Excerpt of Chapter 710 of the Revised Ordinances of St.

    Louis County, § 710.110 (emphasis added); Ex. 9, MO. CONST.  art. VI, § 18(c) (pre-1970

    amendment version). Because the County had no authority to enact legislation applicable

    to incorporated municipalities when § 701.110 was enacted, the application of that

     provision is necessarily limited to unincorporated areas.

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    Municipal Court with the authority to proceed with an extra-jurisdictional prosecution.

    R.S.Mo. § 44.090.

    (18)   The implication of the County’s emergency powers argument is that the

    County Counselor, through the unilateral exercise of “emergency powers,” has the

    authority to expand and constrict a court’s jurisdiction. This attempted distortion of

    Missouri judicial authority in favor of expansive County Counselor powers should be

    rejected.

    (19)   The County’s unconstitutional prosecution of Mr. Reilly has broader

    implications than the present case because Mr. Reilly was only one of a number of

    citizens against whom St. Louis County filed unconstitutional charges in August 2015 for

    alleged conduct occurring within the incorporated City of Ferguson in August 2014.

    Undersigned counsel represent two other such individuals, Wesley Lowery and Matthew

    Giles. Mr. Lowery has contemporaneously filed a Petition for a Writ of Prohibition or,

    Alternatively, Mandamus based on Respondent’s denial of his own motion to dismiss.

    A. Writ of Prohibition

    (20)   A writ of prohibition “will lie where there is a usurpation of power because

    the trial court lacks either personal or subject matter jurisdiction” or “to remedy a clear

    excess of jurisdiction or abuse of discretion such that the lower court lacks the power to

    act as contemplated.” State ex rel. Chassaing v. Mummert, 887 S.W.2d 573, 577 (Mo.

    1994); see also State ex rel. St. Charles Cty. v. Cunningham, 401 S.W. 3d 493, 495 (Mo.

    2013), as modified (Apr. 30, 2013). In addition, the Missouri Supreme Court “has

    repeatedly held that ‘prohibition may be appropriate to prevent unnecessary,

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    inconvenient, and expensive litigation.’” State ex rel. Coca-Cola Co. v. Nixon, 249

    S.W.3d 855, 860 (Mo. banc 2008) (citation omitted).

    (21)   A writ of prohibition is appropriate because Respondent’s denial of Mr.

    Reilly’s motion to dismiss was an abuse of discretion in excess of Respondent’s

     jurisdiction. “When a court lacks subject matter jurisdiction, it cannot take any other

    action besides its inherent power to dismiss.” Bacon v. Dir. of Revenue, State of Mo.,

    948 S.W.2d 266, 267 (Mo. Ct. App. 1997); see also Mo. Sup. Ct. R. 37.51 (“Lack of

     jurisdiction or the failure of the information to charge an ordinance violation shall be

    noticed by the court at any time during the pendency of the proceeding.”).

    (22)   The St. Louis County Municipal Court does not have jurisdiction to hear

    county ordinance violation charges based on conduct alleged to have occurred within the

    incorporated City of Ferguson. The jurisdiction of the St. Louis County Municipal Court

    is limited to “violations of [St. Louis County] ordinances.” See R.S.Mo. § 66.010.1

    (“Any county municipal court established pursuant to the provisions of this section shall

    have jurisdiction over violations of that county’s ordinances . . . .”). The County

    ordinances at issue apply only within unincorporated areas of St. Louis County, and

    therefore the information filed against Mr. Reilly fails to state a violation of a county

    ordinance.

    (23)   A writ of prohibition is also required to prevent unnecessary, inconvenient,

    and expensive litigation. This case has been pending for seven months. Mr. Reilly filed

    his jury trial demand five months ago and has been told that any trial date remains at least

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    several months away. He will then be subjected to a jury trial in which he will face up to

    one year in jail on unconstitutional charges in a court that has no jurisdiction.

    (24)   Prohibition is also appropriate to remedy violations of Mr. Reilly’s due

     process rights under the Missouri and United States Constitutions. “‘Elementary notions

    of fairness enshrined in our constitutional jurisprudence dictate that a person receive fair

    notice . . . of the conduct that will subject him to punishment . . . .’” City of St. Peters v.

    Roeder, 466 S.W.3d 538, 548 (Mo. 2015), quoting BMW of N. Am., Inc. v. Gore, 517

    U.S. 559, 574 (1996). Mr. Reilly could not have possibly had fair notice that any alleged

    conduct within the City of Ferguson would subject him to punishment under St. Louis

    County Ordinances, as the County itself admits the ordinances (absent the County

    Counselor’s self-proclaimed “emergency powers”) do not apply within incorporated

    municipalities. Allowing a prosecutor – and court – to selectively determine that an

    ordinance has application in a geographic area where it does not is a violation of the fair

    notice required by the due process clause of the Missouri and United States Constitutions.

    (25)   In addition, because the County took the unprecedented step of filing

    charges against Mr. Reilly in St. Louis County Municipal Court, Mr. Reilly faces greater

     penalties and has fewer due process rights than he would have in state court, where

    charges in connection with arrests by county officers within incorporated municipalities

    should be filed. The County’s trespassing ordinance charge against Mr. Reilly is

     punishable by up to one year imprisonment while the comparable charge under state law

    is punishable by up to six months imprisonment. Compare Ex. 7, § 716.180 (providing

     penalties for violation of § 716.150) with R.S.Mo. § 569.140.2 (trespass in the first

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    degree); R.S.Mo. § 558.011.1 (sentence of imprisonment, terms). Even more

    significantly, there is no charge under state law that criminalizes the same conduct as the

    county’s overbroad interference with an officer ordinance, which makes it unlawful to

    “interfere in any manner with a police officer . . . or to obstruct him in any manner

    whatsoever while performing any duty.”1  Ex. 8, § 701.110. Mr. Reilly has also been

    refused basic discovery, such as depositions of the officers who arrested him, that he

    would be entitled to in state court. Mo. Sup. Ct. R. 25.12; State v. Scott, 647 S.W.2d

    601, 606 (Mo. App. W.D. 1983) (“Rights of discovery provided criminal defendants by

    Rule 25 have constitutional underpinning rooted in due process.”).

    B. Writ of Mandamus

    (26)   A writ of mandamus is appropriate “where a court has exceeded its

     jurisdiction or authority and there is no remedy through appeal.” State ex rel. Poucher v.

    Vincent, 258 S.W.3d 62, 64 (Mo. Banc 2008) (internal quotation omitted).

    (27)   For the reasons stated above, the St. Louis County Municipal Court has

    clearly exceeded its jurisdiction. As the County concedes, its county ordinances do not

    reach conduct that is alleged to have occurred within incorporated municipalities.

    (28)   In addition, as stated above, appeal is not an adequate remedy where, as

    here, the municipal court wholly lacks jurisdiction. In addition, Mr. Reilly is being

    1 At the same time Mr. Reilly filed his jurisdictional motion, he filed a motion to dismiss

    the interference charge because the County’s interference ordinance is unconstitutionally

    vague and overbroad. That motion remains pending.

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    subjected to protracted and expensive litigation on charges that violate basic principles of

    due process and could result in one-year of imprisonment.

    WHEREFORE, Mr. Reilly prays that this Court issue its preliminary order in

     prohibition, or, alternatively, mandamus; grant an immediate stay of all proceedings in

    this action for so long as this writ proceeding is pending; and, ultimately, that the Court

    issue a permanent writ directing Respondent to vacate the January 11, 2016 Order

    denying Mr. Reilly’s Motion to Dismiss and to dismiss the charges against Mr. Reilly,

    and barring Respondent from taking any further action in this case; and grant such other

    relief as the Court deems just and proper.

    March 24, 2016 Respectfully submitted,

    DOWD BENNETT LLP

      By: /s/ Gabriel E. Gore

    Edward L. Dowd, Jr., MO #28785

    Gabriel E. Gore, MO #45416

    Lisa S. Hoppenjans, MO #63890

    7733 Forsyth Blvd., Suite 1900

    St. Louis, Missouri 63105

    (314) 889-7300 (telephone)

    (314) 863-2111 (facsimile)

    [email protected]

    [email protected]

    [email protected]

    Counsel for Defendant Ryan Reilly

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    IN THE MISSOURI COURT OF APPEALS

    EASTERN DISTRICT

    STATE OF MISSOURI, ex rel. )

    RYAN REILLY )

    )Relator, )

    )

    v. ) No. _______________  

    )

    HON. CRAIG CONCANNON, )

    JUDGE OF THE MUNICIPAL COURT OF )

    ST. LOUIS COUNTY, 21ST JUDICIAL CIRCUIT, ) From the Municipal Court

    ) of Saint Louis County

    Respondent. ) No. 15247691

    RELATOR’S SUGGESTIONS IN SUPPORT OF HIS PETITION FOR

    A WRIT OF PROHIBITION OR, ALTERNATIVELY, MANDAMUS

    Relator, Ryan Reilly, a reporter for The Huffington Post,  seeks relief from St.

    Louis County’s unconstitutional and lawless prosecution of him based on conduct alleged

    to have occurred in the City of Ferguson in August 2014, while Mr. Reilly was covering

     protests related to the death of Michael Brown. Mr. Reilly seeks a Writ of Prohibition or,

    alternatively, a Writ of Mandamus from this Court pursuant to Mo. R. Civ. P. 94 and 97

    to require Respondent, the Honorable Craig Concannon, to dismiss the charges filed

    against Mr. Reilly in St. Louis County Municipal Court.

    These charges should be dismissed because the St. Louis County Municipal Court

    has no jurisdiction over county ordinance charges that are based on conduct that is

    alleged to have occurred in the City of Ferguson, and the information fails to state an

    ordinance violation. The County’s information charges Mr. Reilly with violating county

    ordinances that prohibit trespassing and interference with an officer in unincorporated

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    areas of St. Louis County. These two ordinances have no application to conduct alleged

    to have occurred within the City of Ferguson, which is an incorporated municipality. The

    trespassing ordinance states in unambiguous language that it does not apply within

    incorporated municipalities, and the interference with an officer ordinance was enacted at

    a time when the Missouri Constitution did not permit a county to enact ordinances that

    applied within incorporated municipalities.

    The County admits that the trespassing and interference with an officer ordinances

    that it has charged Mr. Reilly with violating have no application within the City of

    Ferguson. The County also concedes that it lacks the legislative authority to enact a

    trespassing or interference with an officer ordinance that would apply within the City of

    Ferguson. The County, however, argues that the St. Louis County Municipal Court may

    exercise jurisdiction over alleged county ordinance violations based on conduct that

    occurred outside of its jurisdiction under purported “emergency powers.” The County’s

    unprecedented assertion of “emergency powers” to expand the municipal court’s

     jurisdiction in furtherance of its misguided pursuit to prosecute Mr. Reilly has no basis in

    law. It also contravenes the St. Louis County Charter and ordinances, the Missouri

    Constitution’s restrictions on counties’ powers to regulate conduct within incorporated

    municipalities, and basic principles of due process.

    Respondent’s denial of Mr. Reilly’s Motion to Dismiss for Lack of Jurisdiction

    subjects Mr. Reilly to potential imprisonment on unconstitutional and lawless charges

     pending in a court without jurisdiction and violates his fundamental due process rights

    that are guaranteed by the Missouri and United States Constitutions. Mr. Reilly

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    respectfully submits that Respondent’s failure to dismiss the County’s ordinance

    violation charges is an exercise of extra-jurisdictional power that should be corrected

    through an extraordinary writ.

    FACTUAL AND PROCEDURAL BACKGROUND

    Relator, Ryan Reilly, is a reporter for The Huffington Post   who was in Ferguson,

    Missouri on August 13, 2014, to cover the protests following the shooting death of

    Michael Brown. Mr. Reilly was engaged in constitutionally protected newsgathering

    activities when he was arrested by St. Louis County and Ferguson police officers in a

    McDonald’s restaurant at 9131 West Florissant Avenue, in the City of Ferguson. Mr.

    Reilly and another reporter arrested in the restaurant, Wesley Lowery of The Washington

     Post ,1 were turned over to the custody of the Ferguson Police Department and transported

    to the Ferguson jail. Shortly thereafter, the Ferguson Chief of Police, Thomas Jackson,

    ordered that Mr. Reilly and Mr. Lowery be released without charges. The next day, both

    President Obama and then-Attorney General Eric Holder commented on the serious

    constitutional issues raised by the reporters’ arrests. The City of Ferguson never filed

    any charges against Mr. Reilly.

     Nearly one year later, on August 5, 2015, St. Louis County filed an information

    against Mr.Reilly, charging him with one count of trespassing in violation of St. Louis

    County Revised Ordinance No. 8216, § 716.150, and one count of interfering with an

    1  Mr. Lowery has contemporaneously filed a Petition for a Writ of Prohibition or,

    Alternatively, Mandamus on the same grounds as those asserted in Mr. Reilly’s petition.

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    officer in performance of his duty in violation of St. Louis County Revised Ordinance

     No. 4866, § 701.110. Ex. 1, Information.

    On October 12, 2015, Mr. Reilly filed his motion to dismiss on the basis that the

    ordinances at issue have no application to conduct occurring within incorporated

    municipalities, such as the City of Ferguson. Ex. 2, Motion to Dismiss. Mr. Reilly’s

    motion argued that because the ordinances that Mr. Reilly was charged with violating do

    not apply to conduct alleged to have occurred in the City of Ferguson, the St. Louis

    County Municipal Court lacked jurisdiction and the County’s information failed to state

    an ordinance violation. The motion explained that application of county ordinances to

    incorporated areas violated the Missouri Constitution, which restricts the manner in

    which a county may exercise power within an incorporated municipality. Id.

    On November 18, 2015, the County filed its response. Ex. 3, St. Louis County’s

    Mem. in Opp. to Def’s Mot. to Dismiss. The County conceded that the trespassing and

    interference with an officer ordinances do not apply within incorporated municipalities.

    It also conceded that St. Louis County’s charter limited the County’s legislative power to

    enforce its trespassing and interference with an officer ordinances to unincorporated areas

    of the county. Id. at 3. The County instead argued that its purported “emergency

     powers” justified its unprecedented jurisdictional overreach. Id. at 6. The County claims

    that it can award itself jurisdiction over non-offenses wherever it chooses to do so.

    Mr. Reilly filed his reply on November 23, 2015. Ex. 4, Reply in Supp. of Ryan

    Reilly’s Mot. to Dismiss for Lack of Jurisdiction. The reply reasoned that the legal

    authority the County relied on to support its “emergency powers” argument does not

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     provide the County Counselor or the St. Louis County Municipal Court with the power to

    alter the terms of the County’s ordinances or pursue an extra-jurisdictional prosecution.

    The reply further explained that the County’s “emergency powers” argument fails

     because there was no declared state of emergency in Ferguson when Mr. Reilly was

    arrested on August 13, 2014, and there was no continuing emergency when Mr. Reilly

    was charged nearly one year later. Even if there had been a declared state of emergency,

    the County cannot simply declare new criminal offenses without notice.

    Respondent heard oral argument on Mr. Reilly’s motion on November 23, 2015.

    In an order dated January 11, 2016, and received by mail by Mr. Reilly’s counsel on

    January 19, 2016, Respondent denied Mr. Reilly’s Motion to Dismiss for Lack of

    Jurisdiction “for the reasons outlined in St. Louis County’s Memorandum in Opposition

    to Defendant’s Motion to Dismiss.” Ex. 5, January 11, 2016 Order.

    STANDARD OF REVIEW

    The standard of review for writs of prohibition and mandamus is abuse of

    discretion. State ex rel. Collector of Winchester v. Jamison, 357 S.W.3d 589, 592 (Mo.

     banc 2012). An extraordinary writ is appropriate “to prevent an abuse of judicial

    discretion, to avoid irreparable harm to a party, or to prevent the exercise of extra-

     jurisdictional power.” State ex rel. Union Elec. Co. v. Dolan, 256 S.W.3d 77, 81 (Mo.

     banc 2008). “Where, as here, the court is wholly wanting in jurisdiction to proceed in the

    case, appeal is not an adequate remedy because any action by the court is without

    authority and causes unwarranted expense and delay to the parties involved.” State ex

    rel. T.J.H. v. Bills, 504 S.W.2d 76, 79 (Mo. Banc 1974).

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    A writ of prohibition “will lie where there is a usurpation of power because the

    trial court lacks either personal or subject matter jurisdiction” or “to remedy a clear

    excess of jurisdiction or abuse of discretion such that the lower court lacks the power to

    act as contemplated.” State ex rel. Chassaing v. Mummert, 887 S.W.2d 573, 577 (Mo.

    1994); see also State ex rel. St. Charles Cty. v. Cunningham, 401 S.W. 3d 493, 495 (Mo.

    2013), as modified (Apr. 30, 2013). In addition, the Missouri Supreme Court “has

    repeatedly held that ‘prohibition may be appropriate to prevent unnecessary,

    inconvenient, and expensive litigation.’” State ex rel. Coca-Cola Co. v. Nixon, 249

    S.W.3d 855, 860 (Mo. banc 2008) (citation omitted). A writ of mandamus is appropriate

    “where a court has exceeded its jurisdiction or authority and there is no remedy through

    appeal.” State ex rel. Poucher v. Vincent, 258 S.W.3d 62, 64 (Mo. Banc 2008) (internal

    quotation omitted).

    “When a court lacks subject matter jurisdiction, it cannot take any other action

     besides its inherent power to dismiss.” Bacon v. Dir. of Revenue, State of Mo., 948

    S.W.2d 266, 267 (Mo. Ct. App. 1997). “Lack of jurisdiction or the failure of the

    information to charge an ordinance violation shall be noticed by the court at any time

    during the pendency of the proceeding.” Mo. Sup. Ct. R. 37.51; see also R.S.Mo. §

    66.010.1 (limiting a county municipal court’s jurisdiction to “jurisdiction over violations

    of that county’s ordinances”).

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    LEGAL ARGUMENT

    Respondent abused his discretion in denying Mr. Reilly’s motion to dismiss and in

    continuing to exercise jurisdiction over the county ordinance charges filed against Mr.

    Reilly in St. Louis County Municipal Court. Respondent’s order denying Mr. Reilly’s

    motion stated only that the motion was denied “for the reasons outlined in St. Louis

    County’s Memorandum in opposition to Defendant’s Motion to Dismiss.” Ex. 5. In

    adopting wholesale the County’s arguments, Respondent’s order authorized an

    unconstitutional and lawless prosecution in a court that lacks jurisdiction.

    In order for conduct to constitute a violation of the County’s trespassing or

    interference with an officer ordinance, the conduct must occur in an unincorporated area

    of St. Louis County. This requirement is set forth in the plain language of the County’s

    trespassing ordinance. The same limitation implicitly applies to the County’s

    interference with an officer ordinance, which was adopted at a time when it was

    unconstitutional for the County to enact an ordinance that applied to conduct within an

    incorporated municipality. It is undisputed that the alleged conduct that forms the basis

    for the charges against Mr. Reilly is alleged to have occurred in the City of Ferguson,

    which is an incorporated municipality. The County’s information fails to charge an

    ordinance violation, and the St. Louis County Municipal Court lacks jurisdiction.

    Further, the County’s extra-jurisdictional prosecution of Mr. Reilly violates the

    Missouri Constitution. Article VI, § 18(c) prohibits St. Louis County from enforcing

    county ordinances within incorporated municipalities, like the City of Ferguson. St.

    Louis County has not taken the constitutionally required legislative action necessary to

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    extend its jurisdictional reach to conduct that occurs in an incorporated municipality.

    Accordingly, its attempt to prosecute Mr. Reilly for ordinance violations premised on

    conduct that occurred entirely within the City of Ferguson violates the Missouri

    Constitution.

     None of the arguments in the County’s briefing, which Respondent adopted as the

     basis for his order, overcomes the fundamental defects in the County’s charges against

    Mr. Reilly. The County’s reliance on purported “emergency powers” does not confer

     jurisdiction on the St. Louis County Municipal Court. Although the County points to a

    statute that relates to the ability of emergency responders, such as police and firefighters,

    to respond to requests for mutual aid assistance, it is irrelevant. No emergency had been

    declared in Ferguson when Mr. Reilly was arrested, nor a year later when he was

    charged. Nothing in the emergency responder statute authorizes the County Counselor to

    confer jurisdiction on the St. Louis County Municipal Court. The County’s argument

    that McDonald’s location along a county-owned arterial road somehow confers

     jurisdiction within the municipality also fails. There is simply no basis for such an

    extension of the County’s jurisdictional reach.

    An extraordinary writ is warranted because the St. Louis County Municipal Court

    lacks jurisdiction over the charges against Mr. Reilly and should have dismissed them.

    The municipal court has acted, and continues to act, in clear excess of its jurisdiction and

    has allowed the County to proceed with a prosecution that violates its own charter and

    ordinances, as well as the Missouri Constitution. Mr. Reilly’s continued prosecution

    violates his fundamental due process rights and subjects him to expensive and

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    inconvenient litigation in a court without jurisdiction. A writ of prohibition or,

    alternatively, a writ of mandamus, is warranted to correct Respondent’s abuse of

    discretion.

    I. The St. Louis County Municipal Court Has No Jurisdiction Over St. Louis

    County Trespassing and Interference with an Officer Charges Based on

    Conduct Alleged to Have Occurred Within the City of Ferguson.

    Mr. Reilly’s prosecution is unconstitutional and has no basis in law because the

    ordinances he has been charged with violating do not apply to conduct occurring within

    incorporated municipalities. The trespassing and interference with an officer ordinances

    apply only in unincorporated areas of St. Louis and have no application to conduct within

    the City of Ferguson. The County’s attempt to apply the ordinances to conduct alleged to

    have occurred in the City of Ferguson also violates Article VI, § 18(c) of the Missouri

    Constitution, which specifically limits the powers of the County to adopt ordinances that

     purport to apply within incorporated municipalities.

    A. The Ordinances at Issue Do Not Apply to Conduct Alleged to Have Occurred

    in Ferguson.

    The County ordinances Mr. Reilly has been charged with violating apply only in

    the unincorporated areas of St. Louis County. The County admits it has no legislative

    authority to apply its trespassing and interference with an officer ordinances to conduct in

    the City of Ferguson. This conclusion is evident from the ordinances themselves.

    The St. Louis County trespassing ordinance is set forth in § 716.150. Ex. 7,

    Excerpt of Chapter 716 of the Revised Ordinances of St. Louis County. Chapter 716

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    expressly provides that “[t]he provisions of Sections 716.040 through 716.180 shall apply

    to the area of St. Louis County outside incorporated cities, towns, and villages.” Id., §

    716.020 (“Scope”) (emphasis added). In charging Mr. Reilly with a violation of the

    county trespassing ordinance, the County has ignored the jurisdictional restriction that the

    unambiguous language of its own ordinance imposes.

    The interference with an officer ordinance, set forth in § 701.110, also is restricted

    to conduct in unincorporated areas. Ex. 8, Excerpt of Chapter 710 of the Revised

    Ordinances of St. Louis County, § 710.110. When that ordinance was adopted on

     November 4, 1968, the County was prohibited from enacting legislation applicable to

    incorporated cities. In November 1968, Article VI, § 18(c) of the Missouri Constitution

    explicitly limited the County’s ability to exercise legislative power to “the part of the

    county outside incorporated cities.” Ex. 9, MO. CONST. art. VI, § 18(c) (pre-1970

    amendment version) (emphasis added).2  It follows therefore that § 701.110, which has

    never been amended, is necessarily limited to unincorporated areas of St. Louis County.

    The chapter of the county code in which the interference with an officer ordinance

    is set forth confirms that the ordinance only applies to conduct in unincorporated areas of

    St. Louis County. The ordinance appears in Chapter 701, which relates to the

    2

     It was not until two years later that the Missouri Constitution was amended to allow for

    the possibility that a county charter could vest the county council with the ability to

    exercise legislative power within incorporated municipalities when certain requirements

    are met. See MO. CONST. art. VI, § 18(c).

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    “Department of Police.” Ex. 8. This is a subject matter area for which the County’s

    charter expressly limits its power to enact ordinances to “the part of the county outside

    incorporated cities.” Ex. 10, St. Louis County Charter of 1979, § 2.180.23.

    Because the two ordinances at issue do not apply to alleged conduct within the

    incorporated City of Ferguson, the County’s information fails to state an ordinance

    violation, and the St. Louis Municipal Court has no jurisdiction over the charges.

    B. The County’s Attempt to Apply These Ordinances to Conduct Alleged to

    Have Occurred in Ferguson Violates the Missouri Constitution.

    The County’s prosecution of Mr. Reilly violates the Missouri Constitution. Under

    the Missouri Constitution, a county charter may provide for the vesting and exercise of

    county legislative power pertaining to services and functions “in the part of the county

    outside incorporated cities.” MO. CONST. art. VI, § 18(c) (“Provisions authorized in

    county charters—participation by county in government of other local units”). Under a

    1970 amendment to Article VI, § 18(c) of the Missouri Constitution, the county charter

    may also vest the county with legislative power over matters “throughout the entire

    county as well as outside incorporated municipalities,” but only provided that “any such

    charter provision shall set forth the limits within which the municipalities may exercise

    the same power collaterally and extensively.” Id.; see also Chesterfield Fire Protection

    Dist. v. St. Louis Cty, 645 S.W.2d 367, 372 (Mo. banc 1983) (“This provision is designed

    to eliminate confusion when the County begins providing a service or function which

    may also be provided by a municipality.”).

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    The St. Louis County Charter does not purport to extend the County’s legislative

     powers “throughout the entire county” such that the County and incorporated

    municipalities exercise “the same power” co-extensively. Rather, consistent with the

    constitutional limitations described above, the St. Louis County Charter provides the

    county council with the authority to “[e]xercise legislative power pertaining to public

    health, police and traffic, building construction, and planning and zoning, in the part of

    the county outside incorporated cities.” Ex. 10, § 2.180.23 (emphasis added). Notably,

    this language is taken directly from the pre-amendment version of Article VI, § 18(c) of

    the Missouri Constitution. Ex. 9. The charter does not vest the county council with the

    authority to exercise legislative power pertaining to these topics within incorporated areas

    of the county. Those matters are reserved for each incorporated municipality to address.

    In Mr. Reilly’s case, the relevant municipality, the City of Ferguson, has its own

     police force and has enacted ordinances regulating trespassing and interference with

     police officers. See Ex. 11, Excerpt of Code of Ordinances of the City of Ferguson,

    Missouri, § 29-63 (trespass in the first degree); § 29-64 (trespass in the second degree); §

    29-16 (failure to comply with order of police officer); § 29-19 (obstructing government

    operations). Ferguson has created its own municipal court to “hear and determine all

    cases involving violations of [its] Charter, this Code and the other ordinances of the city.”

    Id., § 2-214. The City of Ferguson determined that no ordinance violation charges would

     be filed against Mr. Reilly. The County has no authority to second-guess that decision.

    The County has never amended its charter to provide for legislative power to enact

     police ordinances that would apply within incorporated municipalities or to “set forth the

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    limits within which the municipalities may exercise the same power” to regulate the

    conduct that the trespassing and interference with an officer ordinances target. St. Louis

    County’s failure to enact such a charter amendment makes clear that the application of

    the County’s trespassing and interference with an officer ordinances to conduct alleged to

    have occurred in the City of Ferguson violates the Missouri Constitution.

    II. None of the County’s Cited Authorities Provide a Basis for Jurisdiction.

    The County concedes that the trespassing and interference with an officer

    ordinances do not apply within the City of Ferguson. Ex. 3 at 3. The County, however,

    argues that “the County’s legislative power under Missouri law is irrelevant to the present

    case.” Id. Recognizing that its own charter and ordinances fail to provide the County

    with the power to enforce the two ordinances at issue within incorporated municipalities,

    the County instead points to an assortment of authorities in an attempt to identify some

     basis for the St. Louis County Municipal Court’s jurisdiction. All of the County’s

    arguments fail.

    A. The County’s Claimed Emergency Response Powers Do Not Provide a

    Basis for Jurisdiction.

    The County contends that the County Counselor may unilaterally confer

     jurisdiction on the St. Louis County Municipal Court through his exercise of imagined

    “emergency powers.” The County’s view that the County Counselor may create

     jurisdiction where there is none has no support and violates the Missouri Constitution,

    Article VI, § 18(c). It also violates the basic requirements of due process.

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    The County’s “emergency powers” argument has no basis in fact or law. The

    County relies on R.S. Mo. § 44.090 to argue that the St. Louis County Municipal Court

    may exercise jurisdiction here. The statute plainly states that it applies only “at the time

    of significant emergency.” R.S.Mo. § 44.090.3; see also R.S.Mo. § 44.090.1 (“In time of

    emergency it shall be the duty of each local organization for emergency management to

    render assistance . . . .”); § 44.090.4 (“When responding to mutual aid or emergency aid

    requests . . . .); R.S.Mo. § 44.010.6 (defining “emergency” as “any state of emergency

    declared by proclamation of the governor, or by resolution of the legislature”). There

    was no declared state of emergency in the City of Ferguson on August 13, 2014, when

    Mr. Reilly was arrested. But even if, as the County has argued, a “declared” emergency

    is not required to invoke powers under § 44.090, there can be no question that there was

    no emergency when the County filed its baseless charges against Mr. Reilly nearly a year

    after the conduct at issue is alleged to have occurred. Likewise, there is no current

    emergency as the case remains pending in St. Louis County Municipal Court.

    In addition, § 44.090 does not apply to the County Counselor’s Office or the St.

    Louis County Municipal Court. Section 44.090 addresses “[m]utual-aid agreements” and

    its provisions relate to actions taken by certain “public safety agencies.” The “public

    safety agencies” included within the statute are “fire service organizations, law

    enforcement agencies, emergency medical service organizations, public health and

    medical personnel, emergency management officials, infrastructure departments, public

    works agencies and those other agencies, organizations, departments, and specialized

    emergency response teams that have personnel with special skills or training that are

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    needed to provide services during an emergency, public safety need, or disaster . . . .”

    R.S.Mo. § 44.090.7. The statute plainly applies to emergency responders, not to St.

    Louis County attorneys or the municipal court. There is simply no such thing as an

    emergency prosecution or an emergency expansion of a court’s jurisdiction.

    The emergency responder statute that the County relies on does not apply to the

    County Counselor’s decision to charge Mr. Reilly with ordinance violations more than 11

    months after any state of emergency had ended. Similarly, the emergency responder

    statute does not apply to a St. Louis County Municipal Court Judge’s decision to preside

    over an ordinance violation case a year and a half after the Ferguson protests concluded.

    B. A County Police Officer’s Authority to Arrest Does Not Confer

    Jurisdiction on the St. Louis County Municipal Court.

    The County contends that that it would be “illogical” to conclude that its

    municipal court lacks jurisdiction over alleged county ordinance violations that are based

    on conduct alleged to have occurred in the City of Ferguson because “[l]aw enforcement

    necessarily includes both arrest and prosecution.” Ex. 3 at 5. Even if Mr. Reilly’s arrest

    was lawful – which Mr. Reilly denies3  – it does not follow that St. Louis County may

    charge Mr. Reilly with county ordinance violations. The issue of where St. Louis County

    3  Mr. Reilly does not dispute the general proposition that St. Louis County Police may

    make arrests in the course of providing assistance pursuant to a mutual aid agreement, but

    denies that his arrest was lawful under the circumstances at issue in this case.

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    Police Officers may make arrests is entirely distinct from whether a court has jurisdiction

    over a charged ordinance violation.

    According to the County, the St. Louis County Police officers who arrested Mr.

    Reilly were acting in response to a request for mutual aid from the City of Ferguson. The

    investigative report that St. Louis County Police prepared identifies Ferguson as the

     jurisdiction for whom the report was prepared. Ex. 4 (St. Louis County Police

    Department Investigative Report noting the report is “For Jurisdiction: Ferguson,”

    attached as Exhibit 2 thereto). Following Mr. Reilly’s arrest, St. Louis County police

    “remanded” him “to an officer of the Ferguson Police Department.” Id. (Excerpt of

    Investigative Report, attached as Exhibit 3 thereto). Mr. Reilly was taken to the Ferguson

     jail, and the Ferguson Police Chief gave the order to release him from custody without

    charges. These facts make clear that the officers involved understood that the City of

    Ferguson had jurisdiction to charge Mr. Reilly. It is only the County’s displeasure with

    the City of Ferguson’s decision not to file charges against Mr. Reilly that has given rise

    to the County’s misguided pursuit to prosecute Mr. Reilly despite its lack of jurisdiction.4 

    4  More than 50 law enforcement agencies were involved in the police response in

    Ferguson between August 9, 2014 through August 25, 2014. See Ex. 4 (U.S. Department

    of Justice, After-Action Assessment of the Police Response to the August 2014

    Demonstrations in Ferguson, Missouri at p. XIII, attached as Exhibit 1 thereto). The

    County apparently believes any of these 50 cities or counties would be free to prosecute

    individuals arrested within the City of Ferguson by their officers under that jurisdiction’s

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    There is no absence of power to prosecute here. Rather, the party with the power

    to bring charges for municipal ordinance violations relating to conduct within the City of

    Ferguson – the Ferguson Municipal Prosecutor – has declined to bring charges against

    Mr. Reilly. Mr. Reilly was released from the Ferguson Police Department at the

    direction of the Ferguson Police Chief without ever being booked. Any charging

    decision related to a municipal ordinance violation belonged to the City of Ferguson.

    The St. Louis County Counselor has no authority to substitute his judgment for that of the

    Ferguson prosecutor or apply the county’s ordinances to conduct that occurred within the

    City of Ferguson.

    C. The Location of the McDonald’s on an Arterial Roadway Does Not

    Provide a Basis for Jurisdiction.

    The County alternatively argues that the St. Louis County Municipal Court has

     jurisdiction because the alleged conduct occurred within a McDonald’s restaurant that is

    located along a county-owned arterial road. The County does not claim that either the

    trespassing or interference with an officer ordinance applies within buildings located

    along arterial roadways within the City of Ferguson. Instead, it vaguely asserts that to

    find no jurisdiction here “would prevent the protection of lives and property on anything

     but the County arterial road itself.” Ex. 3, at 6. This argument fails.

    own municipal ordinances in their own court. Such a result would be absurd, as well as

    unconstitutional.

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    As the County undoubtedly knows, state law vests law enforcement officers with

    “the authority to respond to an emergency situation5  outside the boundaries of the

     political subdivision from which such peace officer’s authority is derived,” and St. Louis

    County police officers “may arrest persons who violate any provision of state law within

    the boundaries of any county of the first classification or of any city not within a county.”

    R.S. Mo. § 70.820.1, § 70.820.5. Jurisdictional limitations placed on county and

    municipal ordinances do nothing to prevent the County’s officers from protecting lives

    and property or making arrests for violations of state law. As explained above, the issue

    of where the County’s officers may make arrests is irrelevant to the question of who may

     prosecute those arrests under which laws and in which court.

    D. The County Charter Does Not Provide a Blanket Grant of Authority to

    the County Counselor to Expand the St. Louis County Municipal Court’s

    Jurisdiction.

    Finally, the County argues that Article I, § 1.030 of the county charter, which

    relates generally to the powers of the County, provides a basis for jurisdiction because it

    5  An emergency situation is defined as “any situation in which the law enforcement

    officer has a reasonable belief that a crime is about to be committed, is being committed,

    or has been committed involving injury or threat of injury to any person, property, or

    governmental interest and such officer’s response is reasonably necessary to prevent or

    end such emergency situation or mitigate the likelihood of injury involved in such

    emergency situation.” R.S.Mo. § 70.820.3.

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    gives the County “all powers possible for a county to have under the constitution and

    laws of Missouri.” Ex. 3 at 4. Section 1.030 is not a blanket grant of authority that

    individual county departments may use to seize whatever powers they deem expedient at

    a particular moment. Instead, it specifies, “[a]ll powers shall be carried into execution as

     provided by this charter or by law, but if no such provision is made then by ordinance.”

    Ex. 10, § 1.030. The County identifies no provision in the charter, law, or ordinances that

    allows the County Counselor to engage in extra-jurisdictional prosecutions or that

     provides the St. Louis County Municipal Court with the authority to act outside of its

    defined jurisdiction.

    The Missouri Constitution specifies that a county may not exercise its legislative

     power within any incorporated municipality unless its charter contains a specific

     provision that “set[s] forth the limits within which the municipalities may exercise the

    same power collaterally and coextensively.” MO. CONST. Art. VI, § 18(c). It is undisputed

    that the St. Louis County Charter contains no provision setting forth the limits within

    which the County and its incorporated municipalities may collaterally and coextensively

    regulate the conduct that would support charges of trespassing and interference with an

    officer.

    III. A Writ of Prohibition or Mandamus is Warranted.

    The ordinances Mr. Reilly has been charged with violating do not apply within the

    City of Ferguson, and the St. Louis County Municipal Court has no jurisdiction over

    these lawless charges. Mr. Reilly’s continued prosecution violates the Missouri

    Constitution’s restrictions on the manner in which counties may exercise power within

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    incorporated municipalities, violates the due process guarantees of the Missouri and

    United States Constitutions, and subjects Mr. Reilly to expensive and inconvenient

    litigation in a court without jurisdiction. Respondent’s denial of Mr.Reilly’s motion to

    dismiss was an abuse of discretion and an unconstitutional exercise of extra-jurisdictional

     power that requires the issuance of an extraordinary remedial writ.

    A. A Writ Should Issue Because the Municipal Court Lacks Jurisdiction.

    Appeal is not an adequate remedy “[w]here, as here, the court is wholly wanting in

     jurisdiction to proceed with the case.” T.J.H., 504 S.W.2d at 79. As explained in detail

    above, the county ordinances Mr. Reilly has been charged with violating have no

    application to conduct alleged to have occurred within the City of Ferguson. Neither the

    County charter nor its ordinances provide the County with the authority to apply the

    trespassing and interference with an officer ordinances to conduct within the City of

    Ferguson. The County admits this, but claims that the unambiguous terms of its

    ordinances are “irrelevant.” The authorities the County cites, however, have no

    application here and provide no basis for the County Counselor to expand the jurisdiction

    of the St. Louis County Municipal Court. Further, Mr. Reilly’s continued prosecution

    violates not only the County’s ordinances and charter, but also the Missouri

    Constitution’s restrictions on the manner in which counties may exercise power within

    incorporated municipalities.

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    B. A Writ Should Issue Because the County’s Continued Prosecution

    Violates Mr. Reilly’s Due Process Rights.

    The charges in this case have been filed in clear violation of Mr. Reilly’s due

     process rights under the Missouri Constitution, Article I, § 10, and under the United

    States Constitution. “‘Elementary notions of fairness enshrined in our constitutional

     jurisprudence dictate that a person receive fair notice . . . of the conduct that will subject

    him to punishment . . . .’” City of St. Peters v. Roeder, 466 S.W.3d 538, 548 (Mo. 2015)

    quoting BMW of N. Am., Inc. v. Gore, 517 U.S. 559, 574 (1996). Mr. Reilly could not

    have had fair notice that any conduct that took place within the City of Ferguson would

    subject him to punishment under St. Louis County ordinances, as the County itself admits

    the ordinances do not apply within incorporated municipalities. Allowing a prosecutor to

    selectively determine that an ordinance has application in a geographic area where it does

    not is a violation of the fair notice required by the due process clause of the Missouri and

    United States Constitutions.

    The County’s unprecedented decision to file charges against Mr. Reilly in St.

    Louis County Municipal Court also violates Mr. Reilly’s procedural due process rights by

    exposing him to greater penalties than available under state law charges while at the same

    time depriving him of basic rights to conduct discovery. The St. Louis County

    trespassing ordinance violation charge against Mr. Reilly is punishable by up to one year

    imprisonment, but a violation of the parallel state trespassing statute is a class B

    misdemeanor punishable only by a maximum of six months imprisonment. Compare St.

    Louis County Ordinances, § 716.180 (providing penalties for violation of § 716.150)

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    with R.S.Mo. § 569.140 (trespass in the first degree); R.S.Mo. § 558.011.1 (sentence of

    imprisonment, terms); see also Ex. 11, § 29-2 (Ferguson ordinance violations punishable

     by a maximum of three months imprisonment). Even more significantly, there is no

    charge under state law that criminalizes the same conduct as the county’s broad

    interference with an officer ordinance, which makes it unlawful to “interfere in any

    manner with a police officer . . . or to obstruct him in any manner whatsoever while

     performing any duty.”6  Ex. 8, § 701.110.

    At the same time, the fact that this matter was filed in municipal court rather than

    state court has deprived Mr. Reilly of critical discovery to which he would otherwise be

    entitled. Respondent has refused to permit Mr. Reilly to engage in basic discovery, such

    as taking the depositions of the officers who arrested him. The right of criminal

    defendants to depose the government’s witnesses against them is well-established in

    Missouri law. Mo. Sup. Ct. R. 25.12; State v. Scott, 647 S.W.2d 601, 606 (Mo. App.

    W.D. 1983) (“Rights of discovery provided criminal defendants by Rule 25 have

    constitutional underpinning rooted in due process.”). Mr. Reilly sought to depose the 6

    individuals the County had identified as potential witnesses at trial. The County offered

    to allow four depositions. On October 6, 2015, however, Respondent held that discovery

    in municipal court was solely in the court’s discretion and denied Mr. Reilly’s request for

    6 At the same time Mr. Reilly filed his jurisdictional motion, he filed a motion to dismiss

    the interference charge because the county’s interference ordinance is unconstitutionally

    vague and overbroad. That motion remains pending.

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    depositions in its entirety. Ex. 12, October 6, 2015 Order. This abuse of discretion

    compounds the abuse of discretion that Respondent committed in denying Mr. Reilly’s

    motion to dismiss.

    C. A Writ Should Issue to Prevent Unnecessary, Expensive, and Inconvenient

    Litigation.

    Mr. Reilly has been litigating this case for more than seven months, with no end in

    sight. He filed his demand for a jury trial on October 12, 2015, Ex. 6, but has been

     provided no date for a trial and has been told that no trial will be possible within the next

    several months. He faces an inconvenient and costly jury trial, and the County has

    opposed his efforts to save resources by joining his matter for trial with that of Mr.

    Lowery, who: (1) was arrested at the same time and in the same location; (2) has been

     provided a witness list and police report by the County that is identical to the list

     provided for Mr. Reilly’s matter; and (3) shares the same counsel. Ex. 13, Mot. for Joint

    Trial and Mem. In Supp.; Ex. 14, Resp. in Opp. to Def.’s Mot. for Joint Trial. In

    addition, just this month, the municipal court erroneously issued a warrant for Mr.

    Reilly’s arrest based on a purported failure to appear, placing Mr. Reilly at risk of arrest

    and requiring intervention of counsel to have the warrant recalled and withdrawn. Ex.

    15, Warrant Notice.

    Conclusion

    Appeal is not an adequate remedy “[w]here, as here, the court is wholly wanting in

     jurisdiction to proceed with the case.” T.J.H., 504 S.W.2d at 79. Mr. Reilly has been

    charged with violating county ordinances that have no application within the City of

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    Ferguson. The County’s unconstitutional and lawless prosecution of Mr. Reilly in

    municipal court had no legal basis from its inception and has dragged on for more than

    seven months in a court with no jurisdiction. Mr. Reilly is not alone in facing extra-

     jurisdictional charges brought in St. Louis County Municipal Court in connection with

    arrests made in City of Ferguson.

    Respondent’s denial of Mr. Reilly’s Motion to Dismiss for Lack of Jurisdiction

    was an abuse of discretion and constitutes an unconstitutional exercise of extra-

     jurisdictional power. An extraordinary writ is warranted to correct this clear usurpation

    of judicial power.

    March 24, 2016 Respectfully submitted,

    DOWD BENNETT LLP

      By: /s/ Gabriel E. Gore

    Edward L. Dowd, Jr., MO #28785Gabriel E. Gore, MO #45416

    Lisa S. Hoppenjans, MO #63890

    7733 Forsyth Blvd., Suite 1900

    St. Louis, Missouri 63105

    (314) 889-7300 (telephone)

    (314) 863-2111 (facsimile)

    [email protected]

    [email protected]

    [email protected]

    Counsel for Defendant Ryan Reilly