Office of the Prosecuting Attorney

Franklin County, Missouri 

If you are the victim of a crime, there are certain steps that need to be followed in order to seek charges against an offender. 

First, a police report needs to be made.  You should contact your local police department if the crime occurred within your city limits to make a report, or contact the Franklin County Sheriff’s Department if the crime occurred outside of city limits but within Franklin County.  It is a good idea to get the report number and the name of the responding officer/deputy.

The police department will do their investigation into the crime and when they are done they will forward their report to our office with a warrant application (application for charges) asking for charges to be issued.  You need to cooperate with the police department while they do their investigation. 

Once a report is received in this office it will be assigned to one of seven Assistant Prosecutors to be reviewed.  The process of being reviewed can take anywhere from 2-6 weeks.  This is due to the number of additional pieces of information that the prosecutor may need in order to determine if charges can be issued.  The information needed can vary from a persons criminal history to getting additional statements from witnesses to having the victim come in and meet with the prosecutor. 

Once charges are issued victims are notified by the mail or in the case of a Grand Jury indictment, the victim is notified when the defendant is arrested on their warrant.  See information below on the different types of charges.

The Victim Services Coordinator provides the following services:

• Notification when charges are issued

• Assistance in filing a restitution request when applicable

• Assistance writing a victim impact statement for sentencing

• Information about the criminal justice system

• Accompaniment to court for hearings, trials, pleas, and sentencings

• Notification of hearings, trials, pleas, sentencings

• Informing victims of their rights

• Assistance filing for Crime Victims’ Compensation if applicable

• Referrals to appropriate social service agencies

• Being the liaison between the prosecutor and the victim

Crime victims have rights throughout the criminal justice system, see Missouri Revised Statutes chapter 595 for more information www.moga.state.mo.us/statutes/chapters/chap595.htm

• The right to be present at all criminal justice proceedings at which the defendant has the right to be present

• The right to be informed of trials and hearings

• The right to be informed of the defendant’s escape or release from custody

• The right to participate in the criminal justice proceedings without being discharged/disciplined by an employer

• The right to appear at a sentencing and make an oral or provide a written statement

If you are called to testify at a hearing or trial please remember to:

• Dress appropriately, if you have any questions please ask prior to that date

• Stay calm

• Be courteous to the Judge, the prosecutor, and the defense attorney

• Listen carefully to the questions, if you didn’t understand it, ask for it to be repeated or rephrased                            

• Take your time when you answer, don’t feel that you have to hurry for anyone

• Speak clearly and loudly, remember that the Judge and jury (if applicable) need to hear your responses

• Answer the question and only the question, do not offer anymore information than was asked of you

• When an attorney makes an objection, do not answer until the Judge has ruled on the objection, the Judge will direct you to answer or not

• Do not guess when answering questions, if you do not remember, so say

• TELL THE TRUTH

If you are the victim of a crime, there are a few things that are asked of you:

• If you move or have a change in address or phone number at any time you need to contact this office and provide the new information.  This is needed to keep you informed of court dates, are able to reach you for a trial, and to make sure you get your restitution (if applicable).

• If at anytime you do not understand what is happening or why, or have any questions at all, call me, Melissa, at the Franklin County Prosecuting Attorney’s Office, 636-583-6370.  Make the phone call, you as the victim, are an important part of this system, and you should understand how it works and what is going on.

There are 3 basic types of charges/files throughout the Franklin County Prosecuting Attorney’s Office. 

The first is misdemeanor charges, these are charges such as property damage second degree, trespassing, endangering the welfare of a child second degree, stealing, and more.  When a misdemeanor charge is issued, our office sends the information to court, who in turn sends a summons to the defendant through the mail.  The defendant will have a court date about 4-6 weeks later for a “summons return”.  This is the first court date for the defendant after receiving their summons. 

The second type of case is a felony case.  These are more serious charges than misdemeanors and are charges such as property damage first degree, burglary, stealing, endangering the welfare of a child first degree, and more.  When a felony charge is issued, our office sends the affidavit to court and we ask for a warrant to be issued.  Court types up the warrant and it gets sent to the Franklin County Sheriff’s Department to be served.  Once a defendant gets arrested on their warrant is when they will have their first court date.  If they bond out of jail they will be given a “bond return” date, if they do not bond out of jail they will be held until the next docket date, usually a Thursday.

The third type of case is a Grand Jury indictment.  A Grand Jury indictment is sealed until a court date is given.  Further information concerning a Grand Jury case is available on a case-by-case basis. 

Frequently asked questions of the Victim Services Coordinator

1. How long will this take to be disposed of?

It could take anywhere from 2 months to 2 years for a case to be disposed of.  A misdemeanor case will usually take about 6 months to be disposed of but can be disposed of on their first court date.  A misdemeanor is usually pled guilty to rather than going through a trial, however, there can still be a trial on a misdemeanor charge.  A felony case takes longer, because of the number of motions and hearings that can take place.  The average amount of time it takes for a felony case to be disposed of is about 1 year.  This includes motion hearings, preliminary hearings, etc., it can take longer or shorter, this is just an average.

2. What is a subpoena?

A subpoena is a court order to appear in court at a trial, hearing, deposition, etc.  A subpoena is typically served by a deputy from the Sheriff’s Department of an investigator.  If you fail to appear in court when specified on your subpoena you could be held in contempt of court.

3. What is a preliminary hearing? (On felony non Grand Jury cases only)

A preliminary hearing is a hearing that is required on felony cases that are not taken through the Grand Jury.  A preliminary hearing is easiest thought of a mini trial, though we don’t have to prove guilty beyond a reasonable doubt.  We have to prove that a crime was committed, that it happened in Franklin County, and that the defendant is “probably” the one who did it.  Typically a victim is subpoenaed to appear and testify at the preliminary hearing. 

4. What if a case is not “bound over” at a preliminary hearing?

At a preliminary hearing if the Judge finds probable cause, the case gets “bound over”, transferred to the Circuit Court where the rest of the proceedings will take place.  If the Judge does not find probable cause at the preliminary hearing, the case gets discharged.  If this happens we usually do not re-file the charges although each situation is different.  If the victim is out money/restitution due to the crime, the victim can file a civil suit/small claim against the offender for recoupment of their losses. 

5. Who decides if a case goes to trial?

The defendant gets the final say in if they want a trial or if they want to pled guilty.  If the defendant wants to go to trial, they get to decide if they want a jury trial (trial to a jury of 12) or a bench trial (trial to the Judge). 

6. How and when is sentencing done?

Sentencing in all cases is determined/handed down by the Judge. 

7. What if I don’t want to prosecute and/or testify

If you do not want to prosecute you can come to the office and sign an affidavit of non-prosecution.  This will not get the charges dropped.  It is our office policy that we will not drop charges once they are issued.

8. What if the defense attorney (or someone from their office) contacts me about the case?

If the defense attorney or anyone from their office tries to contact you regarding the case, you DO NOT have to speak to them.  You can if you want to, but you do not have to.  If you do want to speak to them we can arrange for it to be done in our office with our prosecutor present.

9. What if I am threatened to drop the charges?

If you are threatened to get the charges dropped on a case you need to make a police report as the person can possibly be charged with witness/victim tampering and you also need to let me know so I can make our prosecutor aware of the situation and what is happening.

Other links/phone numbers that may be helpful/informational:

MoVANS (Missouri Victim Automated Notification System)

1-866-5-MOVANS (1-866-566-8267)

This is an automated notification system that allows a person to register against an offender.  Then if the offender is going to be released from jail the victim (person registered) will get an automated phone call letting them know this information.  I can register someone over the phone also.

MADD (Mothers Against Drunk Driving)

St. Louis Region

10521 St. Charles Rock Road, Ste. 1

St. Ann, MO 63126

314-426-1595

Missouri State Office

1015 Madison Street

Third Floor

Jefferson City, MO 65101

573-636-2460

Parents of Murdered Children

Call Melissa at 636-583-6370 for more information

MoVA (Missouri Victim Assistance Network)

http://mova.missouri.org

Casenet

www.courts.mo.gov

You can find current court dates and case information through this website.  It is as up-to-date as the court clerks are. 

Office of Victims of Crime (OVC)

www.ojp.usdoj.gov/ovc

Missouri Department of Corrections (MDC)

Victim Services Unit

1511 Christy Drive

Jefferson City, MO 65101

573-526-6516

The Board of Probation and Parole (P & P)

636-583-8933

Crime Victims’ Compensation Fund (CVCF)

573-526-6006

800-347-6881

www.dolir.mo.gov/wc/cv_help.htm

Missouri State Highway Patrol (MSHP)

http://www.mshp.dps.missouri.gov/MSHPWeb/Root/index.html

Franklin County, Missouri 

www.franklinmo.org

Here you can find a link to the Franklin County Sheriff’s Department