Welcome to Murray City Municipal Court
Serving the citizens of Murray since 1999
It is the wish of the Murray Municipal Justice Court that you know your rights and duties. We want every
person who comes here to receive fair treatment in accord with the ideals of the Court's
Mission Statement and Goals.
The mission of the Murray Municipal Justice Court is to provide the citizens of Murray and visitors
therein, an open, fair, efficient and independent system for the advancement of justice under the
law.
The guidelines have been developed in order to meet the stated intentions of the Mission
Statement and to promote effective and efficient court operations:
To:
- provide for a safe and fulfilling work environment for Court Staff;
- provide appropriate service to the Public;
- provide an appropriate setting for the Administration of Justice;
- provide for the collocation of key Judicial Programmes;
- provide for the management of Growth;
- provide for the timely delivery of Judicial Resources;
- provide for the Uniformity of Process and Procedure; and
- provide for Flexibility, Economy, Maintenance, and Protection of
Judicial Staff and Resources.
The judges and staff of this Court are committed to the city's mission and goals and are working to
effectively deal with ordinance violations and low level criminal offences to make our city a better
place to live and work in. The Justice Court is an independent branch of government constitutionally
entrusted with the fair and just resolution of disputes in order to preserve the rule of law and to protect
the rights and liberties guaranteed by the Constitution and laws of the United States and the State of Utah.
By law, the Court must apply rules of procedure and evidence to each case heard. These procedures are
applied uniformly, without regard to personal considerations. Each judge is sworn to enforce without
favor the laws of the state and community, which are made by the people for the protection of all.
The codes in Utah define criminal offences and set penalties. For many offences, the penalty proscribed
is a fine and/or incarceration time. The Court does not set the fine amounts - these are based on the State
of Utah Uniform Fine/Bail Forfeiture Schedule. The Murray Municipal Justice Court is not operated to produce revenue. Rather, the Court attempts to be sensitive to community issues and is willing to implement
creative sentencing alternatives in keeping with an overall goal of providing restorative justice. Restorative justice provides for victim restitution, victim-offender reconciliation, and probation or pleas-in-abeyance; which requires the offender to reimburse the City for case-related costs. The Court will work
to achieve the goal of increased efficiency through special treatment programmes such as domestic
violence court and DUI court. These programmes will enable the judges, court staff and City Administration to better deal with quality of life issues. Other jurisdictions, local and around the country, have established similar courts and have seen neighborhoods cleaned-up and downtown areas revitalized by the
alternative sentencing programmes that the Court will work with.
The Murray Municipal Justice Court has jurisdiction over the following types of cases:
- Motor Vehicle / Traffic & Parking Violations
- Class B and Class C Misdemeanors committed within Murray
City's corporate limits
- Infractions committed within Murray City's corporate limits
- Violations of Municipal Ordinances
- Division of Wildlife Resources Violations
- Any other proceedings where jurisdiction is granted by statute
- Small Claims cases with a cap of $7,500 in which the defendant
resides or the debt arises
within the geographic boundaries of
Murray City
The Court works with many law enforcement agencies, which include the Murray Police Department,
Utah Highway Patrol, the Salt Lake County Sheriff's Office and the Utah Transit Authority Police.
