03/09/2016
Missouri State Auditor Nicole Galloway today released an audit of the Leadington municipal court, located in St. Francois County. The audit, which was conducted as part of the State Auditor's Municipal Courts Initiative, found the court failed to assess some court costs in accordance with the law. The report also identified information that was inaccurately reported to the Office of the State Courts Administrator.
"Missourians deserve to have confidence that their local courts are operating efficiently and fairly," Auditor Galloway said. "Because audits get results, Leadington officials have already taken steps to address many of the issues identified in my audit. As Missourians, we all benefit when public officials and organizations are responsive to recommendations that lead to better service for citizens."
The audit found the court assessed a $1 fee on municipal violations to support its Judicial Education Fund, which had not been authorized by city ordinance, as required by law.
Auditors found case information for 178 cases was not reported to the Office of the State Courts Administrator due to an error in the case management system. In addition, the municipal judge had not approved the final disposition of all cases, and the court did not work with the police department to account for all tickets issued. The court also did not require employees to change computer passwords periodically to reduce the risk of authorized access to court data.
The Leadington municipal court audit was conducted as part of the Municipal Courts Initiative. This initiative expands the standard court audit process. In addition to reviewing financial transactions, accounting practices, and compliance with court rules and state law, auditors also review statistical information, tickets and other penalties to identify improper activities or practices that may impair impartiality or damage the court's credibility with citizens.
The Leadington municipal court, which received an overall performance rating of "fair," is a division of the 24th Judicial Circuit. The complete audit report is available here.
