Department of Mental Health Missouri Cases

Judge Michael C. Heffernon, a municipal judge, appealed a circuit court's permanent writ of prohibition that prevented him from ordering the Department of Mental Health (DMH) to perform competency examinations on individuals charged with municipal ordinance violations. Judge Heffernon argued that Section 552.020 RSMo granted him this authority or that municipal courts possessed inherent powers to do so. The appellate court affirmed the circuit court's judgment, holding that Section 552.020 applies only to criminal offenses (felonies and misdemeanors), not civil municipal ordinance violations, and that municipal courts lack inherent authority to compel a state agency to perform such examinations without statutory authorization.