Defendant Must Affirmatively Produce Evidence of Exemption To City Code Violation
11/12/08
Property owner appealed municipal property code violation for failure to connect to municipal sewer system. Property owner contended on appeal that city had duty to prove not only that property owner was in violation of the city building code, but city also had to affirmatively disprove beyond a reasonable doubt that property owner did not fall under all the exceptions to the building code provision. Court of Appeals affirmed property owner’s conviction, citing to a 1951 case holding that “when the accused relies as a matter of defense on an exception in a municipal ordinance the burden is on the accused to prove that he is within the exception or exemption unless the exception or exemption is part of the enacting clause or its terms are part of the description of the offense.” City of Strafford v. Croxdale, Docket No. SD28746 (Mo.App.S.D. November 12, 2008).
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