Rule 17 Prosecution assistance by municipality.

When a city decides to shut down its own municipal court and send its cases to the district court system instead, the local district attorney can ask that city for help prosecuting cases involving city ordinance violations. If the district attorney makes this request, the city must step in and provide prosecutors to handle these cases in district court, circuit court, and even appeals courts.

Before the city starts providing this help, the district attorney and the city are supposed to work out a fair payment arrangement. This means the city doesn't just provide free legal work. The two sides agree on how the city will be reimbursed for the cost of supplying prosecutors.

In practical terms, this rule keeps things running smoothly when a city gets rid of its own court. It makes sure someone still prosecutes city ordinance violations, and it makes sure the city gets paid fairly for pitching in on cases that used to be handled entirely by its own court system.