Dunwoody Municipal Court’s June and July amnesty program for individuals with past-due traffic citations and/or active bench warrants for failing to appear in court cleared 188 cases and allowed 41 people to reschedule their court dates without penalty.
The goal of the program, according to Dunwoody officials, is to settle outstanding violations with the court and reduce arrests.
“This is an opportunity to get a fresh start and clear your case without the concern of being arrested or paying additional late fees or court costs,” Dunwoody Court Clerk Norlaundra Huntington said. “This is not a trick. Our only goal is to encourage people to come back to court by easing their financial burden.”
According to Huntington, this year the court collected $5,825 in outstanding fines and fees, allowing the court to lift the offenders’ active driver license suspensions.
In addition, 41 people rescheduled their court cases and will appear Aug. 8 to address their misdemeanor charges, which include shoplifting, loitering, failure to appear and other minor traffic offenses.
The department makes concerted efforts to publicize the amnesty program, including mailing information about the process to about 1,000 violators, Huntington said, which doesn’t always result in success.
“Unfortunately about 30%, or 300, of the letters come back undeliverable,” she said.
The city is working with a software company to set up an automatic text system to educate violators about the program during the summer months, as well as communicate to them about their court case status.
Last year, 28 people took advantage of the amnesty program, which has been offered since 2013.
