FORT WORTH (1080 KRLD) - Officials in Fort Worth are urging people with outstanding misdemeanor warrants to come in to the city's Municipal Court in February to get those resolved.
In many cases, individuals may be eligible for a reduction in their fine amount or court costs as part of the city's "Warrant Forgiveness Month".
"In February, we put a real emphasis asking people to come see us and come talk to us about any Class C warrants that you have," said Fort Worth Municipal Court Chief Judge Danny Rodgers. "A Class C misdemeanor is the lowest class of offense. They're also called fine-only offenses. You get a ticket...a speeding ticket, a no-insurance ticket...those sorts of things. Most typical is traffic cases."
Unpaid fines and court costs can pile up, and Judge Rodgers says those can lead to a lot of stress for people concerned about being taken into custody during a routine encounter with a police officer or court official. "No one will be arrested on Fort Worth Class C warrants when they come see us at our courts," Rodgers said. "It is not our desire at the court to put people in jail. Let's just resolve these cases and have a safe community."
People who voluntarily appear at a court location in February and take action on their cases may be eligible for community service or a reduction in the fine amount.
The Municipal Court is offering extended hours on February 2nd and February 9th. There will also be a "mobile courtroom" dispatched to several locations during the community during February for those who can't make it to the main office at 1000 Throckmorton Street.
The times and locations for the "Court in the Community" initiative are:
Wednesday, Feb. 6, 9 a.m.- noon, Chisholm Trail Community Center, 4936 McPherson Blvd.
Thursday, Feb. 7, 9 a.m.- noon, Victory Forest Community Center, 3427 Hemphill St.
Wednesday, Feb. 13, 9 a.m.- noon, Riverside Community Center, 3700 E. Belknap St.
Thursday, Feb. 14, 9 a.m.- noon, Southside Community Center, 959 E. Rosedale St.
Wednesday, Feb. 20, 9 a.m.- noon, Como Community Center, 4900 Horne St.
Thursday, Feb. 21, 9 a.m.- noon, Diamond Hill Community Center, 1701 N.E. 36th St.
Wednesday, Feb. 27, 9 a.m.- noon, Thomas Place Community Center, 4237 Lafayette Ave.
Thursday, Feb. 28, 9 a.m.- noon, Eugene McCray Community Center, 4932 Wilbarger St.