Wouldn’t
it be amazing if the municipalities in the St. Louis area would
come together to pardon all misdemeanor warrants (like overdue
parking tickets) for just one day?
“font-size: 9.0pt; font-family: Verdana;”>Your wish is granted, St. Louis residents. On three days – August 6, 10 and 13 – area residents can join in line with thousands of people who come out to be forgiven of court offenses through the Better Family Life St. Louis Metropolitan Amnesty Program.
“font-size: 9.0pt; font-family: Verdana;”>Between the hours of 7 a.m. to 7 p.m. on August 6, residents can go to St. Louis Community College at Meramec- Theatre, 11333 Big Bend Rd. in Kirkwood. On August 10, BFL Amnesty will be at The Ambassador Entertainment Center in North St. Louis County at 9800 Halls Ferry Blvd., and on August 13, the site will be St. Louis Community College at Forest Park in the gymnasium, located at 5600 Oakland Ave.
“font-size: 9.0pt; font-family: Verdana;”>Last year, James Clark, BFL’s vice president of Community Outreach, said they distributed over 14,000 vouchers. This year, with a new partnership with the St. Louis Community College, they hope to help even more individuals, he said.
“font-size: 9.0pt; font-family: Verdana;”>Citizens come to one of the three Amnesty days. They go through a 10-minute workshop where they receive information about civil responsibility and basic respect for the law. Then they receive the amnesty voucher. They take one copy to a municipality where they have a warrant. They give it to the court clerk, along with $100. The court clerk will then lift the warrant and give them another court date.
“font-size: 9.0pt; font-family: Verdana;”>“The beauty is the $100 is applied to the fine or the court cost,” Clark said. “They don’t lose it, it is applied.”
“font-size: 9.0pt; font-family: Verdana;”>Without amnesty, many of these same people would be arrested, spend multiple days in jail, pay hundred of dollars in penalty charges and have to place bond. If they have warrants in multiple municipalities, they could spend two weeks in jail and pay up to $700 in bond.
“font-size: 9.0pt; font-family: Verdana;”>“Amnesty gives people a way to reengage in the courts in a non-threatening way,” Clark said. “We have had individuals with 15 to 20 warrants.”
“font-size: 9.0pt; font-family: Verdana;”>Better Family Life is a nonprofit that largely provides job training to individuals, a majority of whom are African-American. Over the years when trying to get the trainees into the workforce, Clark and others were confronted with their clients’ outstanding warrants.
“font-size: 9.0pt; font-family: Verdana;”>“We can prep them for interview, they pass drug test and they would ultimately be hired,” he said. “Then human resources would check for a clear record. That was the kiss of death.”
“font-size: 9.0pt; font-family: Verdana;”>Clark “font-size: 9.0pt; font-family: Verdana;”>said this vicious cycle was commonplace. Each warrant carries a high fine, but people can’t pay them without income. However, they can’t gain employment with warrants.
“font-size: 9.0pt; font-family: Verdana;”>Two years ago, the Better Family Life team decided to ask the city of St. Louis to offer amnesty for such situations. They then went to St. Louis County and other municipalities as well. They all jumped on board.
“font-size: 9.0pt; font-family: Verdana;”>“We had something almost divine,” Clark said. “Amnesty should have been caught up in so much political in-fighting that it wouldn’t get off ground. But everyone was able to sing in harmony. It really blew me away at the high level of support that amnesty got.”
“font-size: 9.0pt; font-family: Verdana;”>The biggest help was the support of the Court Clerk Association, he said. They were able to negotiate amnesty for not only traffic-related warrants, but all misdemeanors.
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“mso-spacerun: yes;”> dealing with warrants – not felonies,” he said. “Amnesty is a much-needed service. With today’s economy, it serves employers, who now have the ability to hire competitive people. And the courts now have access to revenue in the source of paid fines.”