Jemison to hold Amnesty Day

Published 10:51 am Friday, June 25, 2010

Jemison is offering local residents the opportunity to willingly walk into municipal court and settle their outstanding warrants.

The alternative, of course, is for Jemison Police to forcefully bring them in.

The city will hold an Amnesty Day from 11 a.m. until 3 p.m. on August 14.

“It’s due to having so many outstanding warrants–to give defendants a chance to clear this up,” city Magistrate Tammy Miller said.

Residents with warrants for their arrest can even contact municipal court before the scheduled Amnesty Day, but Miller stressed more than showing a good intention is needed to avoid arrest.

“They would have to do more than just call,” she said. “They would have to come in, have the warrant lifted and we would set them up for court.”

And those simply planning on taking advantage of Amnesty Day are still subject to arrest before the event.

Miller estimated the city has about 800 outstanding warrants, some dating back to 1990. So, the Amnesty Day is a chance for the city to clean up its books.

Most of the warrants are for traffic violations that were never settled, and for the subsequent failure to appear in court charges.

Any misdemeanor is subject to be cleared without arrest through the Amnesty Day.

For more information about Amnesty Day, call the Jemison Municipal Court Clerk’s office at 688-4492, or visit the office at 14 Union Grove Road.