The East Lansing 54B District Court, 101 Linden St., is now offering an amnesty program for anyone who has been issued a bench warrant on or before May 21 for failure to pay court fines and fees. The program will go until July 12 at 4:30 p.m.
“The purpose is to give a final opportunity to those that have failed to comply with the court’s order to pay fines and costs to come in to take care of their matter before they are arrested,” court administrator Denise McCrimmon said in an email.
A bench warrant is issued by the court when a defendant does not pay his or her fines and also fails to appear at the hearing where he or she may explain why the payment wasn’t made. If the defendant is being detained by police, he or she may be arrested and returned to the court. The program does not apply to those with outstanding arrest warrants or those with bench warrants issued by other courts.
This is the first time an amnesty program such as this has been offered, and there is no plan for any similar programs in the near future, McCrimmon said.
If all the outstanding fines and costs are paid in full, the court will recall and cancel the arrest warrant, waive one 20 percent late penalty if accessed and waive one $25 warrant fee if assessed. Not all of the cases and files have an assessment or warrant fee.
Those not financially able to pay the fines can request a payment plan online. A recommendation will be given to a judge, and if the payment plan is approved by the court, the bench warrant will be canceled, assuming the defendant complies with the payment plan. The court will not give further consideration for warrants beyond the July 12 deadline.
“They are given an opportunity to avoid being arrested and possibly jailed,” McCrimmon said. “This gives them an opportunity to clear up outstanding matters with the court.”
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