WARRENSBURG — Warrensburg residents with pending warrants have the opportunity to remove them and schedule a future court date during the Warrensburg Municipal Court’s third annual Warrant Amnesty Month.
Residents have until the end of March to take part in the program.
Warrensburg Municipal Court's Warrant Amnesty Month allows defendants to have their warrant (or warrants) removed and be set up for a future date and time to appear before Judge James Hall to review their pending matters.
City of Warrensburg Municipal Court Clerk Teresa Baumeister said those who come by the court’s office window to take advantage of the program will not be arrested.
Baumeister said this allows them to proceed without having to post a bond or have to serve a period of time in jail if they are unable to post bond should a roadside warrant arrest occur.
Those wanting to take advantage of this opportunity must provide a photo ID to the Court Clerk’s office during business hours, 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. Monday through Friday at 102-B S. Holden St., Warrensburg.
Participants will be able to schedule a new court date on any of the following dates: April 6, April 13, April 20 or April 27.
Baumeister said this opportunity is only available to citizens with Warrensburg warrants.
Ever since the start of the program, Baumeister said the court has worked to clear up any reservations residents may have about utilizing the opportunity.
“So many people still can’t seem to believe that there is not some sort of a ‘catch’ to what we are doing, but there absolutely isn’t,” Baumeister said. “We do this to give our defendants a second chance to help themselves resolve their pending matters.”
She said this program is beneficial both for the defendants and the court.
“Defendants can go about their daily activities without worrying about getting pulled over or having police contact because they know they have an outstanding warrant,” Baumeister said. “It helps the court because it allows us to dispose of our pending cases.”
Baumeister said when the court began offering the program in March 2019, only one person had responded, despite advertising the program broadly throughout the area.
She said that in March 2020, only three people responded to the amnesty offer. However, Baumeister said with the pandemic first becoming prominent in the local area half-way through that month, it may have had an impact on the program’s numbers.
As of March 3, 2021, the court has already had three people respond to the amnesty offer.
“We are hoping to have many more people realize that we are offering them a great benefit if they are just willing to walk in the door,” Baumeister said.
Baumeister said the court is aiming to help its constituents as much as possible through programs such as this.
“We’re all about customer service,” Baumeister said. “We’re here to try to help, we’re not working against you.”
