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Have An Outstanding Warrant? St. Louis Court Will Offer Amnesty Feb. 24-27

Judge Newton McCoy is an administrative judge with the St. Louis Municipal Court.
EVIE HEMPHILL | ST. LOUIS PUBLIC RADIO
Judge Newton McCoy is an administrative judge with the St. Louis Municipal Court.
Judge Newton McCoy is an administrative judge with the St. Louis Municipal Court.
Credit EVIE HEMPHILL | ST. LOUIS PUBLIC RADIO
Judge Newton McCoy is an administrative judge with the St. Louis Municipal Court.

St. Louis’ Municipal Court is hosting a warrant amnesty program Feb. 24-27. It’s an opportunity for people with outstanding bench warrants — excluding DUIs, leaving the scene of an accident and prostitution — to be able to pay their original fines and costs without penalty.

There are nearly 119,000 outstanding warrants in the city of St. Louis, meaning thousands of people are at risk of going to jail.

Judge Newton McCoy is an administrative judge with the St. Louis Municipal Court. He says that during the amnesty period, some old cases may even be dismissed that same day.

“We don’t want to create a situation where there’s no way for them to get themselves into a position where they’re in compliance,” he said. “When you hold onto some of those old cases, it makes it harder.”

Last year, the city’s municipal court canceled 6,945 warrants for 1,601 people seeking amnesty. In addition, the court disposed of 1,120 cases. 

On Thursday’s St. Louis on the Air, guest host Emily Woodbury spoke with McCoy about the program.

Hear their conversation:

Related Event

What: City of St. Louis Municipal Courts Warrant Amnesty Program

When: 8 a.m.-5 p.m. Feb. 24-26, 2020; 7 a.m.-7 p.m. Feb. 27, 2020

Where: St. Louis City Municipal Court (1520 Market St., St. Louis, MO 63103; enter through the 16th Street side of the building)

More information

St. Louis on the Air” brings you the stories of St. Louis and the people who live, work and create in our region. The show is hosted by Sarah Fenske and produced by Alex Heuer, Emily Woodbury, Evie Hemphill, Lara Hamdan and Joshua Phelps. The engineer is Aaron Doerr, and production assistance is provided by Charlie McDonald.

Send questions and comments about this story to feedback@stlpublicradio.org.

Copyright 2021 St. Louis Public Radio. To see more, visit St. Louis Public Radio.

Alex Heuer joined St. Louis Public Radio in 2012 and is the executive producer of St. Louis on the Air. Alex grew up in the St. Louis area. He began his public radio career as a student reporter at Tri States Public Radio in Macomb, Illinois and worked for a few years at Iowa Public Radio. Alex graduated summa cum laude from Western Illinois University with a degree in history and earned a teaching certificate in 6 - 12th grade social studies. In 2016, he earned a Master of Public Policy Administration with a focus in nonprofit organization management and leadership from the University of Missouri-St. Louis. He has won local and national awards for reporting and producing and his stories have been featured nationally on Morning Edition and All Things Considered.