Woodstock Municipal Court has designated this month as Amnesty Month in Woodstock but not for probation warrants or felony cases.
The court is willing to grant amnesty to people who have delinquent tickets or have failed to appear in court on misdemeanor charges before this month.
“We recognize that the past two years have been very difficult for our court system across the state. Many courts were closed down completely for a period of time. Others, like Woodstock Municipal Court, operated at limited capacity,” said Municipal Court Judge Robert Tidwell in a statement.
Tidwell added, “We recognize this created some confusion as to when people should come to court. With that in mind, we want to give everybody an opportunity to deal with their cases without the punishment that normally comes with having missed a court date over the past years.”
If the case is not a mandatory court appearance, the defendant will be able to pay the cost of the citation; then the failure to appear charges will be dismissed, and arrest warrant fees will be waived.
However, if defendants cannot pay the cost of the citation, they will be allowed to post the failure to appear fee and sign for a new court date to have the case placed back on the court calendar.
If the case is a mandatory court appearance, the defendant will be allowed to post the warrant fee and sign for a new court date to have the case placed back on the court calendar.
The court mailed letters about Amnesty Month to all 1,405 defendants of open cases in failure-to-appear status or with actual warrants.
Amnesty Month will end at 5 p.m. April 29.
Payments may be made by calling 770-592-6030 ext. 7 or at Woodstock Municipal Court, 12453 GA-92 from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. Mondays to Fridays.
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