South County : Judges Decide to End Misdemeanor Amnesty

Municipal judges in the South Orange County Judicial District decided Thursday to end the amnesty on outstanding misdemeanor warrants--mostly involving minor traffic violations--to see what happens to a bill in the California Assembly that would set up a similar statewide amnesty.

Chief Deputy Clerk Joyce Ziegler said that since the amnesty started May 19, 1,007 people have taken advantage of it, saving themselves a total of about $200,000 in fines they would have paid for failing to appear on their original citations.

At the same time, she said, they paid $25,913 on their original fines, money that might have gone uncollected indefinitely.

In Sacramento, AB 4153, introduced by Assemblyman Tom Bates (D-Oakland), is scheduled to come before the Assembly on Monday.

Rachel Richmond of Bates’ office said there are an estimated 3.5 million outstanding warrants in California, representing about $140.3 million in unpaid citations. She said those who come forward during an amnesty would save an average of $200 each in fines that would have been charged for ignoring the warrants.