King County Sheriff offers chance to clear warrants

Published 3:23 pm Thursday, October 2, 2008

King County Sheriff Dave Reichert and King County

District Court Presiding Judge James Cayce have announced a one-week

“Warrants Clearance Program,” in an

effort to reduce the nearly 30,000 outstanding misdemeanor warrants issued

by the various King County District Court divisions.

Two division courts _ the Northeast Division in Redmond and

the Aukeen Division in Kent _ will remain open after regular hours during

weekday evenings and on one weekend from Oct. 18 to Oct. 24. The hours

will be 4:30 to 8 p.m. during the week, and from noon to 4 p.m. on Saturday

and Sunday. Anyone with a warrant issued by a King County District Court _

or a city that contracts with District Court for court services _ can walk in

during these hours and a judge will be available.

The Valley cities that contract with District Court are Carnation,

Duvall, North Bend and Snoqualmie.

In a statement released on Oct. 13, Judge Cayce pointed out that the

majority of the misdemeanants being targeted by the program have failed

to appear in court for offenses such as driving under the influence

(DUI), driving with suspended license (DWLS), property crimes and

misdemeanor assault.

“The taxpayers of this county should know that the rising cost of

the criminal justice system has a lot to do with the behavior and attitude of

the people,” the judge stated. “Any kind of warrant is a serious issue,

and should not be taken lightly.

“Today, we’re giving those people a chance to remove the warrant, get

a new court date and to get rid of the cloud hanging over their head.”

King County Sheriff Reichert was a little more succinct, stating,

“We’re giving people with misdemeanor warrants the opportunity to come in

and clear up their situation on their own. If they don’t, we’re going to catch

up with them sooner or later.”

For more information on the program, call the King County

Sheriff’s Office at (206) 296-1068.