Fort Worth program helps residents clear warrants, traffic tickets without going to jail
Parking tickets, traffic violations and non-violent misdemeanors can all land you a date in your municipal court.
If you don't show up or pay your fine, that can lead to a warrant for your arrest and some time in city jail.
But in Fort Worth, there's a program trying to make sure that doesn't happen, where judges are trading courtrooms for conference rooms.
Hundreds of people are gathered at the Resource Connection campus in Fort Worth, looking for a fresh start.
"You have individuals coming from the prisons, the jails, the halfway houses, the transitional homes," said Andre Johnson with the Cornerstone assistance network
The Continuing to CLIMB job fair is one of the biggest job fairs in Tarrant County for people who have made some mistakes and are trying to get back on their feet. And in one of the rooms off to the side, you'll find one of the most important places to start — a courtroom.
How the Court in the Community program works
It may not look like it, but it is the official home of the city of Fort Worth municipal court, and Chief Justice Simon Gonzales is doing his best to serve forgiveness.
"This program, Court in the Community, warrants forgiveness; it allows people, if they have outstanding citations or warrants, they can come in and take care of their warrants or citations," said Gonzalez.
It's an outreach program that makes the city court more accessible for people, like Aylissa Boardingham.
"I'm here today to try and get my tickets dismissed," said Boardingham.
She parked somewhere she shouldn't have, and she's trying to take care of that. It's part of her plan to get her life back on track after spending time in prison.
"I got picked up two times on the same charges. When I got out the last time, they dismissed it; everything was dropped," said Boardingham.
She says that she was charged with aggravated robbery and robbery charges and that she was at the wrong place at the wrong time. Now she wants to rebuild her life, but that means getting everything cleared up, even parking tickets.
From warrants to fresh starts: A different approach to municipal court
"I'm young and I'm trying, and everybody's not perfect," said Boardingham, "I just want to go back to how it used to be, where I can go and get any job and I don't have to worry about background checks and this, that and the third, I can go in here and get this because I'm ok. But when you have a background, it's hard."
While the city court won't handle more serious charges, Gonzales can help make sure people like Boardingham have a fighting chance to get that fresh start.
"I can set up a payment plan, community service, deferred adjudication, depending on the type of citation and what they can do," Gonzales said.
The next community court date will be held Saturday, Aug. 8, at the Southwest Community Center in Fort Worth. Court is in session starting at 9 a.m.
