Misdemeanor Warrants Go Bye Bye at Event in Kirkwood

In return for a $10 payment and listening to a 15-minute presentation, many city and county residents facing misdemeanor charges were able to erase outstanding warrants from their records at last weekend, the St. Louis Post-Dispatch reports.

The St. Louis Metropolitan Area Amnesty Project run by Better Family Life as part of Family Week 2011, is meant to benefit those who, because they failed to appear in court to answer to charges, now have bench warrants issued against them and, if arrested, could be "forced to pay several hundred dollars for bail," according to the Post.

But by paying the $10 fee and listening to a presentation from Better Family Life, participants are able to receive vouchers that erase the misdemeanor fugitive warrants and set a new court date for $100 bail, the Post says in an article that ran Thursday.

Although last Saturday's event was held at , Kirkwood was not one of the municipalities participating in the Family Week 2011 events as of Aug. 5. Neither was Des Peres, Glendale nor Oakland.

Some St. Louis County municipalities that are participating include Warson Woods, Brentwood, Maplewood, Town and Country, Ballwin and Shrewsbury.

For a complete list of participating municipalities click here.

Better Family Life held a similar event Wednesday at the Ambassador in North St. Louis County and will hold the final Family Week 2011 event Saturday at St. Louis Community College-Forest Park's theater from 7 a.m. to 7 p.m.

QUESTION TO READERS: Are you in favor of municipal courts erasing outstanding warrants for those facing misdemeanor charges?