by Office of Communications | Oct 13, 2016
For a short window of time, violators of various traffic laws who failed to show up for their day in court will now have an opportunity to do so: without additional fines. For a period of five weeks, starting on Monday, October 17, 2016 and continuing through Friday, November 18, 2016, City of McAllen Municipal Court will offer a Failure to Appear Amnesty Program.
During this time, the failure to appear charge will be waived for anyone who comes in voluntarily to make arrangements to pay their tickets where the defendant has not previously entered a plea on the FTA. If an officer is now or has been actively looking for a defendant, these defendants will not qualify for amnesty.
“Offering the failure to appear amnesty is a great way to help bring in individuals who, for whatever reason, did not show up on their appointed court date and are now possibly living in fear of being arrested,” said Municipal Court Judge Kathleen Henley. “The amnesty provides them with an opportunity to pay, or make arrangements to pay their fines, without receiving additional fees.”
To receive the amnesty, individuals with outstanding tickets should go the Municipal Court, located at the McAllen Police Headquarters, at 1601North Bicentennial, between 7:30 a.m. and 6:00 p.m. Violators cannot call and ask for the amnesty; they must come in and make the arrangements in person or handle their tickets online.
Please remember that purses, briefcases or bags of any kind are not allowed in the courtroom.
The mission of the City of McAllen Municipal Court is to handle violations in accordance with state law and city ordinances, and to see that every person is treated fairly. An individual who has received a ticket or citation from a McAllen peace officer, a McAllen ISD peace officer or a McAllen code enforcement officer or an STC officer in McAllen needs to contact the Municipal Court to make arrangements to pay the fine or contest the violation. Fines may also be paid online at www.mcallen.net.