Half of the 12 Metro Council members are asking Baton Rouge City Court officials to hold night or Saturday hours once a month to give people who cannot go to court during normal business hours an opportunity to pay their fines.
In a resolution added to this afternoon’s agenda hours before the council’s 4 p.m. meeting, council members Chandler Loupe, John Delgado, C. Denise Marcelle, Chauna Banks-Daniel, Donna Collins-Lewis and Tara Wicker say the success of Saturday’s Amnesty Day shows that people want to pay their fines and court fees, but many cannot do so at the court during business hours because of their jobs.
About 1,500 people traveled Saturday from all over the state to the Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Community Center on Gus Young Avenue to settle their court affairs without fear of being arrested. Because of the overwhelming crowd, court and law enforcement staff could only get to about 250 people.
For those unable to settle their issues Saturday, law enforcement and court officials extended the amnesty period to Monday for District Court and all week for City Court.
Loupe says he thinks the council could provide finances to cover the extra hours for City Court, but he hopes the night and Saturday services would generate enough money to cover the extra hours.
No parameters have been discussed yet about how often the extra sessions would be held or how long the night and Saturday sessions would be. Loupe says he would like to see one night session and one Saturday session each month to give people some options.
Lynn Maloy, clerk of court and judicial administrator for City Court, says two of the biggest obstacles would be the cost of paying not just court employees, but deputy constables, city prosecutors and public defenders, as well as coordinating everyone’s schedule to find a date suitable for everyone.
“It’s not as easy as it may sound for someone outside the system,” Maloy says.
But she does think it is a good idea and something that should be done.
“I do agree that it would be helpful to have some ways to hold court outside our normal dockets to address people who have difficulty with their jobs,” Maloy says.
The resolution says there are more than 100,000 outstanding warrants from the City and District courts, but some officials have said that number is closer to 160,000.
The resolution will be discussed this afternoon when the council meets for the final time in 2015. Council members also will discuss, and possibly vote, on setting the incoming mayor’s salary and introduce Delgado’s Economic Opportunity Zone item, which would offer property tax abatements as an incentive for business owners and developers to develop in north Baton Rouge.
The council meeting begins at 4 p.m. today on the third floor of City Hall, 222 St. Louis St. See the full agenda.
—Ryan Broussard
