Municipal courts offer warrant relief during holidays

Angela Soo

Tuesday, Nov. 20, 2001 | 10:21 a.m.

The municipal courts of North Las Vegas and Las Vegas have a holiday gift for residents with outstanding warrants: a chance to clear their record and stay out of jail.

North Las Vegas courts will hold a moratorium Nov. 27 through Dec. 21. All misdemeanor bench warrants and failure-to-appear warrants may be cleared from a person's record without danger of arrest.

To receive the waiver, those with warrants must appear in person at the North Las Vegas Warrant Division, where a moratorium hearing will be scheduled on a Thursday in December or on Jan. 3. No bail will be required at the time. The warrants will remain active until the hearing, though no arrests will be made, according to court officials.

The warrants will be served during the hearing, where they can be paid and cleared. Judges can decide to reduce fines or set up a payment plan.

Municipal Court hours are 7 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. Tuesday through Friday; on Dec. 21 the office will close at noon.

The Las Vegas Municipal Court moratorium is scheduled from Dec. 17 through Jan. 18, with the court determining which warrants qualify. Interested offenders should call 382-6878.

A security guard at the courthouse remembered the crowd who came during the moratorium observance two years ago.

"A lot of people took advantage of the moratorium," Hal Morelli said. "A $500 warrant can go up to $3,000."

Henderson Municipal Court conducted a warrant relief period in March. There were 398 warrants resolved in March, compared to 328 in a typical month, Bill Zihlmann, the Henderson Municipal Court office supervisor, said.

"It's a way to reduce the amount of outstanding warrants so that the city isn't bogged down, and it also gives individuals a chance to pay down their warrants," Zihlmann said.