There’s an event tomorrow along the Gulf coast featuring food and live music as well as a judge, a prosecutor, and a defense attorney. The City of Mobile is hosting a clinic to resolve outstanding warrants in the court system. It’s the first event of its kind in Alabama and it only handles non-violent offenses. Suntrease Williams-Maynard is a Deputy City Attorney with Mobile. She says her office is partnering with the nonprofit group called Growing Real Alternatives Everywhere to host the clinic.
“Our judge here are Presiding Judge, she is going to be present, she's going to be in plain clothes, and she's going to be at a table across from the person that's handling his or her ward, we will have a defense attorney there we will have someone from our Criminal Division, our criminal chief will be there,” she said.
“The goal is to give offenders the chance to meet with a judge, a prosecutor, and a defense attorney to take care of their warrants in an informal atmosphere. Williams-Maynard says the City Legal Department also benefits since these outstanding warrants are resolved and off the desks of prosecutors…
“We have a civil division, we have a criminal division, so our prosecutors have to deal with this backlog. So this is how it will be helping our legal department. So if we can try to really tackle and help minimize some of this, it will be a win win,” she said.
If any outstanding warrants remain unresolved following tomorrow’s event, the nonprofit group called Growing Real Alternatives Everywhere plans to follow-up with the defendant to continue working their way through the court system. The clinic will take place tomorrow from 11 am to 3 pm at the Springhill Community Center in Mobile.
