A new judge in Ferguson, MO. is ordering that all arrest warrants issued before Dec. 31, 2014 be thrown out. This is after a scathing Justice Department report that criticized the city for using arrest warrants disproportionately against African American residents in order to get them to pay various city fines, which the report says were excessive in the first place.
Reuters reports that defendants will receive new court dates, along with alternatives to the warrants in getting their cases resolved. These alternative options include community service and payment plans.
Judge Donald McMullin ordered that the warrants be purged. McCullin, who happens to be black, replaced former Ferguson Judge Ronald Brockmeyer, who resigned after the report came out five months ago. Reuters quoted Brendan Roediger, a local lawyer, as saying that while this measure will make a difference for a lot of people, it won’t solve everything: “Payment plans and community service do not solve racial profiling or excessive fines.”
Hopefully, though, the throwing out of warrants is one in a long line of steps that will bring systemic change to Ferguson, what with residents saying that not much has changed in the city one year after the death of Michael Brown, and the protests that followed his killing by a Ferguson police officer.