Until Wednesday, Dallas Is Waiving Misdemeanor Warrant Fees for People Donating Socks

Every year, the Dallas Municipal Court gives people the chance to deal with their outstanding Class C misdemeanor warrants and have associated fees waived.

Dallas calls this its Ticket Track Down initiative. It generally lasts only two weeks and was expected to end on Sunday, Feb. 5. But the city extended the initiative to this Wednesday, Feb. 8. People hoping to get their warrant fees waived will need to donate a package of three or more pairs of socks. The socks must be dropped off with a county clerk before seeing a judge.

“It’s a win-win,” an employee at the court named Iris told the Observer. “You help yourself by not having a warrant and help someone else by keeping their feet warm.”

All of this can be done without the possibility of arrest. “It is very important to note that no one will be arrested when trying to resolve a citation,” Deputy City Manager Jon Fortune said in a memo last month. “The courthouse has always been a safe harbor location for those with outstanding City of Dallas Class C misdemeanor warrants.”

Jenna Carpenter, a spokesperson for the city, told the Observer that Dallas had a similar initiative in 2019 when residents were able to donate canned goods in exchange for waived warrant fees. This year, Carpenter said, the program processed about 3,000 misdemeanor cases in the first seven days. The initiative was extended until Wednesday because of the recent ice storm.

This initiative applies only to citations and warrants issued by the Dallas Police Department and the Dallas City Marshal’s Office. People can resolve their outstanding citations and warrant fees at the Dallas Municipal Court building, 2014 Main St. They’ll need to be sure to bring their ID.

The socks will likely be donated to Dallas’ homeless shelter, The Bridge. But the city said in a statement that its Office of Homeless Solutions would send the socks wherever else they’re needed.

If people want to resolve their citations after the initiative ends, they can do so by paying online, by phone, by mail or in person. They can also pay with cash at certain retail stores such as Walmart and CVS for a convenience fee or set up a payment plan with the court. For those wanting to pay in cash at select retail stores, they’ll first need to contact a service called AllPaid at 1-833-256-5997 to get a bar code needed to make the payment.