There were way too many people behind on paying fines to the office of District Judge Gary A. Whiteman recently.
So Whiteman held an unannounced "night court" session and sent out a team of 10 constables to look for those who had defaulted on payment schedules or failed to answer court-issued notices.
Guess what? Twenty-three people came through Whiteman's doors and 35 open cases were addressed. Only two of the people brought before Whiteman were sent to jail because they couldn't make any payments at all.
Sometimes, gentle nudges don't work. A little pushback can get results.
Good work by the magistrate judge and the constables.
