Johns Creek offers amnesty court to clear warrants, restore driving privileges

Johns Creek is giving drivers and municipal court defendants a narrow chance to clear old cases before they turn into deeper legal trouble. The Johns Creek Municipal Court said its Amnesty Program will hold special Amnesty Court sessions on May 7 and June 25, 2026, both at 1 p.m. at Johns Creek City Hall, for people with active Failure to Appear bench warrants or unresolved municipal court violations.

The city says the sessions are meant to make it easier to settle eligible cases, clear qualifying court-issued warrants and suspensions, and help people maintain or restore lawful driving privileges. Eligible participants are asked to sign up at the Municipal Court services window before each court date, although walk-ins will be accepted on the Amnesty Court dates. The court also said it will mail instructions to people in Failure to Appear status at their last known address on file.

The program is limited. Johns Creek said it does not apply to Violation of Probation warrants or investigative city warrants issued through the police department. It applies only to eligible Johns Creek Municipal Court Failure to Appear bench warrants. The municipal court, located at 11360 Lakefield Drive, hears violations of state traffic laws and local ordinances within the city limits.

That matters because failure to appear can carry serious consequences. Johns Creek court materials warn that if someone fails to appear or does not pay a fine before the court date, the person’s driver’s license may be suspended and the court may issue a warrant for arrest. Georgia Department of Driver Services guidance says an FTA suspension occurs when a driver fails to appear in court or fails to respond to a traffic citation.

The court also says some offenses still require an in-person appearance and cannot be paid online, including DUI, reckless driving, racing, driving with a suspended license, no insurance, no license, aggressive driving, shoplifting and many city ordinance violations. That means the amnesty session is aimed at people with court matters that have been sitting unresolved, not at every citation on the books.

Johns Creek’s 2025 municipal court annual report shows the court has been pushing access-to-justice and rehabilitation programs more broadly. It reported 454 students in the free DRIVE course during the 2024-25 period, with 433 passing. The same report recorded 257 new probation cases in July through September 2025 and 488 active supervised cases.

The city has used amnesty before. Johns Creek ran a traffic amnesty program in summer 2016, offering people with long-standing violations a way to resolve cases without facing additional related charges. The new effort follows that same pattern: use the court to clear old warrants, reduce the chance of arrest over a missed date, and push drivers back into compliance before the next stop or summons becomes more costly.