They're not even involved in the system.

But what's really more uh beneficial is that back in 2020 and 2019, less than five percent of residents who uh who were in front of a judge had a lawyer with them.

Now that percentage is very high.

I know, right?

The council, the organization will come before you, but um we're I think they're averaging approximately 80 percent right now.

And and because there's a lawyer on each side, it's a fair process.

Um you and and we're not as judges, we take no side, we're there to we're fair and neutral parties, but you cannot have a fair system when 95% of the people in front of you are represented by a lawyer and the other side doesn't have a lawyer.

And so I I want to say that your work over the years with passing the ordinance and supporting it, uh, we're seeing the difference.

Um we started out with two agencies.

Uh we had there are four agencies in the court now.

Uh NDS is the latest agency that has come.

Um we have Lada, we have UCH and Lakeshore Legal Aid.

And so um the system is working, it's not perfect, but it is so much better, and it is getting better each year.

And so uh we are looking to um start a diversion um system.

Uh we're working with uh read, some of our some of our developers and landlords and our agencies to come up with the system.

So if you have a person that I mean they they owe a couple hundred dollars, they should not have to go and face an eviction.

There should be a process where we can give some assistance and work with that.

So there is a pilot program that is starting to work on that, and so we're trying to get that number of 20,000 cases to come down before we come here next year, and by diverting some of those cases is a way of doing it.

Um continue to be very aggressive is our grant writing.

Uh we try to make sure that when we ask uh the city for resources that we've exhausted all other remedies and that we've gone out.

Uh we have um, you know, we've been successful again, um receiving grants.

However, um there's been a change in administration and there's been a change in how the federal grants are uh being awarded for our specialty court.

And I'm gonna talk a little bit at the end um because we have uh we have a gap now where we from um federal grants that are no longer available um that we are going to ask the council uh to help us because it's very necessary.

Uh councilman Benson uh asked if we could have counsel judge uh Shannon Holmes, who's the our presiding judge of the specialty court division, if she could uh also be a part of our presentation.

I believe Judge Holmes is on Zoom and she's gonna talk about some of the things that that she's doing.

Um our revenue collections, uh we are we're on our target of our goals working with our collections agency as well as uh we have an amnesty program going right now.

Uh the amnesty program will go into the first week in April.

Uh the amnesty program uh has brought in uh over a little over 400,000 dollars already in just two weeks.

Um the benefit of the amnesty program is a couple things.

First of all, we we decided to have the amnesty program this year based on the affordability challenges that are occurring in this country, and obviously in the city of Detroit, uh everything is more expensive.

Um, you know, my DT bill is triple this year.

Uh we know what gas is, and so this is a way we don't want people driving with their license suspended because they can't afford late fines and warrant fees and things of that nature.

So we thought this would be a good time to have the amnesty program.

Uh people are, you know, our first day, you know, people were lined up everywhere outside.

You people were paying at the kiosk, they were going to cashiers, and it lets you know that people don't want to drive with their license suspended.

This is a way of letting them know you you know you're still gonna have to pay what the original fine was, but all these other things, uh, an average ticket will have roughly a hundred to a hundred and thirty dollars worth of additional late fees, fines, and uh, and warrant cost on them, then you'll have a person that may have four or five tickets.

So they're saving four to five hundred dollars by coming down during amnesty.

And so again, this is going to go into the first week in April.

Uh, I think uh I think councilwoman Johnson may have asked, did we uh have we considered uh extending it?

Uh not at this time, but if it's still going strong um in like another week, we may still consider it to, but we're gonna um I'm gonna do some more media and outreach to let people know we're still going, and please you don't want to you know start the spring out driving with your license suspended.

Come down, and we've been pushing back on some misinformation that if you come down to the court to pay your fines, you're gonna get arrested and things that you're not even seeing a judge.

You either go into the kiosk or you're going to a window and you're just taking care of it, and you can walk out with your clearance with you in your hand at your license.

The secretary of state has been very good with instantaneously uh putting the um putting their licenses back.

Um again, um another thing that we were um we've been very active is working with our restoration clinics on this same uh level to help people get their licenses, uh their license reinstated.

Um we were part of uh a warrant um uh clinic in collaboration with uh the growing uh real alternatives everywhere program on May 10th, 2025 at the Butzel uh Family Recreational Center.

Um we we uh serviced 160 residents, 745 warrants were sc were canceled on that day.

Um October 25th with the same organization.

Um there were 24 residents that were served in that restoration clinic.

A hundred uh one thousand eighty warrants were canceled uh and court dates were rescheduled.

Uh there was a road to restoration clinic in collaboration with uh Michigan Department of State, Secretary of State, uh June 24th of last year in uh Southwest Detroit at uh La Said Community Center.

81 residents uh were served there.

Um 272 warrants were canceled, and we received $3,561 in payments on the spot.

Uh again, we had one at Eastern Market on September 25th.

99 residents were served, 331 warrants uh were canceled, and 3,348 uh dollars were brought in.

And the last rec uh the last uh restoration clinic was uh held with Secretary of State.

This one was in Dearborn at the Hype Recreational Center.

Uh we saw a hundred Detroit residents, 390 warrants were canceled, and we brought in uh $5,727.

While the payments are important that we were bringing in that revenue, plus a lot of residents that their license um they were able to drive out of there uh with their license restored, and so we're gonna continue uh with our restoration clinics.

Uh restorative justice is something that we are uh trying to expand upon, and that's that's been one of those ways.

Um internship program uh last year, just a couple more items.