Nevada County Picayune and Gurdon Times Newspaper Archive

For Hot Check Writers: Amnesty Offered In Clark County

While it's never a good idea to write a hot check, those who have outstanding bad paper can get help without facing criminal charges.

A hot check amnesty program is in effect in Clark County until Aug. 31, through the Clark County Prosecuting Attorney's Office.

For the rest of the month, any person who thinks they may have an outstanding hot check before Aug. 1, 1999, can get this problem taken care of without having to go to court.

According to Darlene Simpson, hot check coordinator, those who have hot checks out are being given the chance to pay restitution and the accompanying court costs and have the warrants dropped.

While there has been some response to this program, Simpson said it hasn't been received as well as had been hoped.

After Aug. 31, she said, the prosecuting attorney's office will get more aggressive where hot checks are concerned. Those with outstanding hot checks will have their names ran in the newspaper, and police officers will have warrants for their arrest.

"We tried to think of a way to help the merchants recuperate some of their losses and give people a chance to correct their mistakes with no criminal charges," Simpson said.

This is also a good way, she added, to help alleviate the workload of the police departments in the county.

Anyone who thinks they may have a bad check out, whether they actually do or not, should contact Simpson's office and find out. Anyone who knows someone who may have a hot check out should have them call.

Hot checks, Simpson said, are not an isolated problem for the area, and this is a way those with bad checks out can keep their criminal records clean.

However, she said, it is up to the violators to take action at this time and take advantage of the amnesty being offered.

After Aug. 31, those with hot checks can be charged a $20 merchant's fee, up to $75 for the prosecutor's fee, restitution of the check amount, and court fees and costs up to $175. This is done on each individual hot check as each is considered a separate offense.

However, for those who habitually write bad checks or pass bad paper for $200 or more, felony charges could be levied.

Simpson said this will entail a visit to circuit court, hiring an attorney, possibly having a jury trial and some serious time behind bars.

Anyone convicted of violating the felony hot check laws can be sentenced from three to 10 years in prison, be fined up to $10,000 and still have to pay restitution and court costs.

Simpson said the prosecutor's office usually doesn't pursue felony charges unless a check is for more than $200, or a series of checks totals more than this amount. Out of state visitors writing hot checks are normally charged as felons so they can be extradited and returned to Arkansas.