| 1 | Protesters yell at a police line shortly before shots were fired in shooting that involved a police officer in Ferguson, Missouri, this month. |
| 2 | A new municipal judge in Ferguson, Missouri, on Monday ordered that all arrest warrants issued in the city before December 31, 2014, be withdrawn in sweeping changes to court practices following the shooting of unarmed black teenager Michael Brown a year ago. |
| 3 | Municipal Court Judge Donald McCullin, who was appointed in June, ordered the changes in response to a scathing Justice Department report that strongly criticised city leaders in its report, saying the police force and court worked together to exploit people to raise revenue. |
| 4 | A police officer tries to separate angry citizens in Ferguson in March, as anger intensified following the shooting death of Michael Brown. |
| 5 | Defendants will receive new court dates along with options for disposing of their cases, such as payment plans or community service. |
| 6 | Fines may be commuted for indigent people. |
| 7 | The Justice Department specifically said Ferguson's municipal court practices caused significant harm to many people as minor municipal code violations turned into multiple arrests, jail time, and payments that exceeded the cost of the original ticket many times over. |
| 8 | Judge McCullin, who is black, ordered instead that if an arrest warrant is issued for a minor traffic violation, the defendant will not be jailed, but will be released on their own recognisance and given another court date, the city said. |
| 9 | "These changes should continue the process of restoring confidence in the court | and giving many residents a fresh start," Judge McCullin said in a statement. |
| 10 | He added that many people who have their driver's licences suspended will be able to obtain them and start driving again. |
| 11 | In the past, the city's director of revenue would suspend a defendant's driver's licence solely for failing to appear in court or failing to pay a fine. |
| 12 | Judge McCullin replaced Judge Ronald Brockmeyer who resigned after being criticised in the Justice Department report. |
| 13 | "It is meaningful and will have a real impact on the lives of many," said St Louis-area lawyer Brendan Roediger, who has helped represent some protesters complaining of mistreatment by police and courts in Ferguson. |
| 14 | "That being said, payment plans and community service do not solve racial profiling or excessive fines," Mr Roediger said. |
| 15 | The Justice Department launched its investigation into Ferguson's police department and municipal court after the August 9, 2014, shooting death of 18-year-old Brown by white police officer Darren Wilson. |
| 16 | Mr Wilson was not charged in the shooting, and the incident triggered nationwide protests and widespread complaints of mistreatment of blacks by police. |