Gloria was a 36-year-old single mother with four young children. She was a cook, earning $14 per hour or approximately $1600 per month. She also received $420 per month in food stamps. She owed $2,812.38 in court debt and her driver’s license was suspended. She could not afford to keep up with the court’s payment plan because she already struggled to buy necessities for herself and her children. She continued to drive with a suspended driver’s license to take her children to the school, to get to work, to buy groceries and other basic things. There was no reasonable alternative for her.
Source: Mendoza v. Garrett