Towed Into Debt: How Towing Practices in California Punish Poor People
This report shows the circumstances that lead to a person having their car towed and the consequences that follow in different counties across California.
Collateral Consequences
Driver’s License Suspension in North Carolina: A Report Analyzing Data from 1986 – 2018
This research article highlights the prevalence of driver’s license suspensions in North Carolina due to unpaid fines and fees and failures to appear in court for traffic offenses.
Personal Narrative: Rick
Rick Venable is currently homeless and sleeping in the woods in Jacksonville as a result of a spiral that started with driver's license suspension.
Personal Narrative: Matthew
Matthew Holland is a 32 year old African-American male living in Spring Hill, FL. His license has been suspended for seven years due to unpaid criminal court debt that he owes dating back to convictions as an 18-year-old in 2006.
Personal Narrative: Celeste
Celeste Sawyer is a single mother of five children living in Florida. Her driver’s license was suspended, because she accumulated $584 of traffic ticket debt.
Personal Narrative: Marlo
Knapp's license has been suspended since March of 2010 due to unpaid fines and fees that she owes in Escambia County totaling near $7,000 stemming from a mix of both traffic and criminal cases.
Personal Narrative: Sean
Sean Lewis spent his 36th birthday at the Escambia County Clerk’s Office trying to resolve his overdue court fines and fees so that he could get his driver’s license back.
Driven By Debt: How Driver’s License Suspensions for Unpaid Fines and Fees Hurt Texas Families
This report discusses the various ways debt-based driver’s license suspensions harm Texas drivers, especially those that are low-income and minorities.
Personal Narrative: Melanie
Melanie is a white, 45-year-old resident of South Carolina. As a mother, she tries her best to care for her children but she has not been able to provide basic healthcare for them for years due to her license suspension.
Statutory Inequality: The Logics of Monetary Sanctions in State Law
This article analyzes Illinois laws to investigate the fines and fees people are expected to pay and what happens when they cannot afford to pay these costs.