Personal Narrative: Andria
Andria is a mother raising eight children in Oklahoma City, OK. She has been struggling with court debt and drivers’ license suspensions for over a decade.
Driver's License Suspension
Personal Narrative: Michael
Michael has been without a driver’s license since 2008. He was on a payment plan making payments on misdemeanor court fees he owed in Citrus County, Florida when an auto-draft of his checking account came one week early and Michael defaulted on his payment.
Personal Narrative: Joan
Joan is an Orlando, Florida resident whose license was suspended about six times between 2003 and 2017 for unpaid traffic tickets and court fees. Her most recent suspension from 2019 was due to lack of car insurance. Since many Florida courts do not grant payment plans, Joan has been burdened by late fees while struggling to pay her tickets to avoid having her license suspended.
Florida v. Cummings
Cummings moved to correct the judgment against him assessing costs, contending that the financial obligations assessed by the Court were not authorized by statute, ordinance, or administrative order for municipal ordinance violations.
Payment Plans As A Compliance Tool: Best Practices For Florida Courts
his brief describes the various ways in which payment plans are administered inconsistently across Florida’s counties. The author argues that these conflicting procedures breed confusion among people who have court debt, especially those who owe money to courts in different jurisdictions.
Personal Narrative: Janet
Janet's license was suspended after her ex-partner incurred multiple toll violations and red light camera tickets while driving her car. She has been forced to spend money using ride-share services and to depend on her sister since she she can't afford to settle her debt and bring her license back in good standing.
6 Things to Know about Virginia Budget Amendment to Temporarily Halt Driver’s License Suspensions for Unpaid Court Debt
This fact sheet for Virginia drivers provides guidance on how they can go about reinstating driver’s licenses that were suspended for unpaid court debt.
Free to Drive: National Campaign to End Debt-Based License Restrictions
Driver’s license suspensions for unpaid fines and fees are both counterproductive and harmful to millions nationwide, particularly the poorest people in our communities.
Personal Narrative: Lance
Lance's New York driver's license was suspended in 1993 and remained suspended for the duration of his incarceration. The court costs and other fines and fees accrued during this time. After his release from prison in Pennsylvania, he moved home with his wife and together, the two of them worked to pay off the fines. Lance was only working minimum wage when he first came home, making an already arduous process that much slower and even more tedious.
Personal Narrative: Joseph
Joseph's involvement with law enforcement that led to a suspended license was the result of a DUI for smoking marijuana in 2014. Five years later, his license has still not been reinstated.