Last year, more than 900,00 people lost their driver's license in Virginia because they couldn't pay court costs. An estimated 75% continued to drive, in part because they had no other way to get to work. Now, Sandy Hausman reports that Virginia's Legal Aid Justice Center is suing to stop courts from penalizing poor people in this way.
About one of every six people in Virginia has had their driver’s license suspended, usually because they couldn’t pay legal fees and fines.
“Now this isn’t because of being dangerous behind the wheel, says Angela Ciolfi, an attorney with Virginia's Legal Aid Justice Center. "It's because you can’t afford or have neglected to pay court costs and fines.”
Now, Legal Aid Justice has filed suit against the Department of Motor Vehicles, arguing this penalty is unfair to the poor.
“It’s a fundamental principle of our justice system that we don’t punish people for their poverty," Ciolfi explains, "but that’s exactly what we do when we set unrealistic, one-size-fits-all payment plans that people can’t afford.”
Legal Aid Justice argues that without a license, people may be unable to reach their jobs, making it even more difficult for them to pay, and the suit contends courts should find out, in advance, how much a person could actually afford, given the need to pay for food, shelter, medical bills and child support.
