185,000 NC driver’s licenses were suspended in recent years. Here’s how to get yours back
A settlement recently approved by a U.S. District judge will allow thousands of North Carolinians with suspended licenses the chance to get their driving privileges back.
Under the agreement, the N.C. Division of Motor Vehicles will notify more than 185,000 residents who lost their licenses after failing to pay tickets, court costs and other financial penalties.
The complaint, filed by the ACLU and other groups in May 2018, claimed that the state violated the due process rights of mostly poor and minority drivers by suspending their licenses for failure to pay fees without not giving them a chance to explain their financial circumstances to a judge.
Dustin Chicurel-Bayard, a spokesman for ACLU of North Carolina, and Michele Delgado, a staff attorney for the ACLU, spoke with The Charlotte Observer about why the group decided to take this case on, and how those with suspended licenses can reinstate them.
Q: Why is something the ACLU decided to take on?
A: People in North Carolina should not be punished just because they’re not wealthy. Unfortunately, there was a practice in the state of denying people their driver’s licenses without having a hearing on whether or not they were able to pay those fines and fees leading to their revocation. Righting that wrong was very important, especially because taking away someone’s driver’s license has a significant impact on their ability to do basic things, including providing for their families by going to work, going to school, taking their children to doctor’s appointments and things like that.
Q: Why were minority drivers disproportionately impacted?
A: In short, many of the systemic issues that have discriminated against people and communities of color result in continual and widespread harm. Systemic racism is certainly a factor in Black and brown people being excluded from opportunities, including building generational wealth. Black and brown drivers are disproportionately impacted by a process that punishes people for not being wealthy because systemic racism has perpetuated numerous harms upon those communities, economic harm included.
Q: Were minority drivers targeted by police?
A: Drivers of color have historically been targeted by police. Unfortunately, that doesn’t seem to be changing significantly over time. Looking at statistics, Black and brown drivers still experience a disproportionate number of traffic stops compared to white drivers.
Q: What is the process for people to reinstate their licenses?
A: The DMV is sending out notices to 185,000 people who could have been impacted by this practice. The notification will outline the process that people need to go through to request having their license reinstated. That includes calling the local clerk of court and requesting a hearing about that person’s ability to pay those fines and fees that led to the revocation of their licenses.
Q: When will notices from the DMV be sent?
A: Over the next 60 days, the DMV will be contacting by mail and email more than 185,000 drivers.
Q: How likely are people to get their licenses back?
A: The likelihood of reinstatement is difficult to gauge. Every driver’s driving record and financial situation is different. The court will have a lot to consider when presiding over these hearings, but what’s important here is that drivers now know that this is an opportunity to be heard. We are hopeful that with this increase of available information, we will see more drivers reinstated in the upcoming years.
Q: How long will it take for licenses to be reinstated?
A: The length of time for reinstatement will vary from driver to driver due to several factors. Some drivers have only one outstanding fine while others may have multiple fines in different counties. Scheduling hearings is also a factor. The speed in which these hearings will be scheduled will vary from county to county based on their court’s current docket.
Q: Will those eligible to have their license reinstated have all fees waived?
A: Courts have a number of options when having a hearing about someone’s ability to pay fines and fees. That can include dismissing those fees, but it can also include reducing them, a mixture of reducing some and keeping some or determining that someone is capable of paying, so there’s no guarantee for drivers that the outcome of the hearing is going to be favorable. But what we saw in what the plaintiffs in this case pursued was making sure that everyone who was unable to pay fines and fees, had a chance to have their hearing was aware of their right to that hearing. And that the courts will consider that as part of the process.
Q: What legal recourse do affected drivers have against the state?
A: Thanks to this settlement, North Carolinians will have a website that will provide informational videos, written explanatory (documents) and forms, and other materials on how to prevent or remove a license suspension for non-payment from their record. That website is resolvetrafficdebtnc.org.
Observer reporter Mike Gordon contributed to this story.
