Driving with Debt: What Attorneys and Organizers Can Do to Address the Problem of Driver’s License Suspensions for Court Debt

Most states suspend driver’s licenses based on unpaid debts arising out of criminal proceedings or traffic tickets, and as a result millions of low-income people have lost their licenses simply because they cannot afford to pay fines and fees. This webinar will briefly address the harsh, perverse, and discriminatory impact of such policies before diving into what attorneys and local organizers can do to address this problem. We’ll use efforts in Virginia and North Carolina as case studies, and will hear from advocates in Virginia engaged in impact litigation and legislative reform efforts that appear poised for success, as well as from an attorney and an organizer with North Carolina’s innovative Second Chance Mobility Project, which pairs a drivers’ license protection and restoration legal services delivery program with community engagement and organizing.
Speakers:
Angela Ciolfi, Legal Aid Justice Center
Daniel Bowes, North Carolina Justice Center
Dennis Gaddy, Community Success Initiative
Moderated by Samuel Brooke, Southern Poverty Law Center