It's unconstitutional for the state of Tennessee to continue
revoking driver's licenses from people who can't pay court costs, a
federal judge according to the Tennessean.
The ruling from U.S. District Judge Aleta Trauger will
have broad national and state ramifications, said Claudia Wilner, a senior
attorney with the National Center for Law and Economic Justice in New York
City who worked on the case.
Calling Trauger's ruling a "tour de force," Wilner
said the order means more than 100,000 people in Tennessee can start the
process today of regaining their driver's license.
"Practically speaking, this is going to be a huge
benefit to the low-income people of Tennessee who are going to be able to
drive to work, take their kids to school, go to the grocery store, visit the
doctor, without fear of being arrested and prosecuted for driving without
a license," Wilner said in an interview.
"Many, many people who have been unable to find work
are going to be free to go back to work again."
Trauger's ruling orders the department to stop revoking the licenses
and to reinstate the license of any individual who had theirs revoked due
solely to non-payment of fees. The department must present a plan to the court
within 60 days for how it plans to reinstate all of the licenses revoked under
this law.
A spokeswoman for the department referred comment to the
Tennessee attorney general.
"We are disappointed with the trial court’s decision
and are considering all of our legal options," said Kelly K. Smith, a
senior advisor in the office of the attorney general.
But Shelby County District Attorney General Amy Weirich
praised the decision.
“This ruling will give relief to those drivers whose
licenses are revoked only because they lack the financial resources to pay
their fines and court costs," Weirich said in a statement. "Our
hope is that this will be a positive step toward rehabilitation since offenders
getting their driving privileges restored will make employment more feasible.
Also, it will reduce our daily caseload and allow us to focus even more on
violent crimes and property crimes.”
There are similar laws in states around the country. Wilner
said Trauger's ruling could influence other decisions elsewhere in the nation,
one that could impact hundreds of thousands of people trying to improve their
lives.
"This is the first decision in the nation to hold that
these kinds of suspensions or revocations without consideration of a person's
ability to pay are unconstitutional," Wilner said.
"The court’s opinion was so detailed and so thoughtful that we
expect it to be extremely influential for other courts in other
jurisdictions that will be considering the same question."To read more CLICK HERE
No comments:
Post a Comment