Civil Rights Groups Sue DMV for Revoking Licenses Over Unpaid Fines

In a federal lawsuit, civil rights groups say the North Carolina Division of Motor Vehicles' practice of revoking the driver's licenses of people who cannot pay for traffic tickets is unconstitutional.

The American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU), the ACLU of North Carolina, the Southern Poverty Law Center (SPLC), and the Southern Coalition for Social Justice (SCSJ) filed the suit in U.S. District Court today on behalf of two plaintiffs who have had their licenses revoked.

Forty-three states revoke licenses over unpaid fines and fees, but in North Carolina, that revocation is automatic and indefinite. As a result, about 430,000 North Carolinians have had their licenses revoked because of court debt, according to 2017 DMV numbers. (North Carolina also suspends licenses automatically and indefinitely for failing to appear in court for traffic offenses).

State law requires that licenses be automatically revoked for nonpayment of a traffic ticket forty days after a court judgement is entered, but the law doesn't require a hearing to determine whether the person is capable of paying the fines or fees levied. The groups filing the suit says this violates North Carolinian's Fourteenth Amendment rights to due process and equal protection under the law.

Read more: https://www.indyweek.com/news/archives/2018/05/30/civil-rights-groups-sue-dmv-for-revoking-licenses-over-unpaid-fines