There was a very significant federal court decision in Tennessee this week. It’s been a bit drowned out by other news, but this ruling has the potential to have a huge and wide-reaching effect on Republican attempts at voter suppression -at least through one (very effective, from their point of view) avenue.
The case was about the state confiscating driver’s licenses of people who had been unable to pay court costs when appearing for various misdemeanors. Losing their licenses severely impacted their ability to find or keep employment which would have enabled them to pay later. In some cases, desperate people would drive even without a license in order to work, and when caught driving without a license would then face further court costs in a terrible cycle which seemed almost designed to keep people indigent (and also disenfranchised).
Calling the ruling a "tour de force," attorney Claudia Wilner said the order means more than 100,000 people in Tennessee can start the process today of regaining their drivers license. https://t.co/y9Z5XnMhG1â Tennessean (@Tennessean) July 3, 2018
Calling the ruling a "tour de force," attorney Claudia Wilner said the order means more than 100,000 people in Tennessee can start the process today of regaining their drivers license. https://t.co/y9Z5XnMhG1
So, it’s great news that this case was won in favor of people getting their licenses back if they lost them only because of inability to pay court costs, but the larger significance of this decision could be a game changer. It could have enormous implications for civil rights and the effort to stop voter suppression. It is the first decision of its kind challenging these policies and it could potentially set a national precedent. In fact, there is a case up before the NC court right now (brought by ACLU, naturally — if you can, donate here).
Currently, 33 states have some sort of voting ID requirement and for many, if not most, people the only acceptable ID they possess (and can afford) is a driver’s license. Taking away driver’s licenses from people who are too poor to pay court costs is, in a very real way, a tool of institutional voter suppression. It is no small coincidence that laws like the one just struck down in Tennessee by the federal judge in Nashville are promoted by Republican legislatures and defended in terms of “homeland security”. This is one of the underhanded ways that Republicans have sought to deny IDs to POC and the poor (who are targeted in the vast majority of misdemeanor arrests, and often least able to pay costs) while unceasingly working to pass Voter ID laws in their states.
The judge in the case, Judge Aleta A. Trauger, did not bring up the voting rights aspect of the decision, focusing instead on the ruling that taking away licenses for failure to pay court costs is unconstitutional. This was proper and her ruling has been described as “detailed and thoughtful”. The subtext here being that it is likely to be a ruling that will be difficult to overturn on legal grounds. You can read the full ruling here.
Court fees can be 'completely overwhelming' Court fees fuel the criminal justice system but are a significant burden for many people. Someone accused of petty crimes may still face thousands of dollars of court costs; as that person fails to pay, the costs increase. In Tennessee, a failure to pay means the state can revoke your driver's license. In her ruling, Trauger said the law is "not merely ineffective; it is powerfully counterproductive. "If a person has no resources to pay a debt, he cannot be threatened or cajoled into paying it; he may, however, become able to pay it in the future. But taking his driver’s license away sabotages that prospect," Trauger wrote. An analysis cited in the judge's order shows from July 1, 2012 to June 1, 2016, the Tennessee Department of Safety and Homeland Security revoked 146,211 driver’s licenses for failure to pay fines, costs or other fees. Only 10,750 of those people had their licenses reinstated, according to the analysis. ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------— 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.
Court fees fuel the criminal justice system but are a significant burden for many people. Someone accused of petty crimes may still face thousands of dollars of court costs; as that person fails to pay, the costs increase.
In Tennessee, a failure to pay means the state can revoke your driver's license. In her ruling, Trauger said the law is "not merely ineffective; it is powerfully counterproductive.
"If a person has no resources to pay a debt, he cannot be threatened or cajoled into paying it; he may, however, become able to pay it in the future. But taking his driver’s license away sabotages that prospect," Trauger wrote.
An analysis cited in the judge's order shows from July 1, 2012 to June 1, 2016, the Tennessee Department of Safety and Homeland Security revoked 146,211 driver’s licenses for failure to pay fines, costs or other fees.
Only 10,750 of those people had their licenses reinstated, according to the analysis.
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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.
And this good news gets better! The judge’s ruling is deemed so well-reasoned and constitutionally supported that it is hoped by civil rights lawyers that it will have an influence on similar cases in other states (NC, for starters) but even better, it is hoped that this ruling will help to inform the proceedings in a related case, which has impacted even more potential voters:
“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.” Both Wilner and Spickler said they believe the ruling likely means a similar order could come in another, related lawsuit they also brought against the state. The attorneys are also suing the state on behalf of people who had their driver's licenses revoked for not paying traffic tickets. There are more than 250,000 people who lost their license for not paying these tickets since 2012. The lawsuit was already granted class action status by Trauger, and an order could come later this year.
“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.”
Both Wilner and Spickler said they believe the ruling likely means a similar order could come in another, related lawsuit they also brought against the state.
The attorneys are also suing the state on behalf of people who had their driver's licenses revoked for not paying traffic tickets. There are more than 250,000 people who lost their license for not paying these tickets since 2012.
The lawsuit was already granted class action status by Trauger, and an order could come later this year.
Look at those numbers! Hundreds of thousands of people have been deprived of their only “valid” photo ID (and thus their ability to vote), in Tennessee alone. Imagine what the numbers could be nationwide! Civil rights lawyers and righteous judges are working hard on the behalf of ordinary Americans and other cases are already working their way through the courts, in spite of the unsurprising, unceasing efforts of Republicans to block and delay them. Keep an eye on this story (next up, NC) because this is a big deal.
You can read about it here:
Judge: Tennessee can't revoke driver's licenses from people who can't pay court costs, Dave Boucher, Tennessean, July 3, 2018.
Nashville Judge Strikes Down Law That Has Revoked Thousands Of Tennessee Driver's Licenses, Chas Sisk, NashvillePublicRadio, July 3, 2018.
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