Lawsuit: Tennessee driver's license law punishes poor
Nashvillian James Thomas can't drive to see his doctor or get to his volunteer work each week because he owes $290 for a trespassing conviction, a crime the formerly homeless man faced for sheltering under a bridge.
Thomas and more than 146,000 Tennesseans have had their driver's licenses revoked since 2012 because of a state law that says court fines that go unpaid for a year result in automatic revocation, according to a lawsuit filed in federal court in Nashville on Wednesday.
The lawsuit says the law violates people's rights to due process and equal protection and unfairly deprives people living in poverty of the right to drive only because they cannot pay fees.
It asks U.S. District Judge Aleta Trauger in Nashville to declare the law unconstitutional, reinstate licenses that have been revoked under the statute and waive reinstatement fees. It does not seek to waive any of the court fines.
The filing echoes a chief concern of some in the criminal justice system: that accruing court fines creates a cycle of debt that traps already low-income people in the court system.
"It’s just so backwards, a law like this make no sense," said Claudia Wilner, an attorney with the National Center for Law and Economic Justice, one of the justice reform organizations that filed the lawsuit.
"These are not people who are running out on their debts. It's people who can’t afford to pay, and it's not their fault they can’t. To do that without providing them notice this is happening, without allowing them to argue they should be able to keep their licenses … those are important fundamental due process protections that are lacking."
The issue has spawned similar lawsuits in other states, including Virginia and California, according to Wilner. But she said Tennessee's law is unique in that it requires no notice to an individual whose license is being revoked.
Read the full lawsuit at the bottom of this story.
The lawsuit was filed by the national center; Just City, which is based in Memphis; the law firm Baker Donelson in Memphis; and the justice reform focused Civil Rights Corps. It names Gov. Bill Haslam, Attorney General Herbert Slatery and Department of Safety and Homeland Security Commissioner David Purkey as defendants. A spokesman for Slatery said the office is reviewing the lawsuit.
The lawyers are seeking class-action status and name Thomas and another Nashville man, David Hixon, as lead plaintiffs.
Thomas, 48, is disabled and relies on government benefits as his only income. After his criminal case in Nashville was resolved more than three years ago, he went to a court clerk asking about fines.
"I said I’m homeless, I have no money, I’m not working, I can’t pay this," Thomas told The Tennessean on Thursday. He did not hear anything else for several years, he said, until he tried to get his Tennessee driver's license in October.
He was told he could not get a license because it had been revoked because of unpaid fines. The lawsuit says Thomas owes $290 to the court, plus a $65 fee to get his license reinstated. Davidson County court records show he owes about $470 more for a dismissed theft charge and second trespassing conviction.
Thomas says he won't be able to pay. That means he can't drive, and must continue walking or taking long bus rides to food shelters he still relies on for meals.
"They shouldn’t just revoke your license just because you're homeless and can’t pay your fine," Thomas said. "They should try and find something to help you, so you can keep your license."
The law went into effect in 2012. Since then, only 7 percent of people who lost their licenses because of unpaid fines have been able to get them back, according to the lawsuit.
Sen. Jack Johnson, R-Franklin, said he sponsored the bill at the request of court clerks who were struggling to collect fines. According to the bill's fiscal note, it was expected to generate nearly $6.5 million revenue by collecting fines.
He said the law included provisions for people with hardships to keep their licenses, such as allowing judges discretion to waive fees and set up payment plans, and said Thursday he continues to support the law.
"We put provisions in the bill where in instances of hardship someone can keep their license," he said, adding that the statute was meant to hold those who knowingly dodge the fines accountable.
"As long as you’re making a good faith effort to repay what you owe, you can keep your license."
By the numbers
146,000: number of Tennessee driver's licenses revoked because of unpaid court fines since 2012
10,750: people whose licenses were revoked but were able to get their licenses back
75: percentage of people in Tennessee charged with crimes who qualify for appointed lawyers because they are poor
6: months in jail and an up to $500 fine are the criminal consequences for driving on a revoked license
Source: Civil complaint filed Wednesday
Reach Stacey Barchenger at 615-726-8968 and on Twitter @sbarchenger.