Case Summary
Formerly Johnson v. Jessup
The North Carolina Division of Motor Vehicles (DMV) revoked the licenses of hundreds of thousands of people simply because they cannot afford to pay traffic fines and court costs. The Southern Poverty Law Center (SPLC), the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU), the ACLU of North Carolina, and Southern Coalition for Social Justice sued on behalf of two impacted individuals (Seti Johnson and Sharee Smoot) and a class of similarly situated individuals to end the practice, which funnels low-income people further into poverty, in violation of their due process and equal protection rights under the 14th Amendment to the U.S. Constitution.
On March 7, 2022, the U.S. District Court for the Middle District of North Carolina approved a negotiated class action settlement that requires the DMV to inform tens of thousands of drivers via a special notice about the process to request a state court hearing to determine if revocation of their driver's licenses was the result of a person's inability to pay fines, penalties, and court costs and if they may be eligible for waiver or reduction of these costs and reinstatement of their license.
Why it's Important
The North Carolinians impacted by this punitive scheme were stripped of their ability to support themselves and their families, as drivers' licenses are crucial to securing and maintaining employment, driving children to school, and obtaining basic needs. The federal lawsuit challenged the DMV's automatic revocation of driver's licenses without providing proper notice and hearings to ensure that people who cannot afford fines and costs will not lose their license.
