Recap: Why People Don’t Appear For Court and What Happens When They Don’t
Part 2 of our Webinar Series "Life on Hold: The Impact of Driver's License Suspensions"
On March 19th, the Wilson Center for Science and Justice hosted the second installment of the three-part Life on Hold series. The discussion focused on “Failure to Appear” (FTAs), why people miss their court dates, how current responses to FTAs can create additional barriers, and which approaches might more effectively improve appearance.
We were joined by four panelists and a moderator:
Panelists:
- Ashley Shelton is a parent in long-term recovery and a full-time college student studying psychology and addiction studies. When her driver’s license was suspended over a ticket she could not afford to resolve, it created a devastating cycle—preventing her from getting to court and forcing her daughter to leave her private school because she could no longer legally drive her.
- Graham McNallie is a father from Nash County. After receiving a traffic ticket during a financially difficult period following a separation, his driver’s license was suspended, which limited his employment opportunities and made it harder to support his family.
- Mitch Lucas is the Restoration Legal Counsel for the Orange County Criminal Justice Resource Department. His work focuses on Driver's License Restorations and Expunctions for residents of Orange County. He has served in this role for the last 3 and a half years.
- Eric Jackson is the President of DeepWeave WNC Inc. Eric became involved in local justice reform efforts in 2020 when he brought together stakeholders for a Bloomberg Center for Government Excellence workshop on driver's license restoration & renewal. He then served in 2020-2025 on the Buncombe County Safety & Justice Challenge community engagement workgroup and led the development of the Buncombe County Court Reminders System, which he continues to maintain.
- Moderated by Lindsay Bass-Patel, Policy Analyst with the Wilson Center for Science and Justice at Duke Law
Failure to Appear: What does it look like in North Carolina?
Lindsay Bass-Patel opened by sharing key context about driver’s license suspensions before introducing the panelists. The average time to resolve an FTA is four years, a delay that can have unparalleled disruptions to someone’s daily life. In the meantime, if someone continues to drive with a suspended license, they risk being charged with a Class 3 misdemeanor, which can carry jail time. This broader context set the stage for the experiences shared by panelists Ashley and Graham, who spoke about how these policies play out in real life and the difficult cycles license suspensions can create. As Lindsay noted, “Their stories remind us that behind every policy are real people and families navigating difficult circumstances.”
How a miscommunication about a court date led to license suspension, piling bills, and a daughter forced to change schools
Ashley Shelton is a parent living in Randolph County, without a major public transportation system. At the time of her initial ticket, she worked as a cleaning lady, which required her to drive to clients’ homes. Her license was suspended because she couldn’t afford to pay a traffic ticket, and a miscommunication about her court date. When asked about her experience at court, she shared, “I talked to the DA to the side. I told her I needed a week. She said, ‘I'll give you two weeks.’ I came back in two weeks, and she said that I was supposed to be there the week before.” Ashley reached out to an attorney for legal assistance, but the cost was $600. Since she wasn’t able to drive to and from work anymore, she couldn’t afford the steep legal bills. Additionally, her daughter attended a private school 35 minutes away, which did not provide school buses. As a result of Ashley’s license being suspended, she missed too many days and could no longer attend that school.
“People assume that it's about laziness or defiance, and a lot of times it's just practical obstacles”
Graham McNallie is a single parent working multiple jobs in Nash County. He was going through a divorce and living temporarily in a hotel when he received a traffic ticket. The hotel was so expensive that he took on a part-time job driving for Uber Eats in addition to his full-time work. He typically worked 14-hour days and was pulled over one day after a shift. Graham missed his court date, because in all of the busyness of his life -- his divorce, his two jobs, and taking care of his children, he simply forgot. The notice by mail went to his old address, where he no longer resided, a not uncommon occurrence for people receiving court notices. “People assume that it's about laziness or defiance,” Graham said, “and a lot of times it's just practical obstacles. I was navigating two jobs, childcare, and a divorce.”
Graham only found out months later that his license was suspended. When he reached out to an attorney to resolve those issues, the attorney quoted him $1,300 in legal fees, not including the existing fines, a seemingly insurmountable fee. This license suspension not only affected his ability to get to work, compounding the issue of cost, but it also affected his daughter’s ability to get to school. Nash County has a shortage of bus drivers. Graham would often receive notifications, as many as 2-3 times a week, that a bus would be unavailable to take his daughter to school. He ended up picking up a few more tickets because he chose to drive her to school on those days, before he ultimately had to pull her out of public school in January and homeschool her.
How Orange County is focusing on solutions
Mitchell Lucas also weighed in on why people might not appear for court. “I think there is a common misconception with people who aren't involved in the court system very much, that they believe most FTAs are due to intentional or willful actions of not appearing in court, when in reality, a lot of these are due to very innocent matters. It could be lack of transportation…trying to find childcare, or take time off of work,” said Mitch. “The minority of missing court is intentional. The majority are a lot of these innocent matters,” he added.
Mitch described several initiatives aimed at addressing these barriers, including a new pilot program that makes fixed-route buses free within the jurisdiction to improve access to the court. He also works directly with people in court. Mitchell shared that Orange County holds two main traffic court sessions each month, and he attends them to introduce himself, explain what to expect, and help reduce anxiety by connecting people with available resources. In addition to logistical challenges, he highlighted the financial burden of FTAs, noting that even accessing basic information or resolving a missed court date can incur high costs that accumulate on top of existing fines.
How court reminders can help
Eric Jackson further emphasized that most people miss court dates due to logistical barriers. Drawing on research, he noted that the top two reasons people miss court dates are forgetting or not being aware of the date and lacking transportation, which together account for roughly 80% of cases. He stressed that this issue affects a relatively small portion of people, as 80–97% of people, depending on the jurisdiction, do not miss court, but it carries disproportionate consequences. As he explained, “we’re bringing heavy, heavy consequences on people who have some pretty good reasons why they might not be able to keep up.” Eric noted that simple reminder systems are highly effective. Studies show that phone calls, texts, and mail reminders can significantly improve court attendance, between 10-25%, especially when sent close to the court date and designed to prompt people to arrange childcare or transportation. The best approach is to use an opt-out system, where the court has your phone number and automatically sends people reminders, unless they choose to opt out. Eric also highlighted the value of court navigators, who can reduce confusion and anxiety by helping individuals navigate the courthouse.
Exploring the issue further
This webinar is part of a series. Part 1: Voices from the Ground looked at other impacts of license suspension. Part 3: From Punishment to Prevention: What Other States Are Doing Differently will look at how states and localities are promoting court appearance and compliance aside from license suspension. Some of these alternatives include reminder systems, flexible scheduling, and fee reductions, which all improve outcomes for those involved, while still supporting public safety.
Note: This webinar was for educational purposes only, and the views expressed by panelists do not represent the institutional position of Duke University.