By Annie Han Driving is critical for many people in North Carolina. North Carolinians need to drive to work, to take their children to school, and to complete other everyday tasks like grocery shopping and attending to their health. But, as important as is the right to drive, it can easily be taken away as […]
Tag: court fines and fees
Wilson Center Releases New Report on NC Fines, Fees, and Driver’s License Suspensions
For some of us, an $80 speeding ticket is an unpleasant inconvenience. Yet for others, particularly those living in poverty, that same ticket can turn into a years-long nightmare of crushing debt and even the loss of their driver’s license altogether. Traffic tickets, infractions, and misdemeanors: these are the lowest level criminal cases. Yet the […]
Feature: Local DEAR Program Helping Residents Restore Licenses
By Ruthie Kesri The Durham Expunction And Restoration (DEAR) program provides free legal services to in-need Durham residents to file expunction petitions and restore suspended or revoked drivers’ licenses. DEAR’s mission centers on ensuring all people have equal access to legal relief. The program has identified that having a criminal record or a suspended driver’s […]
Durham DA Highlights 2020 Successes, Partnerships in Annual Report
By Belle Allmendinger The Durham District Attorney’s office released its 2020 Annual Report on February 18th, demonstrating the incredible work being done on several fronts. From advancing racial equity in the criminal legal system to adapting to socially distant courtrooms, this report highlights internal and external partnerships, including with the Wilson Center for Science and […]
North Carolinians to USCCR: More Has to be Done to Mitigate Impact of Court Fines, Fees
North Carolina residents, attorneys and criminal justice reform advocates laid bare Thursday the brutal consequences for defendants who can’t afford to pay court fines and fees to the North Carolina Advisory Committee to the United States Commission on Civil Rights (USCCR). The Committee has been hosting public panels to hear testimony about post-conviction legal financial obligations […]
Maher Underscores Importance of Public Defense in Task Force’s Racial Equity Work
Duke Center for Science and Justice Executive Director Tom Maher spoke Tuesday to the Governor’s Task Force for Racial Equity in Criminal Justice. The group, which has been working for at least a month, made its first recommendations last week to improve bias within the criminal justice system, and they held a public hearing for […]
Washington Post Weighs in on New Bill About Suspended Driver’s Licenses
The Washington Post editorial board weighed in recently about the unfair practice of suspending driver’s licenses over nonpayment of court fines and fees, calling the policy “self-defeating” to public safety. Last week, the Senate introduced the bipartisan Driving for Opportunity Act to create incentives to stop debt-based driver’s license suspensions. Read more about the pros of […]