Va. law that seizes licenses for unpaid court debt appears doomed.
There is a good chance that 2020 will see the permanent demise of the law, thanks to the efforts of lawyers, legislators and advocates for the rights of those in poverty. At the forefront has been Amy Woolard of the Charlottesville-based Legal Aid Justice Center.
Virginia’s law not only singles out Virginia’s most economically vulnerable people, she said, “it forces people with suspended licenses to go into court and endure a shameful and explicit process.”
“I was pulled over a few years ago and ticketed for a broken taillight, which is a common traffic stop for our clients too,” Woolard said. “I was able to go online and immediately pay my ticket with a debit card in the privacy of my own home. I never had to step foot in a courtroom, answer to a prosecutor or a judge or figure out what to do if I didn’t have the money.”
That, she argues, sets up a disparate and unjust system for clients such as hers.
Woolard and the LAJC, with pro bono support from McGuireWoods, have sued to challenge the law’s constitutionality. U.S. District Judge Norman Moon in Charlottesville rejected a motion by the state to dismiss the lawsuit earlier this year but stayed the litigation pending the end of the 2020 Virginia General Assembly.
https://www.virginiamercury.com/2019/12/16/va-law-that-seizes-licenses-for-unpaid-court-debt-appears-doomed-good-riddance/
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