Michigan can suspend poor people's driver's licenses for unpaid fines: U.S. appeals court

[Eugene]

Source: Reuters

(Reuters) - A divided federal appeals court ruled on Wednesday that Michigan may suspend the driver’s licenses of poor people with unpaid traffic fines, saying it did not violate their constitutional rights to due process and equal protection.

By a 2-1 vote, the 6th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals said Michigan had legitimate interests in promoting compliance with court orders and collecting traffic debt.

The Cincinnati-based appeals court set aside a Dec. 2017 injunction blocking Michigan from enforcing a law allowing the suspensions.

“Michigan’s choice to wield the cudgel of driver’s-license suspension for nonpayment of court debt dramatically heightens the incentive to pay,” Circuit Judge Alice Batchelder wrote for the majority. “Such a policy is rationally related to the government’s interest in prompt assessment and collection of civil penalties.”

-snip-

U.S. LEGAL NEWS MAY 8, 2019 / 4:05 PM / UPDATED 21 MINUTES AGO
Jonathan Stempel
3 MIN READ


Read more: https://www.reuters.com/article/us-michigan-ruling/michigan-can-suspend-poor-peoples-drivers-licenses-for-unpaid-fines-u-s-appeals-court-idUSKCN1SE2LI

---

Related: 17-2504 - Fowler et al v Benson (U.S. Court of Appeals for the 6th Circuit)

[shenmue]

1. Poverty is not a crime

[marble falls]

5. It is in Michigan!

[barbtries]

8. it is in CA

and has been. i imagine this is true all over the country. poverty is criminalized. all you have to do to get out of your bind is pay. if you can't pay, then your license is suspended, you can't drive, you lose your job, you can't pay the rent, you end up homeless...it's a war on poor people and there's not a lot that's new about it.

commenting on a different issue (schools that refuse the full lunch to children whose lunch tabs are in arrears), i mentioned on fb today that I've been poor and i don't get this unnecessary cruelty in our society, and that maybe everyone should spend at least part of their life poor just to get a touch of empathy. it is sorely lacking in this country.

tonight trump's crowd cheered the idea of shooting immigrants. where will it end.

[cstanleytech]

2. I do not object to that ruling to be honest but what I do object to is that fines are not based on

a persons gross income which would be far more fair in my opinion as then a poor person would actually pay the same % that someone earning a million a year earns.

[yaesu]

3. They can also take your house if you miss a prop tax payment, nasty state to live in. nt

[sinkingfeeling]

4. Many people who have the money refuse to pay traffic fines.

[barbtries]

9. please provide some kind of proof.

i find your assertion absurd.

[Jake Stern]

10. My ex is one of those

She refused to pay a "bullshit" fine even though it was only $75. Well she coughed up the money quick, fast and in a hurry when she discovered she had a bench warrant. She managed to get the warrant quashed but when all was said and done she had shelled out more than $300 in additional fines and court costs.

Instead of going in front of a judge and working out a payment plan or maybe even trying to get the fine reduced due to in ability to pay (in cherry red Missouri they'll do that) many folks think that ignoring the ticket will make it magically go away until they're snapped back to reality after being stopped for a suspended license.

[barbtries]

14. okay so that's 2

i don't know anyone who does that. in CA, your ex would have been out much more than $300 if she was stopped while driving on a suspended license. i know, it happened to me. i was poor then. they took my car and kept it for a month at more money than my rent. it's very expensive for poor people. "many" is not most, not even close. the system penalizes poor people for being poor.

[Midnight Writer]

13. My brother-in-law, the engineer, who keeps a lawyer on retainer.

Exclusively for traffic tickets racked up by him and his three daughters. He claims he has never paid a ticket, he just sends them to his lawyer and forgets about them. I will no longer get in a car he is driving, because he is a crazy man behind the wheel.

Just as many wealthy do not pay taxes the rest of us do. It is a point of pride. Or "sport", as Trump would say.

[dlk]

6. How Can People Drive to a Job to Earn $ for Fines?

This is a creative solution that causes more harm than good.

[pazzyanne]

7. That was my first thought also!

[Journeyman]

11. "The law, in its majestic equality, forbids rich and poor alike to sleep under bridges . . .

to beg in the streets, and to steal their bread.”

- Anatole France

[iluvtennis]

12. GAH. So they can't go to work and get poorer. Double GAH.

[safeinOhio]

15. Liberty and Justice for all....

that can afford it.


U.S.A.
U.S.A.
U.S.A.
U.S.A.

[beachbum bob]

16. makes sense right? People need a car to work to earn money, so now they can't do that becasue they

have no money????

[sokpupet]

17. Take away voting rights for those who file for US Bankruptcy for 10yrs.

This suspending voting rights for this and that is a 21st Century Poll Tax.

[Jose Garcia]

18. The state needs to enforce traffic laws.

Perhaps they should offer community service as an alternative to fines.

[Hestia]

19. Is MI one of those states that has 3rd Party Bounty Hunters to collect the fines like Texas does?

Who wants to pay a collection agency rather than the court system.

Ya know, we've been reading about the corporation-nation states making record profits - nothing like it in the history of humankind, including JP Morgan, etc. - but we get told time and time again that "we can't afford to have good streets, schools, etc., ad nauseum, because they have cut any and all taxes for the rich and semi-rich.

It more than past time to collectively stand up and push-back against "we can't afford it" - we can, if others would quit giving it away.

Just think, have the rich pay their fair share and there would be a great mass transit system where the poor or middle class or heck, even the rich wouldn't have to worry about fines and cars, etc, putting more money into the pockets of the poor.

Seriously, we need to push back and make our elected officials to be accountable. Just because previous legislatures cut everything, then we need to put those cuts back into force to pay for the things we need as a civilization.

No More "But We Can't Afford It" We Most Certainly Can