It may seem obvious that if you lost your driving privileges, you would have difficulty traveling to work, taking your kids to school, picking up groceries, or getting to a doctor’s appointment. Depending on public transit, taxis, and Ubers can be both unreliable and costly. But for Black and brown drivers, who are significantly more likely to be stopped, arrested, and convicted than white drivers, a suspended driver’s license can be so much worse than these inconveniences.
“Ashley” is a 42-year-old, Black, single mother who lives in the South Ward, one of the poorest communities in Newark. She failed to appear in municipal court back in 2017 for moving violations that confusingly occurred while she was living in South Carolina. Unaware of these charges and any missed court appearance, Ashley continued to drive, until one day in March 2021, while back home in New Jersey, she was pulled over for failure to wear a seat belt. The traffic stop didn’t just end in a summons and fine. No, instead, Ashely was arrested and her license was revoked. When she lost her license, she was unable to get to work, and she lost her job as a private home health aide.
In fact, 42% of people in New Jersey lose their job after their license is suspended, even when driving is not a responsibility of the job. Without a driver’s license or a job, Ashley had difficulty providing food and housing for her and her child – she even struggled to get her COVID vaccine without a valid ID. With the economic fallout from the health pandemic, removing barriers to employment has never been more important.
Fortunately, Ashley connected with VLJ and received the legal help needed to overcome her suspensions, dismiss the tickets, and get her license fully restored. Unfortunately, there are more clients in Ashley’s position right now who face municipal court suspensions, open bench warrants, and mounting fees and fines that could lead to financial ruin. Legal advocacy has the power to change that outcome into dismissals and vacated fines, and restore not just driving privileges, but also livelihoods.
To learn more about available pro bono opportunities, please visit: https://www.vljnj.org/pro-bono-opportunities