From Vera Institute:
Derrick Sprouse’s driver’s license was suspended in 1988—and it stayed that way for more than two decades.
Sprouse lives in Memphis, where the Tennessee Department of Safety and Homeland Security (TDOS) suspends licenses for outstanding criminal legal debt. If he’d had the financial means to pay off his fines and fees, he could have had his license reinstated. But Sprouse, like many others, didn’t have hundreds or thousands of dollars to cover them.
In Memphis and across Tennessee (and much of the country, for that matter), public transportation is lacking, often inaccessible or nonexistent. Driving is a necessity, and Sprouse had little choice but to drive on a suspended license. He received a few tickets for doing so—and accrued more fines. He even had a few cars towed when police took notice that he was driving on a suspended license. All the while, his unpaid fines and fees continued to snowball.
The situation made it difficult for Sprouse to keep a job and next to impossible for him to pay down the debt. He said his fines eventually totaled $8,900, plus a license reinstatement fee of $1,500. Continue reading >>>
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