Written by: Brian Haas
Come Wednesday, Omar Dhies is set to lose his driver’s license.Not because of the DUI charge, but because he hasn’t paid nearly $2,500 in court fees he owes after his conviction in Davidson County.“I’m trying to pay the court costs,” Dhies said. “But (what) if you don’t have nothing to pay to get the license back?”
Starting July 1, clerks throughout Tennessee gained the power to begin suspending driver’s licenses if court fees and fines go unpaid for a year. But not a single license has been suspended, according to the Tennessee Department of Safety and Homeland Security. Even Tommy Bradley, chief administrative officer for the Davidson County Criminal Court Clerk’s Office and the man who wrote the law, is holding off until Aug. 1 to give debtors one last chance to pay at least something.
Other clerks are questioning whether to suspend licenses at all, out of logistical or moral reservations. “I just want to wait and see,” said Wilson County Circuit Court Clerk Linda Neal. “I’m afraid this law is going to be hurting the people who would really like to put out the effort to pay and they simply can’t.” Bradley acknowledges there is “widespread” opposition to the law, which he wrote to help collect hundreds of millions in uncollected court costs.
Wiggle room
In Davidson County alone, taxpayers are owed more than $300 million in court costs — enough to run Metro’s police and fire departments for a year. Bradley noticed that courts had far less trouble collecting costs from defendants in traffic cases who risked losing their licenses for not paying up. So he persuaded the legislature in 2011 to extend that potential penalty to all criminal court defendants.The law states that clerks are supposed to file to have a debtor’s license suspended if their fees are uncollected a year after disposition. Clerks were given wiggle room, however, to delay filing for a suspension, as in the case of debtors setting up payment plans. Bradley said that even his office won’t suspend licenses of debtors who pay at least $15 a month.
“We’re only going to be sending the ones who aren’t paid and aren’t paying,” he said. “If they’re making a minimum monthly payment of $15 a month, we’re not sending it. The point is not to take away your license, but to get it paid.”
Since his office began sending out warnings, he said the simple threat of suspension has helped collect on fees. More than $600,000 has been collected in court fees than the prior year. “That’s a chunk of change,” he said. “The word’s out.”
Broad opposition
But Bradley recognizes that the new law isn’t particularly popular among clerks.“I understand clearly the opposition for this statute,” he said. “I think it’s widespread, to be frank.”
Neal said that aside from moral qualms at saddling poor offenders with even more burdens, she’s not sure she has the money or staff to send out notices and then process debtors for suspensions.
“We’ve got all the work that we can say grace over now,” Neal said. “To me, it’s going to be more record-keeping and a little bit more difficult to keep up with.”
Neal said she’s more likely to just continue sending unpaid debts to a collection agency. It’s cheaper and easier on her overworked staff.
The new law also has created more work for attorneys. Davidson County Public Defender Dawn Deaner said more clients are asking judges to have their fees waived, so as to avoid having their licenses suspended.
“You can’t get blood from a turnip. I think, frankly, a lot of the clerks out there recognize that they’re chasing a turnip, that these folks don’t have the money,” Deaner said. “Most of the people in the criminal justice system, they are indigent, they are living below the federal poverty guideline. When you then suspend their driver’s license, you make it harder for them to find employment, find resources, find ways to pay these debts.”
