On November 19, 2018, individuals whose driver’s licenses was suspended because of failure to pay traffic ticket filed this putative class action against the Alabama Law Enforcement Agency in the U.S. District Court for the Alabama Middle District. Plaintiffs, represented by the attorneys of Southern Poverty Law Center sought declaratory judgment and injunctive relief, claiming under 42 U.S.C. §1983 that Alabama's practice of suspending driver’s licenses without procedural protection violated the Equal Protection and Due Process clauses of Fourteenth Amendment of the Constitution.

A provision in Alabama Rule of Criminal Procedure authorized courts to order the suspension of driver's license for nonpayment of traffic ticket without prior notice, hearing, or inquiry of the reason for non-payment. Plaintiffs failed to pay traffic tickets because of their financial difficulty and as a consequence, their driver’s license was suspended. Suspension of their driver’s license had serious consequence for them because they lived in a rural area where the public transportation was unavailable and people needed to drive to work, home, education and medical care.

On November 19, 2018, plaintiffs filed a motion for preliminary injunction, which the defendant opposed. On December 21, 2018, the defendant moved to dismiss the complaint for failure to state the claim. The defendant also alleged that plaintiffs lacked the standing; plaintiff’s claims was barred by sovereign immunity; and even if plaintiffs stated the sufficient claim, the claim was moot.

As of February 2019, the case ongoing.

Chiaki Nojiri - 02/20/2019


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