Class Action Takes on Mandatory Driver’s License Suspensions for Drug Offenses in Pennsylvania

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Four Pennsylvania state officials, including Governor Tom Wolf and Secretary of Transportation Leslie Richards, are the defendants in a proposed class action lawsuit in which two plaintiffs aim to derail the state’s stance on mandatory driver’s license suspensions for individuals convicted of drug-related offenses.

The 36-page complaint begins by explaining Pennsylvania’s Department of Transportation (DOT) automatically suspends an individual’s driver’s license for up to two years after he or she has been convicted of a drug-related offense, whether the incident is related to driving or not. The plaintiffs argue that for those already staring down the reality of living with a criminal conviction, successful post-conviction rehabilitation is nearly impossible without a driver’s license, as it is often essential for finding and maintaining employment, pursuing education and caring for family members.

Noting that 38 out of the 50 states have done away with their own drug-related driver’s license suspension policies, the lawsuit outright pegs Pennsylvania’s refusal to do the same as “state-sanctioned discrimination” based solely on a stigma placed on those with drug convictions. According to the case, more than 149,000 people have lost their licenses in Pennsylvania since 2011 over drug-related convictions.

All told, the lawsuit charges the defendants—who, in addition to Wolf and Richards, include Executive Deputy Secretary of the DOT Leo Bagley and Deputy Secretary for Driver and Vehicle Services Kurt Myers—violate proposed class members’ equal protection and procedural and substantive due process rights under the Constitution by way of Pennsylvania’s license suspension policy.

“Automatically suspending the driver’s licenses of people who have been convicted of drug offenses—and already punished by a criminal sentencing in court—satisfies no legitimate government interest and is in fact counterproductive,” the lawsuit reads.