Montana Governor, AG, Two Other Officials Sued Over Driver’s License Suspension ‘Scheme’

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Montana Governor Steve Bullock is one of four defendants in a proposed class action lawsuit that alleges the motor vehicle division (MVD) of the state’s Department of Justice is running a “wealth-based driver’s license suspension scheme” that indefinitely traps some of the state’s poorest residents in what the case calls a “cycle of poverty.” The 36-page lawsuit, which also names Montana Attorney General Tim Fox, Motor Vehicle Division Administrator Sarah Garcia and Driver Services Bureau Chief Michele Snowberger as defendants, claims the state’s MVD is in the practice of automatically and permanently suspending the driver’s licenses of individuals behind on paying court-ordered fines and costs the cases claims they simply can’t afford to pay.

“Without driver’s licenses, people already facing the harsh realities of owing court debt while living in poverty face additional hurdles of being unable to drive to and from work, get their children to daycare, keep medical appointments, and care for their family members,” the complaint argues. 

More specifically, the lawsuit alleges Montana’s MVD will suspend an individual’s license even when non-payment of fines is due to poverty. As an example, the complaint claims an individual whose license has been suspended for non-payment of fines owes the MVD $100 before his or her license can be reinstated unless a court rules the individual as indigent. If an individual is convicted of driving with a suspended license, he or she then faces a mandatory jail stay of between two days and six months, the lawsuit says, as well as a $500 fine. Moreover, a suspended license conviction in Montana also carries a mandatory one-year extension of the suspension, the complaint continues.

The plaintiff, a Bozeman resident who the lawsuit says was recently homeless, claims he was fined $185 for a “civil infraction” committed when he was 14 years old. The man’s court debt has reportedly swelled to nearly $4,000, the case continues, solely because he cannot legally drive due to his inability to pay his debt. The complaint argues the defendants have violated the plaintiff’s due process and equal protection rights.