2101 Ross Avenue
Each year, hundreds of thousands of low-income Texans receive arrest warrants and have their driving privileges taken away due to their inability to pay fines and fees. Many of them become trapped in a cycle of poverty and incarceration that can seem impossible to escape.
To educate DAYL members about this problem and assist them with providing assistance, the DAYL Equal Access to Justice Committee will host a CLE that will provide an overview of the progress that has been made on modern-day debtors’ prisons and license suspensions in Texas, as well as information about what still needs to be done and what lawyers and policymakers can do to help. Special attention will be given to the OmniBase program, which puts holds on licenses that are not lifted until people completely satisfy all of their criminal justice debt.
The presenters will examine criminal justice debt collection practices in Dallas, which participates in the program, and Forth Worth, which does not, as a case study. This CLE will be held at noon on Friday, November 8, at the Belo Mansion.