In the last several weeks, NCLEJ has weighed in on two important issues central to the organization’s mission.

 

NCLEJ played a prominent role in two separate states in the struggle to end debt-based drivers license suspensions, a practice which traps indigent people in a cycle of poverty by making it difficult for them to maintain employment which would enable them to satisfy court related fines and fees.

 

Litigation and Advocacy Director Claudia Wilner joined Civil Rights Corps in writing an amicus brief in Motley v. Taylor, a case challenging an Alabama debt-based license suspension statute. The brief was written on behalf of members of The Free to Drive Coalition, a group of more than 100 ideologically diverse organizations nationwide that seeks to end driving restrictions for any reason not related to public safety. The brief presents empirical research from Alabama and across the country demonstrating that license suspension is counterproductive for purposes of raising revenue while harming millions nationwide, particularly the poorest people in our communities. [insert link to brief].

 

Meanwhile in New York, after two years of effort by the Driven by Justice Coalition, which NCLEJ co-leads, the New York State Senate and Assembly passed legislation that would end license suspensions due to traffic debt while making affordable payment plans available and reinstating the licenses of people whose licenses were suspended due to traffic debt. The legislation must now go to Governor Cuomo for signature.

 

July 26th marked the thirtieth anniversary of the Americans with Disabilities Act. As we celebrate the anniversary, NCLEJ reaffirms its commitment to ensuring that people with disabilities—including people of color with disabilities and others with intersectional identities—have fair access to economic opportunity. In enacting the ADA, Congress declared the purpose of the legislation to provide “a clear and comprehensive national mandate for the elimination of discrimination” and “clear, strong, consistent, enforceable standards addressing discrimination” against individuals with disabilities. NCLEJ has used and is continuing to use those tools across a broad spectrum of its work, and it is committed to bringing the promise of the ADA closer to reality. Much has been done, but there is more yet to do. We vow to continue the work.

 

NCLEJ Staff Attorney Britney Wilson has also spoken out in various venues about the ADA, speaking about the Disability Rights Movement thirty years after the passage of the ADA and police violence against black people with disabilities.