Suspended Driver’S License Program In High Gear More Than 350 Drivers Ask About Pilot Plan To Regain Driving Privileges

Spokane city officials thought they’d get a modest response to a pilot program aimed at helping people with suspended driver’s licenses pay fines and get out of legal trouble.

Instead, they’ve been buried in an avalanche of interest in “Restorative Justice.”

More than 350 people contacted the city prosecutor’s office within three weeks of the February announcement of the program, modeled after efforts in other states.

So far, a hundred Spokane drivers have qualified and started the series of meetings and classes needed to regain their licenses.

About two-thirds of them should have their licenses back within three months - if they continue making payments on fines and avoid more scrapes with the law.

“We could easily have three times that many people in the program,” said Assistant City Prosecutor Howard Delaney, the program coordinator. “The response was incredible.”

One of the first to sign up was 48-year-old Paul Jessup, a former Spokane car salesman who racked up three driving tickets in three years.

Jessup’s license was suspended after he failed to pay a speeding ticket in 1997, blaming a depression he fell into that year after his 21-year-old daughter was killed by a drunken driver in Tacoma.

Within two months, he got two more traffic tickets - one for speeding, another for making an illegal turn. Both also produced extra fines for driving with a suspended license.

He now owes about $1,400 in fines, collection fees and late charges.

“They ding you pretty good if they find you driving with a suspended license,” he said.

Restorative Justice lets him get back his license quicker than if he had to pay off the full debt first.

Unable to work since injuring his back in a 1998 car wreck, Jessup said he’s struggling to pay off the hefty fines and get his driving privileges restored.

“But I need to get my car back. I’m hoping to start my own business to sell merchandise to convenience stores,” he said.

He’ll end up having to pay off all the money. But if he shows he’s serious about paying off the fine, he’ll regain his license in about 10 weeks.

Jessup’s plight is echoed by many of the estimated 3,000 Spokane County drivers with suspended licenses.

“This is a problem felt across the state. Many of these people are simply unable to pay off those debts in full, so they continue falling behind and are back before judges for suspended licenses,” Delaney said.

Spokane’s program, funded by a $100,000 state grant, is the first in Washington to use lay volunteers to review each driver’s situation and determine the steps needed to regain a license, he said.

The volunteers make up review boards that determine how long it will take an offender to get back his license.

Jessup first met with volunteers three weeks ago at the Neva-Wood COPS shop to review his finances, driving record, and determine that he was eligible.

The program is off-limits to drivers with serious driving infractions, such as drunken or reckless driving.

Jessup returned a week later to meet with volunteers Tom Bernard and Louis Allen, his review board.

They decided that Jessup needed to consolidate his three fines into one payment, requiring a monthly $75 payment to Spokane Municipal Court.

After two months, a judge will review Jessup’s case and probably ask the state to restore Jessup’s license. He’ll need to return to the review board every two months to show he’s still making payments and fulfilling other requirements.

Allen and Bernard also required Jessup to attend sessions on better communication and a clinic on car maintenance.

Jessup initially didn’t think he needed either program. They cost participants nothing, provided to the city by Spokane Neighborhood Action Programs.

Then Jessup reconsidered.

“I figured, it’s not going to hurt me. And I went and I learned a few new things,” he said.

Volunteers can assign participants to an assortment of other classes, such as building self-esteem, credit management and finding a job.

As the program grows, Delaney hopes to land a grant to help send some drivers to a remedial driving school.

“We’ve had people come in with as much as $5,000 in fines. Those are people with fines usually from all over the state,” said Allen.

Allen, like many of the 30 program volunteers, also spends several hours a week helping in one of the city’s COPS offices. He’s the president of Northwest COPS.

County officials are watching the program to see whether drivers outside the city limits will be included.

In the past month, only three offenders have been dropped from the program, Delaney said. One broke the first commandment of the program - continuing to drive a car after joining the program.

“That’s an automatic ejection, and he can’t ever get back in,” Delaney said.

The other two failed to show up for their review board interviews.

Volunteer Nancy Humphrey said she decided to participate to help people get out of trouble.

“What I try to do in this program is take people who feel like they’ve been swallowed by a black cloud of problems, and help them see a little slice of daylight.

“It makes me feel good if I see people become better citizens,” she said.

For information about Restorative Justice, call 625-4488.