Volunteers will assist individuals with driver’s license holds related to unpaid criminal justice debt. Volunteers will meet with low-income drivers, research the cause(s) of license suspensions, and explain the steps drivers must take to recover their licenses. In most cases, the first step to driver’s license recovery will involve obtaining a fee waiver, fee reduction, or alternative payment plan from the municipal court. In those cases, volunteers will help individuals complete financial affidavits that volunteer attorneys will present to on-site Austin Municipal Court judges in support of requests for fee relief. Volunteers also will help individuals prepare application for Department of Public Safety debt-relief programs in appropriate cases.
Organization
Driver’s License Recovery Project, Mithoff Pro Bono Program
The Driver’s License Recovery Project is a student-led internal project of the Richard and Ginni Mithoff Pro Bono Program dedicated to addressing how driver’s license suspensions contribute to a cycle of incarceration for debt and create significant employment barriers in low-income communities. The Driver’s License Recovery Project is supporting the Court Debt Relief and Driver’s License Recovery Clinic in collaboration with the Texas Fair Defense Project and the Austin Municipal Court.
Project Details
- Project Date
Friday, March 29
- Project Time
- 2pm-8pm
- Approximate hours of work requested
- 7 hours, including training
- Training
- Wednesday, March 27, 1pm-2pm (TNH 2.138) OR Wednesday, March 27, 6pm-7pm (TNH 2.138); training is optional for students who volunteered at a driver’s license recovery clinic co-hosted with the Austin Municipal Court in September or November 2018
- Skills used
- Client communication; records research; document preparation/review
- Project location
- Austin Rutherford Lane Campus, Building 1 Auditorium, 1520 Rutherford Lane
- Number of student volunteers requested
- 30
- Class year preference
- 1L, 2L, 3L, LLM
- To Apply
- Register at https://dlrecoverysp19.eventbrite.com