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A series of stories reported jointly by Oklahoma Watch and KGOU Radio focusing on the fees assessed against criminal offenders and the funding model for the criminal justice system.

Released Offenders Face High Fees For Driver’s Licenses

John Atkinson, who was released from OKlahoma County Jail after serving time on drug and weapons charges, must pay $3,000 to get his driver's license restored. Until then, he is relying on family and friends for transportation.
Clifton Adcock
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Oklahoma Watch
John Atkinson, who was released from OKlahoma County Jail after serving time on drug and weapons charges, must pay $3,000 to get his driver's license restored. Until then, he is relying on family and friends for transportation.
Credit Oklahoma Watch
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Oklahoma Watch

Editor's Note: This is the sixth installment in a series reported jointly by Oklahoma Watch and KGOU Radio.

When offenders leave prison to re-enter society, one of the steepest barriers they face is finding a job.

Then they encounter a second barrier: paying hundreds or thousands of dollars in fees to reinstate a driver’s license so they can look for and keep a job.

Oklahomans who lose a license because of failing to pay a traffic fine or appear in court on the matter may have to pay several hundred dollars to restore the license.

Those incarcerated for driving under the influence of drugs or alcohol, or a felony involving a vehicle, often must pay several thousand dollars to regain their license.  That’s on top of court costs and fines related to their offenses. Reinstating a license can take months or years, depending on the length of suspension or revocation.

State Sen. Josh Brecheen, R-Coalgate, was one of the authors of a 2013 law aimed at lowering costs to reinstate driver’s licenses. Brecheen said reinstatement costs are so high they create a barrier to an inmate reintegrating into society.

“They (offenders) have to have met every metric so they’re not a public safety risk to get behind the wheel, according to the Department of Public Safety, and the only thing between them and driving is the exorbitant cost,” Brecheen said.

Stephen Krise, general counsel for DPS, explained that the fines, fees and other costs that offenders face after being released from prison or jail are used by agencies and the organizations for public safety. He cited the trauma care fund, which helps cover uncompensated care for hospitals and ambulance services.

"It's up to the Legislature to dictate those fees and where they go," Krise said.

Loretta Denman, director of state programs for the Oklahoma Chapter of Mothers Against Drunk Driving (MADD), said while her organization is unaware of the fee structure associated with DUIs, it strongly backs laws against the crime. She said MADD supports the use of ignition interlock devices, which lower the chances that a recovering alcoholic will re-offend.

“They're proven to save lives,” she said.

A Stack of Fees

John Atkinson
Credit Clifton Adcock / Oklahoma Watch
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Oklahoma Watch
John Atkinson

Former jail inmate John Atkinson, 26, has no driver’s license. But he said he’s lucky. He has parents, friends and a girlfriend who are willing to give him rides, including to and from work.

Still, "I'm a pretty self-reliant person,” Atkinson said. “I don't like having to get people to give me rides. There's a certain amount of guilt in that."

A recovering heroin addict, Atkinson was convicted in 2014 on charges stemming from a single traffic stop. He was convicted of possession of drugs, weapons and drug paraphernalia and for driving under the influence. The last charge resulted from his not submitting to a blood test during his arrest, Atkinson said. As an addict, he said, he had been afraid they would detect the opiates in his blood.

After a year in the Oklahoma County Jail, Atkinson said he cleaned up.  He was offered a job as a cook at a friend’s restaurant and temporary housing at a non-profit ministry in east Oklahoma City that assists former inmates.

His wages are barely above minimum wage, so his $500 monthly rent is steep. Just as daunting are his court fees, fines and costs associated with reinstating his driver’s license.

"In Oklahoma City, everything is so spread out, you can't survive without a car unless you can get someone to give you a ride," he said.

To restore his license, Atkinson must pay the following fees:

  • $340 for reinstatement of the license, revoked because of the DUI.
  • $375 for reinstatement of his license, suspended because of failure to appear on an outstanding municipal ticket for driving without insurance, incurred before the DUI arrest.
  • $160 for a drug and alcohol assessment.
  • $290 on each of two convictions of felony possession of drugs while operating a motor vehicle.
  • $150 to $360 for a required DUI course.
  • $75 per month for an ignition interlock device, which prevents the car from starting if alcohol is detected on the driver’s breath. The payments will last 18 months, totaling $1,350.

In all, Atkinson will owe about $3,000 to fully reinstate his license.
Other Costs

Oklahoma Watch is a nonprofit journalism organization that produces in-depth and investigative content on a range of public-policy issues facing the state. For more Oklahoma Watch content, go to www.oklahomawatch.org.
Oklahoma Watch
Oklahoma Watch is a nonprofit journalism organization that produces in-depth and investigative content on a range of public-policy issues facing the state. For more Oklahoma Watch content, go to www.oklahomawatch.org.

Additionally, Atkinson must continue to pay a monthly district attorney assessment of $40 a month for 24 months, totaling $960. His court costs and fines will add about $2,000, bringing the overall total to more than $6,000.

The interlock requirement bewilders Atkinson. He was a heroin addict, he said, not an alcoholic, and insists he was not drinking the night he was arrested. His refusal of the blood test triggered the requirement.

“If they had a breathalyzer device that detected heroin in my system, OK. But I’ve never had a drinking charge. I don’t drink. I was a drug addict. I wasn’t a drinker. But they’re wanting to put a device in my car that all it does is tell if I’ve been drinking or not. I don’t understand that," Atkinson said.

Krise said the law requiring the device was designed that way.

"That's how the statute was written," Krise said. "It doesn't make a distinction (between driving under the influence of drugs or alcohol)."

John Hunsucker, an Oklahoma City DUI attorney, said the $75 “rental fee” is actually a workaround for a state law that caps certain monthly interlock-device fees.

“When the Legislature passed the law on the interlock, they were told they (offenders) would only be charged a $25-a-month maintenance fee,” Hunsucker said. “Well, they don’t charge a maintenance fee — they charge a rental fee.”

Hunsucker said the high costs of reinstating a license often push offenders to re-offend, in that they drive without a valid license.

“They (offenders) dig a hole they can’t get out of, basically,” Hunsucker said. “A lot of them can’t afford to get their license back. If they get a driving under suspension, that causes a further license suspension, plus more fines and fees … a revolving door at that point.”

‘Provisional License’

Robin Wertz, a case manager at Exodus House in Oklahoma City, which helps ex-offenders, said the cost of restoring a driver's license causes some clients to break the law and house rules by driving without a license.
Credit Clifton Adcock / Oklahoma Watch
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Oklahoma Watch
Robin Wertz, a case manager at Exodus House in Oklahoma City, which helps ex-offenders, said the cost of restoring a driver's license causes some clients to break the law and house rules by driving without a license.

In 2013, Brecheen and Rep. Pam Peterson, R-Tulsa, co-authored a bill that would allow those with suspended or revoked licenses to get a “provisional license” for $25 per month.

The license allows its holder to drive to a place of employment, religious service, court-ordered treatment or other limited locations. The money paid is applied toward outstanding costs owed by the offender.

Krise, the public safety counsel, said about 250 provisional licenses have been issued since Nov. 1, 2013, when the law took effect, adding that not many offenders know about the program yet.

Robin Wertz, a case manager at Oklahoma City’s Exodus House, a charitable residence home for released inmates, said one of the first things the charity does for offenders is help them get their driver’s licenses back. But it’s an expensive and lengthy process, she said. Finding a job or paying for necessities often trumps the risk of getting caught driving with a revoked license, despite house rules against driving without a license.

“How long is it going to take you save that and pay rent, and pay utilities, and food and everything else?” Wertz said. “So they just get a car and drive without it.”

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KGOU is a community-supported news organization and relies on contributions from readers and listeners to fulfill its mission of public service to Oklahoma and beyond. Donate online, or by contacting our Membership department.

Oklahoma Watch is a non-profit organization that produces in-depth and investigative journalism on important public-policy issues facing the state. Oklahoma Watch is non-partisan and strives to be balanced, fair, accurate and comprehensive. The reporting project collaborates on occasion with other news outlets. Topics of particular interest include poverty, education, health care, the young and the old, and the disadvantaged.
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