CAMPAIGN VICTORY!

Tuesday March 28, 2017 

St. Thomas More Catholic Church, Chapel Hill

Justice United leaders delivered an organized constituency of over 600 community members and made a deal with District Attorney James Woodall that has the potential to save safe yet unlicensed drivers tens of thousands of dollars a year in court fees and fines.

JU will closely monitor implementation of this deal. El Centro Hispano has recently secured funding to coordinate the deferral program and will soon hire a staff member who will serve as a direct contact for all eligible drivers.

JU leaders committed to build power sufficient to keep this deal for the long haul. Leaders pledged to develop at least 170 members through IAF organizing training, and to produce at least $12,076 in small donations for the Friends of Justice United Campaign which will begin May 1.  

Deferral program detail:

NO OPERATORS LICENSE DEFERRAL PROGRAM 

Organizing training:

JU University 1
Tuesday May 23, 7:00 - 9:00 pm 
St. Thomas More Catholic Church
RSVP: www.ocjusticeunited.org/ju_university_01

JU University 2
Thursday May 25 7:00 - 9:00 pm
UU Congregation of Hillsborough
RSVP: www.ocjusticeunited.org/ju_university_02

Friends of Justice United Small Donor Campaign:

www.ocjusticeunited.org/friends_of_justice_united

CONTEXT:

Between 2008 and 2015 drivers in Orange and Chatham County have paid over $1.7 million in citations for driving without a license. 77% of all drivers charged were Latino.

Latino drivers have paid the bulk of this cost after a change in state policy in 2006 rendered them ineligible to apply for or renew their licenses without a social security number. A significant percentage of citations were issued to otherwise safe drivers who were committing no moving violations or other unsafe behavior.

This state policy change has barred access to uniform and high quality drivers education to thousands of Orange and Chatham County residents. It has strained trust between residents and local law enforcement.

In September District Attorney James Woodall publicly pledged in front of 493 Justice United members to work with us to develop a solution to increase public safety by educating drivers and reducing fees and fines for safe drivers.