CLEVELAND — For more than a year now, News 5 Investigators and the Marshall Project Cleveland have been telling you about the cycle of debt from license suspensions.No License to Drive: Why so many Ohioans are barred from driving After our reporting, state lawmakers have taken steps to lift barriers and bring relief.
“You just sit there, and you’re like, 'I want to do it. I want to pay more. I want to spend time with my kid, but I can’t,'” Ditchburn said.“I caused this situation, it was my fault and it’s my fault he’s not speaking to me,” Ditchburn said. "We're punishing drivers by taking away their licenses not based on dangerous driving but based on a debt they can't pay off,” Legal Aid Society of Cleveland Attorney Michael Russell said.
Judge Mihok has been on the bench for nearly 23 years. He says license suspensions are the number one traffic case.Over the last 15 years, Judge Mihok said the court has dedicated someone to handle just license suspensions. "People should absolutely pay their child support but there are different ways to enforce child support orders,” Russell said.Two weeks ago, the Ohio Senate passed a measure to ease financial burdens and lift barriers.It would, in part, give judges the option to grant limited driving privileges in child support cases.