Pubdate: Fri, 27 Mar 2015
Source: New York Times (NY)
Copyright: 2015 The New York Times Company
Contact: http://www.nytimes.com/ref/membercenter/help/lettertoeditor.html
Website: http://www.nytimes.com/
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/298
Author: Jack A. Markell

END THE LOSS OF DRIVER'S LICENSES FOR DRUG CRIMES

To the Editor:

"Job Hunting With a Criminal Record" (editorial, March 19) rightly 
highlights the unjust challenges ex-offenders face in the job market. 
I applaud ban-the-box laws, which, as you say, "require employers to 
consider applicants more fully before asking about their criminal 
history," and we have done that for Delaware state jobs. To reduce 
the number of people entering the criminal justice system, I'm 
hopeful that my state will decriminalize possession of small amounts 
of marijuana.

But the editorial doesn't mention a critical issue: A valid driver's 
license is essential to earning and keeping a job, but wrongheaded 
policies too often take it away.

Nationwide, we should eliminate the arbitrary loss of driver's 
licenses for drug crimes that don't involve automobiles, something 
I'm proud that Delaware did last year. In our small state alone, 
nearly 800 nonviolent offenders a year will now have licenses 
returned after release.

Many thousands more people lose their licenses because of difficulty 
paying fines and fees. Everyone should work to pay back what he owes, 
but we must reserve automatic suspension of licenses for only the 
most serious of circumstances.

JACK A. MARKELL

Governor

Dover, Del.
- ---
MAP posted-by: Jay Bergstrom