Offices in Charlottesville, Northern Virginia (Falls Church), Petersburg and Richmond.
Organization website
Primary geographic focus: Virginia
Organization type(s): Provider
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CONTENT MENTIONING/INVOLVING THIS SOURCE
InvestigativeVirginia governor asks how to reverse schools’ staggering rate of referrals to cops and courts
Susan FerrissCenter for Public Integrity
May 14, 2015
Virginia Gov. Terry McAuliffe has asked members of his cabinet to recommend policy changes for the Virginia juvenile justice system.
Editorial
Virginia’s pipeline to jail
Virginian-Pilot (The Pilot)May 11, 2015
Virginia's aggressive approach to referring kids to police isn't a model for changing behavior; it's a pipeline to jail says this editorial.
News Story
Richmond Police Chief: ‘There has to be an alternative to sending kids to jail’
Chris ThomasWWBT Richmond (local NBC, VA)
June 10, 2015
The Police Chief of Virginia wants to change the role police play in local schools.
News Story
Health Care Decision’s Effect on Virginia
Charlottesville Newsplex (VA)June 25, 2015
Article detailing the effects of the Supreme Court 6-3 ruling to uphold the subsidies under the Affordable Care Act.
News Story
Mobile home residents file federal lawsuit alleging Richmond is violating Latinos’ civil rights
Katy Burnell EvansRichmond Times-Dispatch
August 18, 2015
Dozens of mobile home park residents sued the city of Richmond on Tuesday over an “illegal and racially discriminatory” policy that they say targets Latinos.
News Story
Settlement Reached in Fluvanna Correctional Inmate Medical Care Lawsuit
Charlottesville Newsplex (VA)September 16, 2015
Inmates at the Fluvanna Correctional Center for Women and the Virginia Department of Corrections have reached a settlement on a class action lawsuit concerning medical care provided at the prison.
Editorial
Fixing juvenile justice
Virginian-Pilot (The Pilot)October 5, 2015
A new campaign aims to tackle the youth prison system in Virginia by shifting the focus to community-based solutions over incarceration.
Feature
Young, Illegal, and Alone
J. Weston PhippenAtlantic, The
October 15, 2015
Their parents sent them to the United States to escape brutal violence. But to stay, they need to convince courts that sending them here constituted child abuse.
News Story
Without Social Security numbers, illegal immigrants face eviction
Antonio OlivoWashington Post
February 10, 2016
Lawyers are fighting the eviction proceedings, arguing that Waples Mobile Home Park is discriminating against the residents.
News Story
Virginia Jails People for Even Smelling Like Alcohol
M.L. NestelDaily Beast
March 16, 2016
A class-action lawsuit accuses cops and prosecutors of locking up people as “habitual drunkards” after placing them on a secret blacklist that bans them from booze.
News Story
A ‘Habitual Drunkard’ Law Is Keeping Homeless Alcoholics on the Streets in Virginia
Sydney LupkinVICE News
March 21, 2016
And a lawsuit is challenging the law.
News Story
Guest Workers Win in Virginia Court
Sandy HausmanWVTF (local NPR, VA)
March 25, 2016
The Legal Aid Justice Center has won a $782,000 settlement on behalf of 200 guest workers.
News Story
City budget series: Legal Aid looks for line-item funding
Chris SuarezDaily Progress (VA)
March 28, 2016
A major advocate for at-risk children, immigrant youth, the elderly and many others in low-income communities soon may have a chance to enter a relatively exclusive contract with Charlottesville.
Feature
Meet 2 Central American Refugee Kids Who Are Stuck In The U.S. Immigration System
Esther Yu-Hsi LeeThinkProgress
April 21, 2016
Beginning next month, the federal government will change a rule in its visa guidelines that would leave kids like David and Alex stuck in limbo — potentially for years — as they wait to apply for green cards to stay in the country legally.
News Story
VA school discipline is ‘widespread, discriminatory,’ study says
Lisa SuhayChristian Science Monitor
May 19, 2016
Virginia disproportionately suspends African-American boys and those with disabilities for issues that are often minor, frequently entangling children in the law enforcement system.
News Story
Undocumented Latinos and their families sue after evictions
Patricia SullivanWashington Post
May 23, 2016
Four Latino families being evicted from a mobile-home park because at least one family member is undocumented and doesn’t have a Social Security number filed a federal civil rights lawsuit Monday that advocates said could set a national precedent in fair-housing law.
News Story
Report: Virginia’s black students three times as likely as whites to face suspension
Moriah BalingitWashington Post
May 24, 2016
Black students in Virginia’s schools were three times as likely as white students to be suspended last year, according to a new report on school punishments.
News Story
Virginia suspends driver’s licenses in ‘unconstitutional scheme,’ class action says
Justin Wm. MoyerWashington Post
July 13, 2016
A suit filed July 6 against the Virginia Department of Motor Vehicles alleges the DMV indefinitely suspends driver’s licenses of those too poor to pay fines and court costs in an “unconstitutional scheme.”
Column
Punished for Being Poor
Dahlia LithwickSlate
July 16, 2016
The Virginia scheme that suspends the driver’s license of anyone who can’t pay trivial fines.
Audio , News Story
Halt On Juvenile Immigrant Visa Leaves Thousands In Limbo
Richard Gonzales, Marisa PeñalozaNational Public Radio (NPR)
July 28, 2016
Applying for asylum isn't easy. As a result, some young immigrants are choosing another way of staying in this country legally: a visa category called "Special Immigrant Juvenile Status."
News Story
Va. lawsuit challenges state’s right to take driver’s licenses for unpaid tickets
Perry ChiaramonteFox News
July 31, 2016
Taylor is part of a class action suit which alleges that drivers have been treated unfairly under the state’s License-for-Payment system.
News Story
Virginia Suspends Hundreds of Thousands of Driver’s Licenses Due to Unpaid Court Debt
CJ CiaramellaReason
August 4, 2016
More than 900,000 people in Virginia have suspended licenses, in what a new class-action lawsuit claims is an unconstitutional revenue scheme.
News Story
‘DMV is not responsible’: Va. denies claim it unfairly suspends driver’s licenses
Justin Wm. MoyerWashington Post
October 5, 2016
After a class-action lawsuit claimed Virginia suspends the driver’s licenses of those too poor to pay fines and court costs in an “unconstitutional scheme,” the state replied Monday, saying the suit raised no legitimate complaint.
News Story
Tenants sue Hampton firm over debt collections
Peter DujardinDaily Press (Newport Beach, VA)
October 6, 2016
The complaint, filed by five tenants represented by the Legal Aid Justice Center, contends that Senex Law P.C., which hires itself out to apartment complexes across the state, sends letters to tenants purporting to be from landlords.
News Story
DOJ: Virginia driver’s license suspension law is unconstitutional
Associated Press (AP)November 14, 2016
The U.S. Department of Justice is siding with a lawsuit challenging Virginia's practice of suspending the driver's licenses of people who can't pay court costs and fines.
Column
The Travelers Trapped in Horrific Limbo by Trump’s Immigration Order
Dahlia LithwickSlate
January 29, 2017
Judicial stays couldn’t protect everyone detained at U.S. airports.
News Story
Legal Aid Justice Center comments on federal suit over refugee ban
Charlottesville Newsplex (VA)January 29, 2017
The Executive Director of the Legal Aid Justice Center, Mary Bauer, has said that the residents were being banned for racist and unconstitutional reasons.
News Story
Meet The Local Non-Profit Challenging Trump’s Immigration Ban In Court
Rachel KurziusDCist
February 3, 2017
The Legal Aid Justice Center, which has been around for a half-century and has had an outpost in Falls Church for nearly two decades.
News Story
Crowdfunding for public-interest lawsuits has come to the US, just in time for Trump’s presidency
Hanna KozlowskaQuartz
February 5, 2017
Individual contributions add up to cover legal fees, and CrowdJustice helps promote the issue online. The platform’s pitch is simple—justice should be accessible to anyone.
News Story
In Northern Virginia, Immigration Raids Put Families On Edge
Armando TrullWAMU (DC)
February 16, 2017
For one Annandale community, the fear hit home last week, when Immigration and Customs Enforcement visited two homes at The Fairmont Park Apartments.
News Story
After ICE Stakes Out a Church Homeless Shelter, Charities Worry Immigrants Will Fear Getting Help
Alex EmmonsIntercept, The
February 27, 2017
As soon as the men stepped onto the opposite sidewalk, a dozen federal agents burst out of the cars, forced them up against a wall, handcuffed them, and interrogated them for at least half an hour.
News Story
Federal housing agency investigating alleged civil rights violations in Hopewell
Katy Burnwell EvansRichmond Times-Dispatch
March 8, 2017
Federal housing officials are conducting a wide-ranging investigation of whether the civil rights of Hopewell public housing residents were violated in two redevelopment projects touted as a win-win for the city and its poor.
Op-Ed
Time for Virginia to Get Serious About Repealing Failed Automatic Suspension Law
Marc A. Levin, Angela CiolfiTownhall
April 10, 2017
Kimberly was one of nearly a million Virginia drivers whose license is suspended in part for failure to pay court costs and fines—that’s 1 in 6 Virginia drivers.
News Story
Millions of drivers lost their licenses for failing to pay court fees, study finds
Justin Wm. MoyerWashington Post
September 26, 2017
The report says that 43 states and the District suspend driver’s licenses because of unpaid fines and fees, trapping people in a “vicious court debt cycle.”
News Story
State Laws Punish Poor By Suspending Their Driver’s Licenses
Nick McCannMintPress News
September 26, 2017
In five states alone, a total of more than 4.2 million drivers have had their licenses suspended or revoked for failure to pay court debt, be it traffic or criminal, the report found. Texas leads the nation with 1.8 million such suspensions.
News Story
Montana Among States That Strip Driver’s Licenses For Unpaid Court Debt
Jackie YamanakaYellowstone Public Radio (MT)
September 26, 2017
A legal advocacy organization that represents low-income people says nearly every state has a law that requires the suspension of a driver’s license for nonpayment of court costs and fines.
News Story
Report: Millions lose driver’s licenses due to unpaid court debt
Nick IannelliWTOP (Washington, D.C.)
September 26, 2017
According to a report released this week by the Legal Aid Justice Center, millions have seen their licenses suspended as a penalty for being unable to pay court costs and fines.
News Story
Michigan should rethink suspending driver’s licenses for unpaid court fees, new report says
Bryce HuffmanMichigan Radio
September 26, 2017
A nationwide report says the practice unfairly punishes poor people by taking away their ability to drive legally. Some states are beginning to rethink this practice.
News Story
Study: 100K Mich. drivers lose licenses for unpaid fees
Mike MartindaleDetroit News
September 26, 2017
A report issued Tuesday by the Virginia-based Legal Aid Justice Center finds Michigan is one of five states that require judges to seize people’s licenses if they fail to pay court fees after a trial or hearing.
News Story
Report: Millions in U.S.Without Driver’s License Due to Unpaid Fees
Matt TalhelmWVIR (local NBC, Charlottesville)
September 26, 2017
The report "Driven by Dollars" finds 43 states and the District of Columbia suspend licenses due to unpaid court debt. Nearly one million Virginians do not have their driver's license because of that.
News Story
1 in 9 licensed NC drivers suspended, but not for bad driving
Travis FainWRAL (Raleigh)
September 26, 2017
The high number, and a relatively low churn rate of people getting their licenses back, points to a systemic problem for reform advocates, despite a state system that is more forgiving than others around the country.
News Story
Study Highlights Tennessee’s Harsh Driver’s License Suspension Policies
Steven HaleNashville Scene
September 26, 2017
Tennessee is one of only five states requiring judges to indefinitely suspend licenses for failure to pay court fees.
News Story
Report: Millions impacted by driver’s license suspensions due to court fees
Dean SealDaily Progress (VA)
September 26, 2017
The practice is enforced across 43 states and Washington, D.C., according to the report, and almost 40 percent of all states have laws that require mandatory suspension upon nonpayment of court debt.
News Story
Millions Lose Driver’s Licenses Over Unpaid Court Debts
Crime ReportSeptember 27, 2017
Millions of U.S. drivers have lost their licenses for failing to pay court debts, according to a new report from the Falls Church, Va.-based Legal Aid Justice Center.
News Story
1.2M NC Drivers Lost Their License For Failure To Show Up To Court Or Pay Fees
Rebecca MartinezWUNC (Chapel Hill)
September 28, 2017
The report found that linking driving privileges with court debts keeps people in poverty, according to North Carolina Justice Center Attorney Daniel Bowes, who contributed to the report.
News Story
Michigan is 1 of 5 harshest states for driver’s license suspensions over court fees, fines
Niraj WarikooDetroit Free Press
September 29, 2017
The Legal Aid Justice Center analyzed the driver's license suspension polices of 50 states. Michigan's were among the five harshest.
News Story
Traffic Debt Keeps Thousands of Low-Income Drivers Off The Road In Tennessee
Julieta MartinelliWPLN (Nashville Public Radio)
October 2, 2017
Over the last five years, 250,000 Tennesseans have lost the right to drive legally. That’s the result of an uncommon state law that makes license suspensions mandatory if drivers can’t afford to pay court fees and traffic fines.
Editorial
Easing the burden of paying court fees
Johnson City PressOctober 4, 2017
Many Tennesseans live and work in communities that do not have public transportation. This leaves defendants who owe court fees at a real disadvantage when it comes to getting to work to retire those debts.
News Story
Legal Aid Justice Center continues push for adequate inmate care
Talya CunninghamCharlottesville Newsplex (VA)
November 17, 2017
Angela Ciolfi said the DOC needs to provide ethical health care to inmates, and if they can't, perhaps the Commonwealth needs to re-evaluate the criminal justice system.
News Story
43 States Suspend Licenses for Unpaid Court Debt, But That Could Change
Beth SchwartzapfelMarshall Project
November 21, 2017
Lawsuits say the practice severely penalizes those too poor to pay.
News Story
The poverty penalty: Should states suspend driver’s licenses for court scofflaws?
Dana DiFilippoWHYY (PA)
November 27, 2017
When it comes to court debt, most states — including Pennsylvania, Delaware, and New Jersey — will suspend your driver’s license until you pay up.
News Story , Video
Legal Aid Justice Center Reaching Out to DACA Recipients for Renewal Help
Matt TalhelmWVIR (local NBC, Charlottesville)
January 17, 2018
The so-called "Dreamers" could run out of time; in just days, to renew their protection under Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals.
News Story
Report: 1 in 6 Va. drivers have suspended licenses partly due to unpaid court debt
Justin Wm. MoyerWashington Post
January 24, 2018
About one in six Virginia drivers has a suspended license partly because of an inability to pay court debt, according to a study from an advocacy group released Wednesday.
News Story
In 83 Million Eviction Records, a Sweeping and Intimate New Look at Housing in America
Emily Badger, Quoctrung BuiNew York Times (NYT)
April 7, 2018
Mr. Desmond’s team found records for nearly 900,000 eviction judgments in 2016, meaning landlords were given the legal right to remove at least one in 50 renter households in the communities covered by this data.
News Story
Homeless jailed frequently under ‘habitual drunkard’ law
Denise LavoieAssociated Press (AP)
May 17, 2018
The law, which dates back to the 1930s, is being challenged.
News Story
More than 7 million people may have lost driver’s licenses because of traffic debt
Justin Wm. MoyerWashington Post
May 19, 2018
The total number nationwide could be much higher based on the population of states that did not or could not provide data.
News Story
Lawsuit claiming Va. suspends driver’s licenses in ‘unconstitutional scheme’ is revived
Justin Wm. MoyerMay 24, 2018
The suit, Stinnie v. Holcomb, detailed the claims of Damian Stinnie, a 24-year-old Charlottesville man diagnosed with lymphoma who became homeless after failing to pay about $1,000 in traffic fines.
News Story
Immigrant after being reunited with son: ‘It was the hardest thing to ever happen’
Daniella Diaz, Ryan NoblesCNN
July 26, 2018
Two separate immigrant parents entered the United States illegally hoping to seek asylum when they arrived -- but instead experienced the trauma of being separated from their children for weeks, not knowing if they'd ever see them again.
News Story
Court tosses Legal Aid challenge to Virginia’s ‘habitual drunkard’ law
Associated Press (AP)August 9, 2018
The court found that the state has a “legitimate interest” in discouraging alcohol abuse when declaring a person a habitual drinker.
News Story
When just being near alcohol lands you in jail
Christie ThompsonWashington Post
September 7, 2018
Virginia advocates and public defenders have been fighting the law for years, saying it targets homeless people suffering from alcoholism and jails them without full due process.
News Story
To Free Detained Children, Immigrant Families Are Forced to Risk Everything
Jonathan BlitzerNew Yorker
October 16, 2018
Nationwide, there are currently 13,200 children in O.R.R. custody, more than ever before, and five times more than were being held in the spring of last year.
Audio , News Story
New Report: Suspension Rates Higher Among Black Students in Virginia
Michael PopeWVTF (local NPR, VA)
October 25, 2018
Discipline in Virginia’s schools is not colorblind, according to a new report that suggests lawmakers take a closer look at school discipline practices.
News Story , Video
Shelters holding nearly 15,000 migrant children near capacity
Sonia Moghe, Rosa FloresCNN
December 13, 2018
The number of migrant children in shelters fluctuates daily and thousands have been caught in a backlog that has some confined for many months.
News Story
Appeals court hears challenge to ‘habitual drunkard’ law
Denise LavoieAssociated Press (AP)
January 30, 2019
The lawsuit filed by the Legal Aid Justice Center and a Washington law firm challenges Virginia's so-called interdiction law, which allows prosecutors to go to civil court to ask a judge to declare someone a habitual drunkard.
News Story
Virginia’s largest county could be next to help undocumented immigrants fight deportation
Antonio OlivoWashington Post
April 10, 2019
“These are truly frightening times,” said Nicholas Marritz, a staff attorney with the Legal Aid Justice Center, which estimates that 41,000 people in Virginia are facing deportation. “As an attorney, I’ve seen firsthand the difference that representation can make in a person’s life.”
News Story , Video
Nonprofits, unions fighting labor trafficking in Hampton Roads
Chenue HerWVEC-TV (Hampton, VA)
November 7, 2019
Yarashes and the Legal Aid Justice Center partners with the Samaritan House to help those who are victims of labor trafficking.
News Story
Report: Virginia rarely helps workers collect unpaid wages from deadbeat employers
Ned OliverVirginia Mercury
December 4, 2019
Ronaldo Gonzalez Vasquez says his employer owed him two weeks of pay when his once-reliable boss stopped responding to phone calls and text messages.
News Story
Study: Many Wage Complaints Go Uninvestigated
Michael PopeWVTF (local NPR, VA)
December 5, 2019
When a worker believes they’ve been cheated out of their pay, they can file a complaint with the state. But a new study finds many of those complaints are never investigated.
News Story
Va. Senate unanimously passes bill to end driver’s license suspensions for unpaid court fines
Dean MirshahiWRIC (Richmond, VA)
February 4, 2020
The Virginia Senate unanimously passed legislation Monday that would put an end to the practice of suspending the driver’s licenses of those who have not paid their court fines or costs
News Story
Senate OKs Bill Halting License Suspension Over Court Debt
Jimmy O’KeefeWRC-TV (NBC Washington, DC)
February 13, 2020
“License suspensions in Virginia for court debt is really Virginia’s form of debtor’s prison,” said an attorney with Legal Aid Justice Center.
News Story
‘We’re technically homeless’: the eviction epidemic plaguing the US
Michael SainatoGuardian
February 11, 2020
In Virginia, housing organizers and advocates argue the court systems are widely tilted in favor of landlords over tenants, driving high numbers of eviction lawsuits.
Op-Ed
COVID-19 Exposes Deadly Gaps in Our Social Safety Net
Angela CiolfiVirginia Mercury
March 19, 2020
Poverty is not caused by poor people; it’s caused by system failure, discrimination and intentional exploitation. And our response to COVID-19 proves that it does not have to be this way. Together, we can create systems built to ensure that low-income communities and communities of color do not repeatedly bear the brunt of acts of nature like the coronavirus, or the human-made acts of inequitable laws and policies. We can make systems that work for low-income communities and communities of color all the time, not just during a crisis.
News Story
Job losses, evictions and utility cutoffs: Being poor amid COVID-19 outbreak
Ned OliverVirginia Mercury
March 13, 2020
News Story
Tenants file for class action against one of Virginia’s most prolific eviction law firms
Ned OliverVirginia Mercury
September 9, 2020
This page last modified: Sat, April 25, 2015 -- 12:37 pm ET