Clinic in June to help suspended drivers

By JOE GORMAN

jgorman@vindy.com

YOUNGSTOWN

The municipal court is planning another event to help people with suspended driver’s licenses get them back.

This is the second event this year arranged by the court to help those drivers, but this time, other county and municipal courts will be participating in the June 8 clinic, said Judge Renee DiSalvo.

Judge DiSalvo said the Mahoning County area courts as well as the municipal courts have agreed to allow defendants to apply any help they receive at the clinic toward their cases.

The clinic will be June 8 from 9 a.m. to 12 p.m. at First Presbyterian Church, 201 Wick Ave.

There will be volunteer defense attorneys on hand as well as representatives from the Mahoning County Job and Family Services and the state Bureau of Motor Vehicles.

Judge DiSalvo said it is possible that in some cases participants may be able to become eligible for the BMV’s amnesty program to allow them to get their licenses back and get most or all of their reinstatement fees waived. The amnesty program ends in July, Judge DiSalvo said.

Other courts have also agreed that if someone has a warrant block on their license and they get that block lifted at the clinic, that they will accept that decision if the person is put on a payment program to pay off their reinstatement fee, Judge DiSalvo said.

“We’re hoping to see a great number of people qualify,” Judge DiSalvo said.

Earlier this year the court had its own clinic for people with suspended licenses and 187 showed up to find out how they could get their reinstatement fees lowered or waived so they could get their licenses back.

Clerk of Courts Sarah Brown Clark said the clinic is geared toward people who may have made a mistake or two and this is a good way to allow them to make up for it. A large portion of the court’s docket also deals with suspended licenses, so this will impact the court as well, Clark said.

“This will impact our caseload,” she said.

Clark also applauded Judge DiSalvo for taking the initiative to work with people who may have cases before the court but also need help to clear those cases.