Will SC man get his license back after 21 years? An inside look at a day in traffic court
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Fined Out
Fined Out tells the story of Trevor Heyward, a Black man in South Carolina who would become trapped in a cycle of poverty for 21 years after a traffic stop in 1999.
But it’s not just in South Carolina – it’s likely happening in your community, too.
Across the United States, 11 million people have suspended drivers licenses simply because they can’t pay their traffic tickets. When they’re driving under suspension, they’re fined out of working, spending time with their families and leading productive and happy lives. Here’s one man’s story and what advocates around the country are doing to stop it from happening to another person.
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A traffic stop 21 years ago took an SC man’s driver’s license. His life went with it
Fines. Fees. Jail. Black drivers at high risk as license suspensions triple over 10 years
Will SC man get his license back after 21 years? An inside look at a day in traffic court
Watch: A behind-the-scenes look on the vicious cycle of SC suspended licenses
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Courtrooms aren’t usually packed for S.C. Department of Motor Vehicles hearings, but this one is.
“Packed” by COVID-19 standards means 10 people, each seated in a separate pew in the viewing gallery of the Jasper County Courthouse. Even without the precautions, having a crowd of that size is rare.
The spectators are here in Ridgeland from all walks of life: dog handlers, bondsmen, animal services directors. The sun streams in, shining on the plexiglass separators and on the hearing officer.
All are here for one person: Trevor Heyward.
And he’s here for one reason: To get his life back.
Heyward, 43, is trying to get his driver’s license reinstated. He hasn’t driven with an active license in 21 years, when he was first pulled over for driving an uninsured vehicle, not wearing a seatbelt and not having his license on him. He didn’t pay the fines, so the DMV suspended his license. Since then, he’s been arrested 17 times and charged with driving under suspension or driving without a license 14 times.
He became a habitual traffic offender, which only added to the suspensions and fines. But when his friends and coworkers at Animal Services found out his suspended license was stopping him from getting a promotion, they stepped in. They made a plan to help pay over $9,000 in fines, even donating money, and helped him request this reinstatement hearing.
So here Heyward is, standing in front of DMV hearing officer Brigette Autry in blue jeans, black sneakers and a bright red T-shirt from Beaufort County Animal Services with the word “STAFF” on the back.
Heyward knows it’s a life-changing day. He’s just not sure whether it will be for better or worse.
Traffic court in Bluffton
Over in Bluffton, a handful of people wait patiently in a small courtroom. Most are in T-shirts and jeans. Some took off work to be there. One young couple brought their baby.
They’ve all taken the rickety elevator to the third floor, where Judge Jose Fuentes is presiding. One man is contesting charges of possession of marijuana. He’s arguing that police had no right to search his car for marijuana. Of course he looked nervous to the deputy, he says, but only because he was caught meeting with his mistress.
The eyes of the court clerk widen. Judge Fuentes reminds the man he allowed the deputy to search his car.
Not long after, the first driving on a suspended license case is up. It comes and goes quickly.
A Jasper County woman has paid her fines. The deputy dismisses her charges: “You’re free to go.”
Outside the courthouse, she is willing to share her story but asks that her name not be used.
The whole ordeal cost her at least $1,000 just to get everything squared away for court, she says. About $400 of that went to the DMV for late fees and for reinstatement.
She let her insurance lapse because the costs went up during the pandemic. Then she was pulled over for speeding on her way to work at a Hilton Head Island supermarket.
The deputy had a tow company impound her car, and she walked the rest of the way to work.
“At the end of the day, it’s hard out here. Especially when you have children,” she says. “What is a mother to do?”
Driver’s license hearing: SC man makes his case
Heyward is leaning forward at the table, feet planted on the ground. His body doesn’t give away his nerves.
But his voice does.
The first few times Heyward answers questions from his attorney, Scott Lee, his voice shakes so much it sounds like he’s trembling. When the hearing officer asks a clarifying question, it gets worse.
Heyward appears a good foot taller than the hearing officer, but dressed in a suit jacket and skirt, Autry’s professional presence is imposing and appears to be rattling him.
He answers questions about his life and his job, and testifies about how he’s turned his life around and paid all the fines and fees he owed. By the end of the questioning, he’s more comfortable.
“I got a job. A good job, and it could turn into a good career for me instead of fast food,” Heyward says. “If I lose this job, I’ll be back in the same situation as before I paid the fines.”
Autry later tells a reporter that she handles about one or two reinstatement hearings every three months. Heyward’s is unusual because so many people have come to give witness statements, she says.
It’s a good sign for Heyward, but his arrest record is lengthy and a lot to overcome.
Surge in license suspensions
Heyward’s situation isn’t unique.
An analysis of DMV data shows suspended licenses for unpaid traffic tickets have skyrocketed in Beaufort County.
In 2010, 1,368 drivers in the county lost their licenses due to unpaid traffic tickets. In 2019, that number reached 5,708 and last year, 5,200 licenses were suspended over unpaid fines.
Each suspension represents loss. Lost jobs, lost mobility, lost opportunity. Each new fine or suspension puts drivers closer to the clutches of the criminal justice system.
Thirty-four states and the District of Columbia suspend, revoke or refuse to renew driver’s licenses due to unpaid fines, according to the Fines and Fees Justice Center, which advocates on behalf of drivers with suspended licenses for failing to pay.
“These suspensions not only prevent people from earning the money they need to pay their ‘court debt,’ but also undercut their ability to support themselves, their families and the community,” according to the D.C.-based center.
Ashley McElveen, a bail bondsman from Beaufort, is speaking on behalf of Heyward. She talks about his character and why she feels the system has failed him.
“This is a man who used to show up in court and be so scared they were going to take him to jail that he never raised his hand when they called his name, because he didn’t know what (was) going to happen next,” she says. “This guy has turned his life around.”
A few tears roll down Heyward’s cheeks.
He’ll tell a reporter later how confused he was caught up in the court system, saying he let fear get the best of him in traffic court. He did not acknowledge a call for him to come forward, instead sitting quietly as he was assessed the maximum fine and counted as a no-show.
‘Don’t wait to go to the DMV...’
Another suspended license case is up in Bluffton traffic court.
The clerk places a laptop at the podium, where a man can be seen on a video call. He’s facing a second offense of driving on a suspended license and two counts of marijuana possession. The deputy who pulled him over stands beside the computer.
The man’s license was originally suspended because of unpaid child support.
Fuentes wants the man to understand the difficulty he is in.
“The driving under suspension second offense, aside from the $1,270 fine, will further suspend your driving privileges,” the judge says.
He lets out a long exhale.
“Making it much, much more difficult to get your driving privileges fixed.”
The judge and the deputy agree to revisit the charges in July, giving the man time to get his license back.
“Don’t wait to go to the DMV the day before your next court date,” he said. “You need to get this sorted out.”
A legal driver again? Moment of truth
In Jasper County, Autry, the DMV hearing officer, has noticed Heyward was last pulled over for driving with a suspended license in 2017.
It begs a question.
“So you have not driven, other than the March 2017 ticket, during your habitual offender suspension?” she asks.
At first, he deflects.
“Yeah, yeah.”
“You have?” she asks.
“No, I’m not driving.”
“You’re not driving?” she asks again. “So you have not driven since you got that ticket since 2017?”
The room tenses, and Heyward lets out a breath.
Everyone can see him calculating, like someone trying to do a math problem in his head. He took an oath to tell the truth, but an admission here may doom his chances.
“Yes,” he says after seven full seconds of silence. “I may have driven, definitely some.”
“How often?” she asks.
“Not often, just like if I couldn’t get a ride to work or the person who is supposed to take me to work can’t, I would have to drive that day.”
Autry lets that hang in the air, doing her own calculations.
After several seconds, she moves on to another question.
‘Russian Roulette’ on US 278
The third and final suspended license case in Bluffton’s traffic court is John Allen, a 45-year-old Bluffton man whom the DMV has deemed a habitual traffic offender.
There are many ways to get that designation, but Allen got his after several minor traffic tickets and a DUI in 2018. His license was suspended for five years. Now he’s facing his second charge of driving under suspension.
Judge Fuentes wants to give Allen the chance to make things right.
“While I’m continuing (the charge) to give you a chance to get your driving privileges fixed, it’s also your opportunity to get an attorney to understand the consequences,” the judge tells him. “It’s a very serious charge.”
If he can get his license back, Allen can get his driving under suspension charge dropped.
He’ll be able to drive without fear.
Outside the courtroom, Allen tells a reporter he’s trying to do better. He has kids to provide for and bills to pay.
A carpet cleaner by day, Allen said he tried to get a temporary license from the DMV but was denied. He’s here now because he was pulled over at 3 a.m. while driving home from his second job at a Walmart distribution center.
The officer ticketed him and allowed a family member to pick up the car.
“I don’t have a problem paying the fine,” Allen says. “I know I did something wrong. But can you at least make it to where it is something that won’t go against (me) or make this process worse?”
Allen doesn’t deny driving on a suspended license. He sees it as a necessary gamble.
He earned one driving under suspension charge because “a lady coming down (U.S.) 278 ran straight into my car.” Police came to the scene and charged him. “It’s a daily Russian roulette on the highway. Any time you see blue lights, the first thing you think about (is) ‘Are they coming to get me?’”
“They say God watches over children and fools, and I may be a fool driving with no license,” he says. “But I won’t be able to take care of my kids if I don’t even try.”
Delays at court hearing
Heyward’s hearing ends in something of a disappointment. He hoped he’d get an answer today, but Autry says she will issue a decision in the next few weeks.
Outside the hearing room, Heyward is replaying Autry’s questions about his recent driving and wondering aloud if he did the right thing.
The day has taken a toll.
His eyes welling with tears, he runs his hand through his super short hair and tries to compose himself.
“I just never thought I’d be here,” he says. “I’ve never been this close to getting my license back. I know (the witnesses) like me but hearing it all put out there is just … emotional.”
The call comes: ‘I GOT IT!’
One of Heyward’s biggest advocates is Tallulah Trice, his boss at the animal shelter.
It’s been seven days since Heyward’s hearing, so when she picks up the buzzing phone, she does so without expectation.
It’s Heyward, but she’s catching only fragments of what he’s saying through tears.
One part comes through clearly, however.
“I GOT IT!!! I GOT IT!! I GOT IT!!”
Autry has ruled in his favor. Heyward is at his second job at Wendy’s when he finds out, but he couldn’t wait to share the news.
Trice can hear Heyward’s co-workers celebrating in the background. Heyward has not made this journey alone, and he wants to share his good fortune with everyone.
The joy is infectious.
“It was like we got him off a murder charge or something,” Trice will later tell a reporter, laughing.
A few minutes later, Heyward is still on his high when a reporter reaches him.
His voice is shaking again, but it’s joy, not nerves, doing the rattling.
His days of catching rides or looking over his shoulder on the road late at night are finally over.
Years of being caught in a system he never understood, a system that chewed him up for years before finally spitting him out, are also behind him for good, he hopes.
“I’m finally at ease.”
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This story was originally published April 29, 2021 at 9:30 AM with the headline "Will SC man get his license back after 21 years? An inside look at a day in traffic court."
