Alejandro Morales lost his driver’s license before he gained it for unpaid citations for non-driving offenses such as retail theft and disorderly conduct. (Photo by Rick Brown) Some Milwaukee teens are finding their driver’s licenses suspended, sometimes before they get them, because of unpaid tickets for non-driving offenses. Jaywalking, loitering and shoplifting are among the offenses that can lead to the two-year Juvenile Failure to Pay Forfeiture (FPF) suspensions. The Wisconsin Department of Transportation issued 16,945 such suspensions statewide in 2013, data show. Some of those suspensions are ordered before recipients have gotten a license. As of January 2012, 308 Milwaukee teens had suspensions without licenses, according to a report from the Employment and Training Institute (ETI) at University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee. Do you have feedback on Milwaukee NNS's reporting? Take our survey to let us know how we're doing! “It may sound strange, but it’s referred to as ‘taking effect upon application,’” according to Chief Court Administrator Sheldyn Himle of Milwaukee Municipal Court. “If a person doesn’t yet have their driver’s license, DOT will enforce the suspension at such time as they apply for the driver’s license.” More than 90 percent of the 308 teens in Milwaukee were African-American or Hispanic. According to researchers such as ETI Director John Pawasarat, the FPF suspensions, combined with the high cost of mandatory driver’s education, are leaving many youths from poor neighborhoods unable to get licenses. “If you receive a suspension, you have to pay the fine before you even get a license, and then you have to pay for instruction,” Pawasarat said. “It’s almost become a given that you won’t get your license, and you’ll drive anyway.” Numerous fines can lead to suspensions Juvenile FPF suspensions arise from nonpayment of citations for driving and non-driving offenses. When court cases result in a fine, individuals have a limited amount of time to pay them under Wisconsin law. If they do not, courts may order a driver’s license suspension that lasts two years or until the fines are paid. In Milwaukee Municipal Court, the suspensions are the usual outcome for nonpayment of fines for juveniles, which typically fall in the range of $70-90, Himle said. However, judges sometimes refer juveniles to community service with local organizations as an alternative to repayment, she added. Unlike adult FPF suspensions, juvenile suspensions can be imposed for nonpayment of non-driving citations. Juveniles can lose their licenses for unpaid fines resulting from such offenses as curfew violations, disorderly conduct, loitering and retail theft, according to former Milwaukee city judge Jim Gramling. Two years ago, Milwaukee County resident Alejandro Morales, 18, incurred citations for disorderly conduct, retail theft and trying to buy cigarettes. “It was dumb stuff,” he said. “I got caught for retail theft and I had cigarettes. In one stop, I got three tickets.” The incident was one of several in which Morales got tickets for non-driving offenses in Milwaukee and Greendale. At the time, Morales said, he did not go to court or pay attention to the notices he received in the mail. He said he thought the tickets would go away. “I didn’t think they’d lead to a suspension,” Morales said. “I thought juvenile tickets were dropped at 18.” Morales discovered otherwise when he tried to get a permit last year and found that he would have to pay all of his old tickets before getting a license. Unable to pay, Morales got rides from friends or took the bus. He sometimes drove without a license, and later received a ticket for that. In September, Morales went to the Center for Driver’s License Recovery and Employability (CDLRE), having “realized the gravity of tickets and what they could mean.” With the center’s help, he has paid his tickets and aims to get his license within the month. A baggage handler at General Mitchell International Airport, Morales hopes to buy a car and possibly to seek a job at the airport’s ticket counter — one that requires a license. Differing perspectives According to Himle, juvenile FPF suspensions are the only option for Milwaukee Municipal Court, as the court cannot imprison youths for municipal violations and does not pursue wage garnishments in these cases. That is an appropriate option, according to Gramling, a former municipal judge. He noted that judges felt powerless to hold juveniles accountable when state legislation temporarily removed their power to impose suspensions for non-driving offenses in the early 2000s. “You don’t want to jail kids for municipal fines, but there was no way functionally to make the parents pay the forfeitures,” Gramling said.