Legal Question in Constitutional Law in Michigan

What form of a Contract is a Drivers License. When I was in court for arraignment for DWLS the judge was accepting pleas from the defendants and sentencing them to pay $385 in fines or if they did not have $385 on their person then they were to serve 7 days in the county jail. Upon reading the Michigan Constitution I found Section 21 which states.

"� 21 Imprisonment for debt.

Sec. 21. No person shall be imprisoned for debt arising out of or founded on contract, express

or implied, except in cases of fraud or breach of trust"

A drivers license is in fact a contract between an individual and the state.

So by a judge imprisoning people for a $385 debt which arises out of a Drivers License Contract how would this not be violation of constitutional rights?

Would the Judge himself be guilty of USC Title 18 Section 242 and Title 18 Section 241?

Title 42 Section 1983 Exempts judicial officers but does not exclude executive officers. There is no such exemption in Title 18.


Asked on 1/11/11, 8:54 am

1 Answer from Attorneys
Edward Hoffman Law Offices of Edward A. Hoffman

A drivers license isn't a contract. It's a license. If you and I have a contract and you fail to meet your obligations to me, you can't be jailed for that. But you can be jailed for a serious traffic offense.

Jailing traffic offenders who would otherwise be fined merely because they have too little money in their pockets to pay a fine at the time of sentencing may very well be illegal.

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Answered on 1/16/11, 5:21 pm


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