Getting a single parking ticket in Lorain led hundreds to lose their driver's licenses

For years, hundreds of car owners had their driver's licenses suspended in Lorain for minor tickets like parking too far from a curb. Now, Lorain Mayor Jack Bradley has paused the ticket-writing practice, and a municipal court judge began dismissing cases on Tuesday. The action comes days after The Marshall Project - Cleveland began asking about the thousands of parking violations issued in Lorain neighborhoods. At issue are the parking tickets and who's been writing them. In Lorain, the city allowed auxiliary officers — who don't hold police powers — to target parking violators with criminal summonses for minor infractions such as parking more than a foot from a curb or on a lawn. The parking citations and license suspensions that followed have cost Lorain residents and others thousands of dollars in court fines and state license reinstatement fees, a Marshall Project - Cleveland investigation has found. Bradley, a longtime defense attorney, said he opted to pause the program after meeting on Monday with the city's law director and police chief. He said he has concerns about the volume of suspensions and the financial toll on people, especially those who don't even know their licenses are suspended. The city needs to "fully evaluate the program to make sure it is following the law fairly for our citizens," he said. The news outlet reviewed thousands of parking cases, spent hours in court, and talked to more than 25 people about their citations and suspensions. In some cases, people were ordered to appear in Lorain Municipal Court within days of being cited for receiving a parking violation. For those who didn't come to court, suspension orders soon followed, records show. During a court session Tuesday morning, Judge Thomas Elwell kept a large crowd waiting about two hours to have their cases called. Those with parking tickets left the courtroom with their cases dismissed. One case involved Bonnie Burns, 71, who limped to the front of the courtroom with a cane after Elwell called her parking case. "There have been issues with these parking tickets," Elwell told Burns. "It is being dismissed. You are free to go. Have a good day." Elwell declined to answer questions from The Marshall Project - Cleveland about the ticket-writing practice and the flood of suspensions. Lorain resident Mary Haviland, 48, received a parking ticket in August. She said she did not know about her license suspension until The Marshall Project - Cleveland called her in mid-November. She said she was never notified by the court. Haviland planned to pay $75 for fines and fees this week to get her license back. "This saves me a whole lot of money," Haviland said Monday about the dropping of cases. "This costs people a lot of money that they don't have. It is a tough time right now." While most large Ohio cities issue only token fines, in recent years, Lorain Municipal Court judges ordered almost 600 license suspensions from parking tickets, according to court records. That's on top of the fines that can range from $50 to $100. The citations also often required car owners to stand before a judge in a packed courtroom as if they had committed theft, disorderly conduct or driving while intoxicated. Attorneys with The Legal Aid Society of Cleveland said The Marshall Project - Cleveland's reporting shines a light on what it calls "unlawful license suspensions" that can affect housing eligibility, employment opportunities and financial stability for some people. "Unfortunately, individuals impacted by these judgments will likely need to file motions with the court to vacate their convictions and suspensions, and to have fines and fees refunded," Jennifer Kinsley Smith, managing attorney of the organization's office in Lorain County, wrote in a statement. In the coming weeks, the organization will post information on its website to help people who were ticketed. Individuals seeking help can also call The Legal Aid Society at (888) 817-3777. Lorain is one of the 10 biggest cities in Ohio. But The Marshall Project - Cleveland found the city is the only one that suspends driver's licenses for a single unpaid parking violation. None of the other large cities requires violators to appear for criminal arraignments in court. Each city classifies the tickets as civil infractions. Lorain Police Chief Michael Failing said individuals should not have a license suspension over a parking ticket. "I'm not sure how the courts can correct that, but obviously that's something I cannot correct," said Failing, who became chief in September. "That's a court problem." When auxiliary officers sign the tickets, the citations state that they personally gave the tickets to the violators — when in reality, they only placed them on the car windshield. Failing was not aware of problems with the citations until The Marshall Project - Cleveland showed him during an interview. "That would be a valid claim for them to dismiss the ticket," Failing said. The policy dates back to 2008, when the Lorain City Council passed an ordinance authorizing the Police Department's auxiliary unit to issue handicapped parking citations. Auxiliary officers are often used for traffic assignments, court security and helping with crowd control at parades and festivals. The ordinance also criminalized all parking infractions, making them minor misdemeanors. A 2019 ordinance update raised parking fines to $50 if paid within 72 hours, and $100 if paid after 72 hours. The legislation also stated that people who did not pay within 72 hours should be notified by certified mail and ordered to appear in court. But that practice was not happening, and vehicle owners were not notified, court records show. Other cities give parking violators time to pay the civil infractions. In Cleveland, violators have 15 days to either pay the fine or dispute the ticket. Failure to pay or dispute the ticket will result in an additional $10 penalty, records show. The Lorain ordinance was tweaked again in November 2024 when the City Council gave the auxiliary unit the expanded power to write citations for all parking violations. Since that time, 1,155 citations were issued, and judges ordered 303 license suspensions, court records show. Deliana Perez of Lorain received a ticket in October and paid the $50 fine. But, she said, properly enforcing city laws is needed to build trust between the community and police. "This is amazing news," Perez said about dismissing tickets. "I am so happy." Judge Mark Mihok said he did not know the ordinance required letters to be sent to violators. He said the Lorain clerk of courts should have sent the letters, but a clerk's employee said they were never instructed to send letters. Mihok said he will order the clerk of courts to issue refunds to people who request it. Elwell's bailiff said the judge is waiting for guidance from the Law Department on refunds. Mihok said he has felt pressure from the Lorain City Council and the mayor's office to get money, especially after the state legislature passed a new law aimed at helping people with debt-related suspensions. He called traffic and parking tickets "a moneymaker, so we enforce tickets." Mihok said state lawmakers never lumped parking tickets into the new law. "We were all worried that if we can't do anything, collections are gonna go way down, which they, in fact, are," Mihok said. "Our conclusion was the state didn't amend that section and that we can still do it." Additional data analysis was done by Aaron Sankin. This article was published in partnership with The Marshall Project - Cleveland, a nonprofit news team covering Ohio's criminal justice systems. Sign up for their Cleveland newsletter and Facebook Group, and follow The Marshall Project on Instagram, Reddit and YouTube.