A Federal judge has ruled that Tennessee must return thousands of suspended drivers licenses taken away because people couldn't pay court fines.
But the state might appeal the ruling.
The judge said that the practice disproportionally targets poorer people who cannot afford to pay.
"She said the law is not only ineffective, it's powerfully counter productive. You couldn't have said it any better than that," said State Representative Jeremy Faison (R-Newport) who supports the ruling.
"They can't pay these court costs and fines. If you're wealthy, you're fine, you can do it. A poor person can't."
Representative Eddie Smith (R-Knoxville) agrees.
"It's a catch-22. If they don't have their drivers license, they can't get to work, hence they can't earn a living to even begin paying back the fines."
But not everyone thinks this ruling is a good idea. The state attorney general's office says they're disappointed in the ruling and considering filing an appeal.
The argument is that if there's no punishment, people just won't pay the state what they owe.
Smith disagrees.
"It doesn't factor in that if they don't have the job, they can't pay those fees. It just 'here's what is estimated the state would lose,'" he said.
But for now, no one is getting their license back.
"What we don't know yet if the state is going to fight this ruling and if the ruling will be set aside while it goes through this process. There are still a lot of moving parts."