Nationwide — Justin Jones, an African American man from Georgia, had his driver’s license suspended this fall over a DUI in New Mexico from 2005, even though he has never visited the state. He has been trying for months to get his license back.
Jones said he was shocked when he received the suspension letter in early October. It cited a DUI in Santa Fe on Christmas Eve 2005, which he insists is not his. “Never been to New Mexico, never driven through New Mexico. I’ve never even stepped foot in the state off a plane,” he told WSB-TV.
He first went to the Georgia Department of Driver Services (DDS) hoping to resolve the issue quickly. Instead, he was forced to prove he wasn’t the person tied to the old DUI. “The burden of proof has been on me to prove that I wasn’t that person that got a DUI 20 years ago in New Mexico,” Jones said.
Jones submitted official documents from New Mexico, including a court clerk’s statement showing no convictions in his name. The New Mexico Taxation and Revenue Department also confirmed the DUI record belonged to someone else with a similar name and birthdate.
Despite this evidence, Georgia DDS refused to reinstate his license. For more than two months, Jones has been unable to drive legally, relying on expensive rideshares. DDS said the error occurred when New Mexico sent the DUI electronically, and they are waiting for a correction before removing it from his record.
“I’m just hoping to get someone who can get to yes, you know? Somebody who has some common sense to say, ‘You know what, this person is not the same person. Let’s lift this suspension,’” Jones said.
The situation has left him frustrated, especially since he remembers celebrating at home the day after his 21st birthday, not being in New Mexico. DDS did not respond to follow-up questions about why they required multiple letters if the correction depended on New Mexico.