RALEIGH – More than 1 million North Carolina residents do not have a valid driver’s license.
Meaning one out of every 10 residents in the Old North State cannot legally secure employment that requires a driver’s license, reliably get to and from a job or even take and pick up their children from school or practice.
The reasons for losing driving privileges vary from being unable to pay the fines, court costs or violation surcharges to failing to maintain car insurance to driving with a suspended or revoked license.
“The significant number of people in the state who have lost their driving privileges is due to failure to appear or pay,” Parks explained.
The need to be able to obtain a valid driver’s license is dire, says Campbell Law School’s Blanchard Community Law Clinic Professor Kristin Parks. High demand prompted Parks for the first time to offer a summer course focused on driver’s license restoration cases.
“The number of ongoing cases and requests from nonprofits and groups led to the decision to take on more cases this summer,” Parks said.
The summer program partnered with the North Carolina Department of Adult Corrections to assist prison inmates who are close to their release date apply to have their driving privileges reinstated, Parks explained. “The clinic aims to help inmates re-enter society successfully by restoring their driving licenses,” said Park, who added her students also assisted prisoners at the Federal Correctional Institution in Butner.
Three students took the course and while some former students provided pro bono assistance, Parks added.
Zoe Crow ‘27, a third-year law student, who says her motivation for joining the clinic was to see another side of the criminal justice system and to help prisoners with reentry.
“I worked pro bono with the District Attorney’s office in Craven County and I was surprised to see the positive impact the driver’s license restoration program had on clients,” Crow said.
Parks added the class also provided students with the opportunity to see firsthand the differences between federal and state prisons. Parks also said the students’ work in the clinic helps them understand the practical aspects of legal work, including reading driving records and learning how to navigate the courts system.
Elizabeth Harlan ‘28 shared her motivation to broaden her horizons through the clinic by working with incarcerated individuals. “I had a positive experience at the federal prison,” she explained, noting the good relationships she witnessed between the staff and the inmates.
Parks also emphasized the importance of law students seeing the impact of their work on clients as well as the importance of working well with law enforcement.
Daylin Perkins ‘28 is a native of Arkansas with a background in criminal justice. She said she plans to finish her doctorate after graduating from law school.
“I learned so much in this class including a lot of practical lessons from Professor Parks,” Perkins explained. “I was surprised at the kindness and enthusiasm of the prisoners I met.”
ABOUT CAMPBELL LAW SCHOOL
Since its founding in 1976, Campbell Law has developed lawyers who possess moral conviction, social compassion, and professional competence, and who view the law as a calling to serve others. Among its accolades, the school has been recognized by the American Bar Association (ABA) as having the nation’s top Professionalism Program and by the American Academy of Trial Lawyers for having the nation’s best Trial Advocacy Program. Campbell Law boasts more than 4,800 alumni, who make their home in nearly all 50 states and beyond. In 2026, Campbell Law is celebrating 50 years of graduating legal leaders and 17 years of being located in a state-of-the-art facility in the heart of North Carolina’s Capital City.