Judge puts brakes on DMV's 2-ID rule

Concerns over level of public comment curb requirement

April M. Washington, Rocky Mountain News

Published December 15, 2006 at midnight

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Frustrated driver's license applicants won a victory Thursday when a Denver judge suspended a rule requiring them to show two forms of identification to get a license or ID card.

District Court Judge Larry Naves granted an injunction freezing the Division of Motor Vehicles' so- called two-document rule, saying that it created hardships and was implemented without sufficient public comment, as required by law.

The injunction, which could go into effect as early as today, will force the DMV to relax the number and type of documents needed to get a driver's license.

The judge said the DMV's arbitrary rules caused "immediate and irreparable harm" because residents without IDs or licenses can't get basic services, including housing, car insurance and banking.

Michael Cooke, executive director of the state Department of Revenue, which oversees the DMV, expressed disappointment.

She called the ruling a step back in preventing identity theft and protecting the integrity of the documents issued by the driver's license offices.

"(The rules) may be an inconvenience to residents, but it's less of an inconvenience than if you're a victim of identity theft," Cooke told reporters.

At issue were DMV rules - including one that went into effect Sept. 6 - that require applicants to provide two forms of ID, one showing proof of age and lawful presence and the other giving proof of a person's full name.

But plaintiffs argued the two- form requirement mushroomed into five and six and seven forms.

Plaintiffs' affidavits showed that many residents with numerous documents showing legal identity, age and lawful presence - including U.S. passports and state-issued birth certificates - were told by DMV their documents were insufficient.

A chorus of Coloradans complained they weren't able to get a driver's license or ID, which prevented them from getting housing, jobs, health care and public assistance, and denied them their right to vote and travel to other states.

In November, attorneys representing the poor filed a class-action suit against Cooke and the DMV, alleging they put in place an illegal and changing set of rules.

Naves agreed Thursday, and rejected the DMV's claim that the rules are not hard and fast, but simply advisory guidelines as to what constitutes valid ID documents.

"I find evidence . . . here that the so-called two-document rule is a rule," he said. "It's administered like a rule. It's applied like a rule."

In the past, Cooke has argued that state law and the Colorado legislature have given her the authority to make rules as needed to establish legal identity and lawful presence of license applicants.

Cooke said she will decide what steps to take surrounding the issuance of driver's licenses and ID cards once she and her attorneys review the court's written decision.

She said, however, she likely won't stop the issuance of licenses and ID cards until new procedures are put in place.

Colorado Coalition for the Homeless hailed the decision.

"The ruling will help people who have been homeless and on the streets to get ID," said Deb Deboutez with the CCH. "They'll be able to get into shelters. They'll be able to get housing. They'll be able to get on with their lives."

Sean Connelly, one of four attorneys who brought the legal challenge, interpreted the order this way: "All the court is saying, is create rational rules."

Naves repeatedly said the DMV rules violated state law, and questioned why a certified city-issued birth certificate and the U.S. passport were not considered sufficient "secure and verifiable" documents.

He cited the example of Samantha Fite, a Denver attorney, who has been unable to get a driver's license since moving to Colorado two years ago.

Fite has presented the DMV with two certified Texas birth certificates and a valid Texas driver's license, but DMV rejected the documents after seeing too many fraudulent Texas and Puerto Rico birth certificates and American Indian cards.

On Aug. 28, the DMV began requiring anyone presenting those documents to provide a third form of ID other than a driver's license.

Then, on Sept. 6, the DMV began requiring applicants using a U.S. passport to present a state- or county-issued birth certificate or naturalization papers.

Cooke has said she instituted the beefed-up passport rule to screen out applicants who presented fraudulent documents.

Before Sept. 6, an applicant could present a valid driver's license from most other states, along with a U.S. passport, and get a Colorado ID or license.

What happens next

• The injunction halting the Division of Motor Vehicles' two- document rule could go into effect as early as today, or as soon as Judge Larry Naves enters his formal written order.

• Department of Revenue officials, which oversee the DMV, will determine what steps to take to comply with the order surround- ing the issuance of state IDs and licenses after attorneys review the written ruling.

• The Department of Revenue has the option to appeal, but it was unclear Thursday if it would do so.

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