Michigan's Secretary of State is fighting back against a federal judge's decision to temporarily prevent the state from suspending driver's licenses when a person fails to pay fines from traffic violations.

Secretary of State Ruth Johnson's office, represented by Attorney General Bill Schuette and his staff, has asked the U.S. 6th Circuit Court of Appeals for an emergency stay on a preliminary injunction to block driver's license suspensions for people who don't pay.

The federal lawsuit, filed by the Washington, D.C.-based nonprofit Equal Justice Under Law, claims Michigan traffic fines are a "wealth-based scheme" that "trap our most vulnerable citizens in a vicious cycle of poverty."

When ordering the preliminary injunction earlier this month, Judge Linda Parker of the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District wrote there was "a strong likelihood" the lawsuit would successfully demonstrate a violation of due process.

But state officials are arguing the order is an overreach that is overly broad in several respects, including what qualifies as an inability to pay and what types of violations and fines can be considered traffic debt.

Compliance with Parker's order would take "monumental coordination" with the more than 100 trial courts that process traffic violations, the motion reads.

State attorneys noted the Secretary of State can only process suspension removals when initiated by notice from a trial court, and said the department received more than 590,000 suspensions in fiscal year 2017.

"This lawsuit is about the ability of Michigan trial courts to enforce judgments against drivers for traffic violation," Secretary of State spokesperson Fred Woodhams said in an email. "When a driver does not show up in court or does not pay their traffic fines, the court can request that their license be suspended."

"The department is confident that once the judicial process is completed, Michigan's well-established traffic-enforcement system will be upheld," Woodhams continued.

Equal Justice Under Law's lawsuit makes the case that suspending licenses for unpaid fines violates the Equal Protection Clause of the Fourteenth Amendment by preventing poor people stopped for routine traffic violations from driving and kickstarting a cycle of mounting fees and difficulties finding work to pay back the fines.

"Unable to drive, people often lose their jobs or have a hard time finding employment, making it even more unlikely that they will be able to pay their debts to the state," an Equal Justice Under Law press release reads. "Furthermore, residents with suspended licenses cannot fulfill daily responsibilities: taking their children to school, caring for elderly family members, or going to the doctor's office."

The lawsuit does not involve driver responsibility fees, which are additional fees tacked on top of certain traffic violations.

The legislature has moved to phase out the fees, with both the House and Senate passing differing plans to accelerate the process.