Legal Question in Traffic Law in District of Columbia
Whether DC traffic administrative law judge status is violation of due process.
I have traffic tickets from the District of Columbia Traffic Photo Enforcement Division. I attended a hearing and found out the judges work for Photo Enforcement itself. How can you have a judge deciding my guilt or innocence when they are housed in, part of, and paid by, the very department that is charging me? It seems to me that this would be a conflict of interest and therefore a constitutional violation regarding due process. I understand the district is a unique jurisdiction, but how can they violate with this type of conflict of interest.
2 Answers from Attorneys
Re: Whether DC traffic administrative law judge status is violation of due process.
I respectfully disagree with attorney Hendrickson. In my opinion the DC photo ticket programs are rife with constitutional violations and I am surprised that, with all the lawyers in DC that there have not been more successful challenges. In the meantime, try not to drive in DC.
Re: Whether DC traffic administrative law judge status is violation of due process.
What you have referred to as "judges" are in all likelihood what the District calls Hearing Examiners or the equivalent thereof who work under the Department of Adjudication Services and who are legally empowered to make the kinds of determinations required in the sort of administrative hearing which you attended and which was not a judicial but an administrative proceeding. In other words these are administrative officers( whatever their title)and they are executing essentially what are administrative rather than judicial functions.
There is no due process nor other constitutional violation in the administrative process which you've described.
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