WASHINGTON — Drivers throughout the Washington metro area have two big aversions: traffic and parking tickets. But the two are commonplace in an area with millions driving on the roads and widespread, aggressive parking enforcement. Now, a former hearing examiner with DC DMV is sharing their experience about an agency they say is toxic and even encouraged hearing examiners to hold drivers liable for parking tickets that should be dismissed, according to D.C. law.
“It became clear early on. It wasn't about providing people with their day in court,” said a former DC DMV hearing examiner who spoke to WUSA9 on the condition of anonymity. “Folks are not getting a fair shake.”
WUSA9 spoke with an unnamed hearing examiner in addition to six other current and former DC DMV hearing examiners who corroborated the allegations involving DC DMV.
“I am simply saying what everyone else has always believed about D.C. parking enforcement — that the system is predatory,” said the former hearing examiner who spoke exclusively with WUSA9. “[The system is] designed to reap as much revenue as possible.”
The former DC DMV hearing examiner began work at the agency in early 2024. They worked for the agency for less than a year after being terminated. During their tenure, they witnessed several red flags and said the training process represented the first sign of trouble.
“The supervisors that were assigned to provide us with the training lacked the experience, lacked the training in order to provide proper instruction to be able to do the job,” explained the former DC hearing examiner who, along with other newly hired hearing examiners, underwent multiple rounds of training to address shortcomings.
When it came to job responsibilities, hearing examiners were reportedly met with "unrealistic" time constraints that made it difficult to adjudicate cases fairly.
“There's also a great deal of pressure, on all employees throughout the DMV, to meet unrealistic performance standards,” said Joseph Davis, a DC DMV hearing examiner and Vice President of Local 1975 of the American Federation of Government Employees.
DC DMV hearing examiners are expected to adjudicate a minimum of 600 tickets a month, the agency explained. An analysis by the agency determined the 600-ticket adjudication minimum was "achievable."
"Most employees successfully meet or exceed this standard,” the agency said in a statement to WUSA9. “The amount of time needed to adjudicate depends on a variety of factors including, but not limited to, the customer's defense, the length of the customer's statement, and the number of exhibits submitted."
Current and former hearing examiners who spoke with WUSA9 on a condition of anonymity said the 600-ticket adjudication minimum leaves limited time to consider the merits of each case. On average, hearing examiners have less than five minutes to determine whether drivers should be held liable for costly tickets.
“Very few, if any, of the hearing examiners were able to meet that goal. You have to pull the case up, review the evidence, review the citation, and also write the hearing record,” explained the unnamed hearing examiner. “With that time pressure, there is simply not enough time to properly review that evidence and go through and make a determination to make sure the citizen is liable.”
Some of the hearing examiners who contributed to this report said they were only able to meet their ticket adjudication goal by taking advantage of glitches in the computer system that allowed them to register more adjudicated tickets than were heard.
The unnamed former hearing examiner also detailed a March meeting, conducted on Microsoft teams, where a senior manager for DC DMV encouraged hearing examiners to hold drivers liable for tickets that did not have an officer's signature. According to D.C. law, the signature of an issuing officer is needed as "evidence of validity” and therefore a ticket that does not have an officer’s signature is considered invalid and should be dismissed. However, a senior manager said otherwise and the directive was reinforced by other leaders during that March meeting, multiple sources told WUSA9.
“People have a right to know what their government is doing to them. Hopefully, they can fight and promote change,” said the unnamed hearing examiner.
Officials with DC DMV denied the account in a statement to WUSA9.
"The senior manager was merely clarifying that a missing officer's name on the ticket copy (as opposed to the original) was not grounds for automatic dismissal and the ticket should be adjudicated on the merits," explained DC DMV in a statement. "If an officer's name and badge do not appear on the original ticket, it is considered defective and is dismissed. However, the automated copy might include relevant information, such as the officer's badge number, but might be missing the officer's printed name due to a system error.”
Current and former hearing examiners for DC DMV added that the computer systems used by the agency are both antiquated and subject to frequent technical issues.
After the March meeting, multiple complaints were filed with D.C.'s Board of Ethics and Government Accountability (BEGA). WUSA9 obtained a letter in which BEGA responded to one hearing examiner’s complaint about DC DMV's alleged toxic working conditions and a directive from managers to hold drivers liable for invalid tickets. BEGA determined that the complaint was, “personnel-related and outside of the enforcement authority of this office.”
BEGA told WUSA9 they have neither investigated nor initiated any investigation into DC DMV this year.
As for now, the former hearing examiner said they are moving on but hope things change for those who continue to work for DC DMV and the citizens that rely on the agency for justice.
“Until you get upset and demand change, there's gonna continue to be victims of this system,” the unnamed hearing examiner said.