Washington, DC Traffic Ticket Attorney

Have you been unfairly ticketed? D.C. issues at least 2 million traffic tickets to drivers each year, too many of them are undeserved. A DC traffic ticket can result in points on your driving record, higher insurance premiums, a substantial fine or lead to the delay, suspension or revocation of your license. Driver’s have rights too and the freedom to drive is a necessity of life that is worth fighting for.

If you want to contest a traffic ticket don’t do it alone. The D.C. DMV hearing process is counter-intuitive, unpredictable and can be confusing to those inexperienced with the process, often leading to harsh results for the unwary. Simply put, the DMV’s conveyer belt like system is designed to find you liable. The bottom line is: If your license is important to you then don’t fight the ticket by yourself.

At Riley Legal we expect to get every single ticket dismissed in every case. Riley Legal is committed to the vigorous defense of your freedom to drive.

Don't Pay a Ticket That Could Be Dismissed

Don’t waste time going to the DMV, and don’t plead guilty. Riley Legal has years of experience fighting tickets and knows how to obtain dismissals of tickets and dismissals of points. The process is simple: save time, save money, save energy and obtain a dismissal. Paying a ticket that could be dismissed is highway robbery!

• Since my ticket doesn’t have a big fine, shouldn’t I just pay it? The answer is no. Payment of a ticket is an admission of liability and points can be imposed. While some DC tickets may appear to be harmless infractions, paying a moving violation ticket can raise your insurance premiums and create a negative entry on your driving record. Moving violations in DC carry at least 2 points.

• If the officer who issued my ticket doesn’t show up will my ticket be dismissed? Yes. However, most of the time police officers actually appear at the DMV for hearings. The DMV makes it easy for the officer; the hearing has been scheduled based on the officer’s availability and the DMV allows police officers to appear online, virtually, regardless of whether you are present or not. Hoping the officer does not show up is not realistic plan or a legal strategy, its a prayer! Retain Riley legal to aggressively fight your ticket at a contested hearing.

• It’s my first ticket in a while, won’t a DMV hearing examiner give me break? Not likely. In general, at the DC DMV the citizen is always wrong! Drivers with a good ticket history are often not given any special consideration by hearing examiners and points are still imposed.

Unlike most states, DC has de-criminalized all minor traffic violations. As such, accused “respondents” are not entitled to the 5th and 6th Amendment protections available to “defendants” in criminal prosecutions in most states. Also, hearing decisions are made by hearing examiners (not judges) based upon lower standards of evidence and a lower burden of proof. Consequently, it is much easier to be found liable at a DMV hearing than in most states for similar violations, such as Maryland or Virginia, which have not decriminalized traffic tickets.

Traffic tickets or “Notices of Infraction” are administrative, non-incarcerable violations that carry only administrative sanctions; the imposition of points and a civil penalty of a fine.

Traffic tickets may be either “moving violation” or “non-moving violations.” Non-moving violations are parking tickets or tickets unrelated to the movement of a vehicle, such as “expired tag.” Penalties for non-moving violations are assessed to the registration of the vehicle and are the legal responsibility of the owner of the vehicle. Unlike parking tickets, moving violations are committed by drivers and are assessed to the driver’s license, not the tag. Moving violation tickets are personally served on a driver by a police officer who claims to have observed a driver violate a D.C. law.