May 24, 2023

Chief Judge Anita Josey-Herring

Superior Court of the District of Columbia
500 Indiana Avenue, N.W., Room 6680
Washington, D.C. 20001

VIA ELECTRONIC MAIL

Dear Chief Judge Josey-Herring:

As you may know, the District is failing to achieve Vision Zero, the goal of eliminating all traffic
fatalities by 2024. In fact, the District experienced 25 traffic-related deaths in 2022 and reached
a 14-year high of 40 traffic-related deaths in 2021. The Council is increasingly concerned that, in
addition to poor road design that encourages high speeds, the problem is exacerbated by a failed
system of traffic enforcement.

In response to these concerns, on Tuesday, May 23, the Committee on Transportation & the
Environment held a public roundtable on traffic enforcement. One issue explored during the
roundtable was how the District’s Department of Motor Vehicles (“DMV”) is informed of an
arrest, prosecution, or conviction for offenses that should result in the temporary suspension or
permanent termination of driving privileges. Deputy Mayor for Operations and Infrastructure
Lucinda Babers stated that the DMV is only notified by the D.C. Superior Court (“the Court”) of
its ability to revoke licenses after a conviction for a crime. While it makes sense that the Court
would only notify District agencies after a final judgment has been reached in a case, Deputy
Mayor Babers’ statement prompted additional questions about information-sharing between
D.C. Superior Court and District agencies regarding the suspension or termination of driving
privileges, listed below:

1. Under what circumstances can a judge temporarily suspend or permanently terminate an

individual’s drivers license or motor vehicle registration?
2. If a judge orders that an individual’s drivers license or motor vehicle registration be
suspended or terminated, which District agencies are informed of the Court’s decision?
In what manner are those agencies informed?
 3. In FY21, FY22, and FY23 (year-to-date), how many times did a judge issue an order
suspending or terminating an individual’s drivers license or motor vehicle registration?
4. Does the Court receive confirmation from the DMV regarding whether an order to
suspend or terminate an individual’s drivers license or motor vehicle registration has been
executed?
5. In a Washington Post article, Court spokesperson Doug Buchanan was quoted as stating
that the Court’s IT system rejects data if certain identifiers are missing, leading to
incomplete datasets. The DMV was notified of this issue “years ago,” but has not
established a process to rectify missing data, nor has the Court established a process to
determine which data was not transferred. Can you describe the technical issue regarding
missing data in greater detail, including when the issue was first raised with the DMV, the
DMV’s response, and any efforts the DMV or the Court have taken to resolve or work
around the issue?
6. During the hearing, Deputy Mayor Babers stated that the Court did not inform the DMV
of prior driving under the influence (“DUI”) convictions for Nakita Walker, the driver
arrested for killing three people in a vehicle collision on Rock Creek Parkway on March 15,
2023. Can you confirm whether the Court notified the DMV of Ms. Walker’s prior DUI
convictions, the date of that notification, and any response from the DMV?

I would appreciate if you could provide responses to these questions by June 7, 2023. As always,
thank you for your continued partnership on broad range of issues affecting the District, including
roadway safety. Please feel free to contact me or my Committee Director, Chris Laskowski, with
any questions or to schedule a time for a follow-up conversation.

Sincerely,

Councilmember Charles Allen, Ward 6

Chairperson, Committee on Transportation & the Environment

Cc: Brian Schwalb, Attorney General, District of Columbia