Metro Court is the primary traffic court in Los Angeles. Metropolitan Court is located at 1945 S. Hill Street in Downtown Los Angeles. This courthouse handles traffic tickets, DUI cases, and criminal law issues. This is a very high volume courthouse and like all things run by the government, high volume means it’s going to take you hours if you need to go there. Located near the intersection of the 10 and 110 freeways just south of downtown Los Angeles, you know you are getting close when you see the giant chair in the parking lot across the street. To avoid the hassle, you may want to consider hiring a Los Angeles Criminal Defense Attorney to appear on your behalf
Your first clue to the hassle is just getting there. Traffic around downtown LA traffic court is almost always terrible. It really doesn’t matter if it’s 8AM or 2PM, you can count on it taking you a while to get there. Once you arrive to the Metropolitan Courthouse your next challenge is parking. There is a lot right next to the court that charges in excess of $15 a day for parking. There is also underground parking available for $8. If you are willing to walk in downtown LA, you can park at an offsite lot for $3-$6 located underneath the 10 freeway. You can also take a chance with a meter but this is risky since you never know just how many hours you will be stuck in line at the courthouse. If you are looking to save money you can really get brave and look for free street parking which is not secure or readily available, but it does happen one block east of the courthouse.
Once you find a place to park the next challenge is getting into the building. Security is tight so you are looking at a long line to get through a metal detector. If you are on the ground level, just look for all the people lined up along the side of the building like they are trying to get into a club. If you parked underground, you ride the elevator up to the first floor then EXIT the courthouse (even though you were already in) so that you can go get in the back of the big line to get in the courthouse.
Next battle is locating the right line for your needs whether it’s the traffic clerk’s window, GC Services, the criminal clerk, the health office for DUI program referrals, or the courtroom or any of the numerous clerk’s offices hidden throughout the courthouse.
