District of Columbia Court of Appeals

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This court handles local matters related to the District of Columbia. For information on the federal appeals court for the District of Columbia, click here.

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District of Columbia Court of Appeals
Court Information
Justices: 9
Founded: 1970
Location: Washington, D.C.
Salary
Judicial Selection
Method: U.S. President appoints, U.S. Senate confirms
Term: 15 years
Active justices
Anna Blackburne-Rigsby Catharine Easterly Corinne Ann Beckwith John Howard (District of Columbia) Joshua Deahl Loren AliKhan (District of Columbia) Roy W. McLeese Vijay Shanker

Established by Congress in 1970, the District of Columbia Court of Appeals is the court of last resort in Washington, D.C., and has nine judgeships. The current chief of the court is Anna Blackburne-Rigsby.

The District of Columbia Court of Appeals meets in the Historic Courthouse.

As of September 2021, in Washington, D.C., court of appeals justices are selected through an assisted appointment method, where the President selects an appointee from a list provided by a nominating commission. The appointee must then be approved by the U.S. Senate. To read more about this system of selection, click here.

Jurisdiction

The D.C. Court of Appeals reviews all final orders, judgments and specified interlocutory orders of the Superior Court of the District of Columbia and answers questions of law certified by federal and state appellate courts. Additionally, the court may review decisions made by D.C. administrative agencies, boards, and commissions.

Cases are heard by randomly chosen three-judge panels except when it is requested and ordered by a majority of judges in regular active service that the court sit en banc. This may occur when it is deemed that the full court is needed to maintain uniformity of its decisions, or if the case is of noteworthy importance.

Administrative authority

The court of appeals also has administrative authority over attorneys and lower courts in D.C. It has the power to approve rules regarding attorney conduct and discipline. The court created the District of Columbia Bar and regulates the guidelines for admission to the bar.

Justices

The table below lists the current judges of the District of Columbia Court of Appeals, their political party, and when they assumed office.

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Office	Name	Party	Date assumed office
District of Columbia Court of Appeals	Corinne Ann Beckwith	Nonpartisan	February 3, 2012
District of Columbia Court of Appeals	Anna Blackburne-Rigsby	Nonpartisan	2006
District of Columbia Court of Appeals	Joshua Deahl	Nonpartisan	January 6, 2020
District of Columbia Court of Appeals	Catharine Friend Easterly	Nonpartisan	2011
District of Columbia Court of Appeals	John P. Howard III	Nonpartisan	February 18, 2022
District of Columbia Court of Appeals	Roy W. McLeese	Nonpartisan	2012
District of Columbia Court of Appeals	Vijay Shanker	Nonpartisan	December 21, 2022
District of Columbia Court of Appeals	Vacant
District of Columbia Court of Appeals	Vacant

Judicial selection

See also: Judicial selection in Washington, D.C.

The nine judges on the District of Columbia Court of Appeals are selected through the assisted appointment method. The District of Columbia Judicial Nomination Commission (JNC) releases a notice of judicial vacancy, and interested individuals submit application materials to the commission. The JNC is composed of seven members, each serving six-year terms, except the member appointed by the President who serves a five-year term. The commission evaluates applicants and may choose to conduct interviews or solicit feedback from the public. Three individuals are recommended to the President of the United States by the commission for each vacancy. The President names an appointee from that list who then, like federal judges, must be confirmed by the U.S. Senate.

Judges serve for 15 years after their appointment. Eligibility for reappointment is determined by the District of Columbia Commission on Judicial Disabilities and Tenure. The commission solicits feedback on and evaluates judges interested in another term. If a judge is found to be "well qualified," he or she is automatically reappointed. "Qualified" judges may be reappointed and go through the same process as a first-time nominee. If the President chooses to not reappoint a judge, or if the commission determines that a judge is "unqualified," the District of Columbia Judicial Nomination Commission starts a new search.

Qualifications

To serve on the court of appeals, a judge must be:

• a U.S. citizen;
• a D.C. area resident for at least five years prior to his or her appointment;
• an active member of the D.C. bar for at least 5 years;
• a professor at a D.C. law school or an attorney employed by the U.S. or D.C. government; and
• under the age of 74 (retirement at 74 is mandatory).

Selection of the chief judge

The chief judge of the court is designated by the judicial nominating commission. He or she serves in that capacity for four years.

Vacancies

See also: How vacancies are filled in state supreme courts

When a vacancy occurs, the President of the United States appoints a successor from a list of names provided by a nominating commission. The appointment requires confirmation by the U.S. Senate. The map below highlights how vacancies are filled in state supreme courts across the country.

Caseloads

The table below details the number of cases filed with the court and the number of dispositions (decisions) the court reached in each year.

District of Columbia Court of Appeals caseload data
Year	Filings	Dispositions
2020	794	1,219
2019	1,294	1,316
2018	1,429	1,429
2017	1,504	1,466
2016	1,357	1,573
2015	1,482	1,625
2014	1,538	1,846
2013	1,604	2,049
2012	2,126	1,845
2011	1,803	2,030
2010	1,693	1,881
2009	1,699	1,886
2008	1,726	1,772
2007	1,510	1,837

For a full list of opinions published by the court, click here. Know of a case we should cover here? Let us know by emailing us.

See also

Washington, D.C.	Judicial Selection	More Courts
Courts in Washington, D.C. District of Columbia Court of Appeals Superior Court of the District of Columbia	Elections: 2024 • 2023 • 2022 • 2021 • 2020 • 2019 • 2018 • 2017 Gubernatorial appointments Judicial selection in Washington, D.C.	Federal courts State courts Local courts

External links

• District of Columbia Courts, "District of Columbia Court of Appeals Judges"

Footnotes

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