District of Columbia Court of Appeals

Not to be confused with United States Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit.

District of Columbia Court of Appeals
The District of Columbia Court of Appeals is located in the former D.C. City Hall, a National Historic Landmark.
Established	1970
Location	District of Columbia City Hall, Judiciary Square, Washington, DC
Composition method	Presidential nomination with Senate confirmation
Authorized by	Derived from the United States Congress
Appeals to	Supreme Court of the United States (in matters of federal law only)
Appeals from	Superior Court of the District of Columbia
Judge term length	15 years
Number of positions	9
Website	DCCourts.gov
Chief judge
Currently	Anna Blackburne-Rigsby
Since	March 17, 2017

The District of Columbia Court of Appeals is the highest court of the District of Columbia, in the United States. Established in 1970, it is equivalent to a state supreme court, except that its authority is derived from the United States Congress rather than from the inherent sovereignty of the states. The court is located in the former District of Columbia City Hall building at Judiciary Square. The D.C. Court of Appeals should not be confused with the District's federal appellate court, the United States Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit. The D.C. Court of Appeals and the Superior Court of the District of Columbia comprise the District's local court system.

History

For much of the history of the District of Columbia, appeals in local matters were adjudicated by federal courts: first the Circuit Court of the District of Columbia (1801-1863), then the Supreme Court of the District of Columbia (1863-1893) (later renamed the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia), and finally the District of Columbia Court of Appeals (1893-1970) (later renamed the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit). The first local appellate court was established in 1942 when Congress created the Municipal Court of Appeals to hear appeals from the D.C. Municipal Court and the Juvenile Court. Consisting of a Chief Judge and two Associate Judges, the Municipal Court of Appeals acted as an intermediate appellate court, its decisions reviewable on a discretionary basis by the D.C. Circuit. In 1962, Congress renamed the court the District of Columbia Court of Appeals, and in 1967 its membership was enlarged to six judges.

Federal and local jurisdiction in the D.C. remained entangled until 1970, when Congress enacted the District of Columbia Court Reform and Criminal Procedure Act. In addition to establishing the Superior Court of the District of Columbia, the Act established the District of Columbia Court of Appeals as the "highest court for the District of Columbia," expanded its size to its present composition of nine judges, and broadened its jurisdiction to hear all appeals from the Superior Court and review decisions of the city's mayor and administrative agencies.

Powers

As the court of last resort for the District of Columbia, the Court of Appeals is authorized to review all final orders, judgments, and specified interlocutory orders of the associate judges of the Superior Court of the District of Columbia, as well as decisions of certain D.C. agencies. The court also has jurisdiction to review decisions of administrative agencies, boards, and commissions of the District government, as well as to answer questions of law presented by the Supreme Court of the United States, a United States court of appeals, or the highest appellate court of any state. As authorized by Congress, the court reviews proposed rules of the trial court and develops its own rules for proceedings.

Cases before the court are determined by randomly selected three-judge divisions, unless a hearing or rehearing before the court sitting en banc (with all judges present) is ordered. A hearing or rehearing before the court sitting en banc may be ordered by a majority of the judges in regular active service, generally only when consideration by the full court is necessary to maintain uniformity of its decisions, or when the case involves a question of exceptional importance. The en banc court consists of the nine judges of the court in regular active service, except that a retired judge may sit to rehear a case or controversy if the judge heard the original hearing. The Chief Judge may designate and assign temporarily one or more judges of the Superior Court of the District of Columbia to serve on the District of Columbia Court of Appeals when required.

District of Columbia Court of Appeals Associate Judge Kathryn A. Oberly observes as Secretary of State Hillary Clinton is sworn to office, while Bill Clinton holds the Bible.
(January 21, 2009)

Members of the court are empowered to adjudicate the oath of office ceremony for the executive cabinet of the President.

In the exercise of its inherent power over members of the legal profession, the court established the District of Columbia Bar and has the power to approve the rules governing attorney disciplinary proceedings. The court also reviews the rules of professional conduct and has established rules governing the admission of members of the District of Columbia Bar and the resolution of complaints concerning the unauthorized practice of law in the District of Columbia.

Judges

The court consists of a chief judge and eight associate judges. The court is assisted by the service of retired judges who have been recommended and approved as senior judges. Despite being the District's local appellate court, judges are appointed by the President of the United States and confirmed by the U.S. Senate for 15-year terms.

Active judges

As of July 18, 2022:

#	Title	Judge	Duty station	Born	Term of service			Appointed by
					Active	Chief	Senior
29	Chief Judge	Anna Blackburne-Rigsby	Washington, D.C.	1961	2006–present	2017–present	—	G.W. Bush
32	Judge	Corinne A. Beckwith	Washington, D.C.	1963	2011–present	—	—	Obama
33	Judge	Catharine F. Easterly	Washington, D.C.	1970	2012–present	—	—	Obama
34	Judge	Roy W. McLeese III	Washington, D.C.	1959	2012–present	—	—	Obama
35	Judge	Joshua Deahl	Washington, D.C.	1981	2020–present	—	—	Trump
36	Judge	John P. Howard III	Washington, D.C.	—	2022–present	—	—	Biden
37	Judge	Loren AliKhan	Washington, D.C.	1983/1984	2022–present	—	—	Biden
38	Judge	vacant	Washington, D.C.	—	—	—	—	—
39	Judge	vacant	Washington, D.C.	—	—	—	—	—
13	Senior Judge	John M. Ferren	Washington, D.C.	1937	1977–1997	—	1999–present	Carter
17	Senior Judge	John M. Steadman	Washington, D.C.	1930	1985–2004	—	2004–present	Reagan
23	Senior Judge	Vanessa Ruiz	Washington, D.C.	1950	1994–2011	—	2012–present	Clinton
26	Senior Judge	Eric T. Washington	Washington, D.C.	1953	1999–2017	2005-2017	2017–present	Clinton
28	Senior Judge	John R. Fisher	Washington, D.C.	1946	2006–2020	—	2020–present	G.W. Bush
30	Senior Judge	Phyllis D. Thompson	Washington, D.C.	1952	2006–2021	—	2021–present	G.W. Bush

Vacancies and pending nominations

Seat	Seat last held by	Vacancy reason	Date of vacancy	Nominee	Date of nomination
—	Kathryn A. Oberly	Retirement	November 1, 2013	—	—
—	Stephen H. Glickman		June 25, 2022	Vijay Shanker	July 14, 2022

Former judges

#	Judge	State	Born–died	Active service	Chief Judge	Senior status	Appointed by	Reason for termination
1	Catherine B. Kelly	—	1917–1995	1967–1973	—	—	Johnson	resignation
2	Austin L. Fickling	DC	1914–1977	1968–1977	—	—	Johnson	death
3	John W. Kern III	—	1928–2018	1968–1984	—	1984–2012	Johnson	retirement
4	George R. Gallagher	DC	1915–2007	1968–1981	—	1981–2001	Johnson	retirement
5	Frank Q. Nebeker	UT	1930–present	1969–1987	—	1987–2021	Nixon	retirement
6	Hubert Pair	DC	1904–1999	1970–1974	—	1975–1988	Nixon	death
7	Gerard D. Reilly	DC	1906–1995	1970–1976	1972–1976	1976–1995	Nixon	death
8	J. Walter Yeagley	DC	1909–1990	1970–1979	—	1979–1984	Nixon	retirement
9	Stanley S. Harris	DC	1927–2021	1972–1982	—	—	Nixon	Appointment as U.S. attorney
10	Julia Cooper Mack	NC	1920–2014	1975–1989	—	1989–2001	Ford	retirement
11	Theodore R. Newman Jr.	AL	1934–present	1976–1991	1976–1984	1991–2016	Ford	retirement
12	William C. Pryor	DC	1932–2020	1979–1988	1984–1988	1988–2019	Carter	retirement
14	James A. Belson	WI	1931–present	1981–1991	—	1991–2017	Reagan	retirement
15	John A. Terry	DC	1933–2021	1982–2006	—	2006–2016	Reagan	retirement
16	Judith W. Rogers	DC	1939–present	1983–1994	1988–1994	—	Reagan	elevation
17	Frank E. Schwelb	DC	1932–2014	1988–2006	—	2006–2014	Reagan	retirement
19	Michael W. Farrell	DC	1938–present	1989–2008	—	2009–2019	G.H.W. Bush	retirement
20	Annice M. Wagner	DC	1937–present	1990–2005	1994–2005	2005–2013	G.H.W. Bush	retirement
21	Warren R. King	DC	1937–present	1991–1998	—	1998–2016	G.H.W. Bush	retirement
22	Emmet G. Sullivan	DC	1947–present	1992–1994	—	—	G.H.W. Bush	elevation
24	Inez Smith Reid	DC	1937–present	1995–2011	—	2011–2017	Clinton	retirement
25	Stephen H. Glickman	DC	1945–present	1999–2022	—	—	Clinton	retirement
27	Noël A. Kramer	DC	1945–2018	2005–2011	—	2011–2017	G.W. Bush	retirement
31	Kathryn A. Oberly	DC	1950–present	2009–2013	—	—	G.W. Bush	resignation

See also

• Superior Court of the District of Columbia
• United States District Court for the District of Columbia

External links

• District of Columbia Court of Appeals – Official webpage of the DC Court of Appeals, part of the DC Courts' website.
• "District of Columbia", Caselaw Access Project, Harvard Law School, OCLC 1078785565, Court decisions freely available to the public online, in a consistent format, digitized from the collection of the Harvard Law Library