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Judges
Chief Judge
Annice M. Wagner
Associate Judges
John A. Terry
John M. Steadman
Frank E. Schwelb
Michael W. Farrell
Vanessa Ruiz
Inez Smith Reid
Stephen H. Glickman
Eric T. Washington
Senior Judges
Theodore R. Newman
William C. Pryor
John W. Kern, III
James A. Belson
John M. Ferren
Warren R. King
Structure
Congress established the District of Columbia Court of Appeals as the highest court of the District of Columbia in 1970. 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.
Jurisdiction
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 Superior Court of the District of Columbia. 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 certified by the Supreme Court of the United States, a Court of Appeals of the United States, or the highest appellate court of any state. As authorized by Congress, the court reviews proposed rules of the trial court and promulgates its own rules.
Cases
Cases before the court are determined by randomly selected, three-judge divisions, unless a hearing or rehearing before the court sitting en banc 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 judges of the court in regular active service, except that a retired judge may sit to rehear a case or controversy if he or she sat on the division at the original hearing. Pursuant to statute, 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 the business of the court so requires.
The Court and the Bar
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.
Location
District of Columbia Court of Appeals
H. Carl Moultrie I Courthouse
500 Indiana Avenue NW
Sixth Floor
Washington, DC 20001
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