District of Columbia Court of Appeals

thumb|The D.C. Court of Appeals location in the former [[D.C. City Hall.]]

The District of Columbia Court of Appeals is the highest court of the District of Columbia. The court was established in 1942 as the Municipal Court of Appeals, and it has been the court of last resort for matters of D.C. local law since 1970. It and the Superior Court of the District of Columbia compose the District of Columbia's court system. It is located in the former District of Columbia City Hall building at Judiciary Square.

The D.C. Court of Appeals is the equivalent of a state supreme court. Because the District of Columbia is not a U.S. state, however, the court's authority derives from the U.S. Congress rather than from the inherent sovereignty of the states. The D.C. Court of Appeals is sometimes confused with the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit, which is the federal U.S. court of appeals that covers the District of Columbia.

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. In 2011, the district's judicial conduct entity, the Commission on Judicial Disabilities and Tenure, gained the ability to reappoint judges that it deems "well qualified" for subsequent 15-year terms without input from the president or senate. If the commission deems the judge "qualified," the president has the option of renominating them, but if the commission deems the judge "unqualified," they are ineligible for reappointment. In 2021, the commission reappointed Chief Judge Anna Blackburne-Rigsby to a new 15-year term.

Active judges

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Vacancies and pending nominations

{|class="wikitable sortable"

!Vacator

!Reason

!Vacancy Date

!Nominee

!Nomination Date

|Retirement

|Pending

|TBD

|Elevation

|Pending

|TBD

Former judges

Chief judges

The first three chief judges of the Municipal Court of Appeals were nominated and confirmed specifically as chief judges. However, in 1961, the Department of Justice determined that the relevant law was ambiguous enough that President Kennedy could elevate sitting judge Andrew M. Hood as chief judge without submitting a nomination to the Senate for that purpose, as President Truman had done when elevating Nathan Cayton as chief judge in 1946. The Library of Congress issued a legal opinion calling the Department of Justice's determination into question, but Hood remained as chief judge. Since 1973, the chief judge has been selected by the District of Columbia Judicial Nomination Commission for renewable four-year terms.

Succession of seats

References

External links

District of Columbia Court of Appeals – Official webpage of the DC Court of Appeals, part of the DC Courts' website.