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Judges Say 'Unprecedented' Vacancies At D.C. Court Are Slowing The Legal System
WAMU | APR 15, 10:54 AM
Judges Say ‘Unprecedented’ Vacancies At D.C. Court Are Slowing The Legal System
Martin Austermuhle, WAMU
Higher caseloads for judges, slower decisions for the public. Those are the consequences of an “unprecedented” number of judicial vacancies in D.C. Superior Court and the Court of Appeals, according to the top judges on both courts. ... “It is just slowing down the wheels of justice,” said Court of Appeals Chief Judge Anna Blackburne-Rigsby on Friday, after speaking to the city’s annual Judicial and Bar Conference.
Superior Court and the Court of Appeals serve as D.C.’s local judiciary, but—because of the city’s lack of statehood—they are funded and operated by the federal government. Judges for both courts are nominated by the White House and approved by the U.S. Senate, but that process has failed to keep up with a string of retirements on both courts.
There are supposed to be 61 associate judges and one chief judge in Superior Court, but there are currently 10 vacancies. In the Court of Appeals, there are supposed to be nine judges, but two seats are currently vacant—one since 2017, the other since 2013.
In Superior Court, which handles almost 90,000 cases a year, that’s left Chief Judge Robert Morin to shuffle judges between the five divisions: criminal, civil, domestic violence, family, and probate and tax. ... “It’s sort of a reverse whack-a-mole,” he said. “When you’re taking from one division, you’re short-changing another.”
....
Judges Say ‘Unprecedented’ Vacancies At D.C. Court Are Slowing The Legal System
Martin Austermuhle, WAMU
Higher caseloads for judges, slower decisions for the public. Those are the consequences of an “unprecedented” number of judicial vacancies in D.C. Superior Court and the Court of Appeals, according to the top judges on both courts. ... “It is just slowing down the wheels of justice,” said Court of Appeals Chief Judge Anna Blackburne-Rigsby on Friday, after speaking to the city’s annual Judicial and Bar Conference.
Superior Court and the Court of Appeals serve as D.C.’s local judiciary, but—because of the city’s lack of statehood—they are funded and operated by the federal government. Judges for both courts are nominated by the White House and approved by the U.S. Senate, but that process has failed to keep up with a string of retirements on both courts.
There are supposed to be 61 associate judges and one chief judge in Superior Court, but there are currently 10 vacancies. In the Court of Appeals, there are supposed to be nine judges, but two seats are currently vacant—one since 2017, the other since 2013.
In Superior Court, which handles almost 90,000 cases a year, that’s left Chief Judge Robert Morin to shuffle judges between the five divisions: criminal, civil, domestic violence, family, and probate and tax. ... “It’s sort of a reverse whack-a-mole,” he said. “When you’re taking from one division, you’re short-changing another.”
....
