Washington Lawyer - September/October 2024 - 15

FEATURE
been drawing attention to vacancies on the courts and their impact on
both judges and District residents.
At full capacity, Superior Court has 62 trial judges and 25 magistrate
judges. The Court of Appeals, at full capacity, has nine judges. As of midJuly,
however, there were eight vacant seats on Superior Court and two
on the Court of Appeals.
Blackburne-Rigsby says that the D.C. Courts have been dealing with vacancies
in varying capacities since 2013. " It has been at crisis levels for so
long, " the chief judge says. " I feel like I have been saying the same things
over and over again through many public speaking efforts and appearances
at different bar associations, [including] the D.C. Bar, [and] in the
community. "
For existing judges, the shortages mean handling
double, and oftentimes triple, the number
of cases, impacting their well-being. At
the 2024 Judicial Leadership Luncheon in
April, Chief Judge Josey-Herring shared her
concern for her judicial colleagues. " All across
the courts, everybody is doing what they
can. But I do worry about the judges, " she
said. " I tell people, 'Judges are people, too.'
The judges are stretched, and we do need
assistance. "
In the end, District residents end up being adversely
impacted by the lack of judges. " People
still want their cases decided. And there is
sometimes criticism about the length of time
that it takes this court to render its decisions, "
Blackburne-Rigsby says. " We hear that concern, and we try to work our
hardest to address it without sacrificing the quality of the decisions or the
deliberations that [go] into the decisions. "
SLUGGISH CONFIRMATIONS
Resolving vacancies at the D.C. Courts is an intricate process. Whereas
state judges typically are either appointed (by the governor or state legislature)
or elected, judicial hopefuls in the District are vetted and recommended
by the District of Columbia Judicial Nomination Commission,
nominated by the U.S. president, and then confirmed by the U.S. Senate.
As of mid-July, six Superior Court nominees were still awaiting Senate
confirmation.
" There was an escalation in crime and social unrest issues in the community.
All of that has impacted the court and increased our case numbers.
So, it's hard for me to understand why it's not obvious to people who
have the power to do something about it, " Josey-Herring says. " If you deprive
a court system of appropriate resources so that justice is [not] delivered,
the community suffers in every way, whether they are people who
are concerned about crime in the neighborhood, victims of crime, or
people who are sitting in jail awaiting a trial. "
On May 3, 2024, the D.C. Courts sent an open letter to the Senate, detailing
the urgency of getting the judicial vacancies filled. Signed by Blackburne-Rigsby
and Josey-Herring, the letter touched upon the rising
crime rates, " in particular those involving juveniles with guns, coupled
with recent and ongoing changes in the law requiring pretrial detention
AT FULL CAPACITY, SUPERIOR COURT
HAS 62 TRIAL JUDGES AND 25
MAGISTRATE JUDGES. THE COURT
OF APPEALS, AT FULL CAPACITY, HAS
NINE JUDGES. AS OF MID-JULY, HOWEVER,
THERE WERE EIGHT VACANT
SEATS ON SUPERIOR COURT AND TWO
ON THE COURT OF APPEALS.
for persons charged with certain crimes involving weapons. These increases
mean there are more cases that must be heard [by Superior
Court] within statutorily mandated time limits, by substantially fewer
judges. Judges often double- and triple-book trial dates to comply with
speedy trial statutes. "
The chief judges also reported that in 2023, nearly 10,000 new cases were
filed in the Family Court Operations Division, adding that " a significant
increase in Domestic Relations (divorce) cases increases the time for the
court to complete matters that pertain to critical, life-altering subjects for
families, such as child custody, child support, and familial property. "
In addition, caseloads in the Domestic Violence Division doubled in the
last decade. Last year " only four judges were assigned 7,580 new cases,
which include[d] Extreme Risk Protection Orders
that require same day adjudication of a
sensitive and often volatile nature, " the chief
judges said.
As for the District of Columbia Court of Appeals,
the letter pointed out that " [the court]
hears appeals from nearly all categories of
cases in the Superior Court and from the
many administrative agencies of the local District
of Columbia government. "
" Even with existing judges taking on increased
workloads, case dispositions are down 44 [percent]
in 2023 compared to 2013, the last year
the court employed a full bench, " the letter
stated. " Without adequate judicial resources,
the [c]ourt is less able to address the complexity
of legal issues facing our community. "
It was not the first time the D.C. Courts have urged the White House and
Senate for faster action. " In addition to the letters the courts have sent to
the Senate, urging them to act on our growing judicial vacancies ... our
local stakeholders have also written letters of support of the court in
hopes of having this issue resolved, " Blackburne-Rigsby says.
Washington Lawyer reached out to the Senate Committee on Homeland
Security & Governmental Affairs for comment on the D.C. Courts' vacancy
crisis but received no response.
UNIQUE STRUCTURE
The unique organization of the D.C. Courts is also a contributing factor to
the delays. Most states have an intermediate appellate court that handles
most appeals, and a supreme court that chooses which cases of significance
to hear. In the District, the Court of Appeals is the highest court
and, therefore, must hear all cases on appeal.
" We had 11,000 appeals last year from Superior Court, " Blackburne-Rigsby
says. " We also hear appeals from all of the D.C. government agencies and
D.C. Bar disciplinary cases. "
" I think the structural issue and the volume of work that we are doing is
unseen. It impacts someone filing an appeal in their case, " BlackburneRigsby
adds. " And if it's appeal 1,099 and we have not gotten to it because
there are 1,098 other cases in front of it, the public starts wondering
why it's taking so long for seven judges to hear these appeals. "
SEPTEMBER/OCTOBER 2024 * WASHINGTON LAWYER 15
Washington Lawyer - September/October 2024

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of Washington Lawyer - September/October 2024
