Decreasing Judicial Vacancies
Addressing the issue of insufficient judges for our courts to ensure that D.C. residents have their matters handled quickly and fairly.
Why are Judicial Vacancies a Problem?
For the last decade, D.C.’s Superior Court has not had a full complement of 62 judges and D.C.’s Court of Appeals has been down two judges – resulting in more than a 20% vacancy rate across our local courts. This is largely due to the fact that the process to fill D.C. judicial vacancies requires presidential nominations and U.S. Senate approval, which is different than any other state court. Unfortunately, the impacts are significant. When there are not enough judges, cases can be delayed, and the backlog of unresolved cases can grow. This leads to longer wait times for everyday people to resolve issues like adoptions, divorces, evictions, probate, and trials for people charged with crimes. These matters deeply affect the lives of families, the ability of businesses to thrive, the settling of everyday disputes and, of course, criminal justice.
How CCE is Helping
Here’s how our work is making a difference:
- Public Awareness: Through education and outreach, we are keeping the issue of judicial vacancies in the forefront of policymakers' minds.
- Educating Policymakers: CCE has collaborated with other organizations to share with policymakers the impact of judicial vacancies on D.C. residents to vote on judicial nominees to fill vacancies.
CCE Included in NBC Coverage of Vacancies Crisis
CCE’s Executive Director, Misty Thomas Zaleski, was included as an expert in an NBC4 investigative report on the sustained crisis caused by the backlog of judicial vacancies in D.C. CCE staff has provided journalists and Congressional staff with key information about the state of D.C.’s courts and the impacts vacancies have on D.C. residents who rely on the courts to resolve their problems.