Recent News

James D. Bishop, director of the Catholic Charities Legal Network of the Archdiocese of Washington, was named the winner of the 2014 Jerrold Scoutt Prize by the District of Columbia Bar Foundation. The prize is given out each year to a public-interest attorney who has devoted much of his or her career working with the District’s low-income residents, providing needed legal services with great compassion and proficiency.

The Council for Court Excellence is delighted to announce this year's recipients of the Justice Potter Stewart Award. Two awards will be presented this year, to Marc Fleischaker and Legal Counsel for the Elderly. A third award will also be presented to Pepco Holdings, Inc. in honor of their longstanding philanthropic efforts in DC. The honorees will be recognized at the 18th Annual Justice Potter Stewart Award Dinner on May 8, 2014.

The Superior Court of the District of Columbia issued an administrative order on January 24, 2014 to release Practice Standards for Guardians ad Litem (GAL) in Custody and Related Consolidated Cases. These practice standards were developed by the Family Court Domestic Relations GAL Standards Committee in consultation with representatives from the bench, the bar, and local community-based organizations that provide legal representation in Family Court.

CCE's Board was treated to a special panel program on December 12th organized by the CCE Bench Bar Media Dialogue Project, entitled "Secret Courts, Secret Law." The panel discussed a wide range of thought-provoking questions, including under what circumstances are secret courts created in the US legal system? What are the unique challenges that arise with regard to litigating secret law or before secret courts? What might the public not appreciate about the costs of secret courts/secret law and are these costs unavoidable? Could secret courts be differently configured while still respecting the underlying justification of secrecy? How does precedent work in a system in which the rulings at issue are not publicly available? What are the broader impacts that secret courts and secret law have on our common law system? What lessons should we take away from the military commissions/FISA Court with regard to the desirability of secret law and secret courts? These were a selection of the interesting issues discussed. All in all, it was a well-received and informative program.

There was consensus among the groups testifying in support of the Post-Arrest Process Clarification Amendment Act of 2013, Bill #20-323, at a hearing before the DC Council Judiciary Committee on November 21. CCE, along with the DC Metropolitan Police Department, the DC Police Union, the DC Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers and the DC Office of the Attorney General, largely commented that CCE's report was "excellent" and provided needed clarity for police and citizens. The legislation was co-introduced by DC Council Chairman Phil Mendelson and Councilmember Tommy Wells, and co-sponsored by Councilmember Mary Cheh.

The Council for Court Excellence is pleased to present its Compliments and Complaints Guide. This guide gathers in one place information about how to submit compliments or comments and how to make and resolve complaints about any professional in the DC justice system. The information in this guide comes from sixteen courts and agencies in the District that provided details about their compliment and complaint referral process.

The recent posting of a "jury nullification" poster in the Judiciary Square metro resulted in an interesting Washington Post story and brought attention to the issue of jury service, a critical civic responsibility that merits more attention. In 2012, there were about 40,000 people summoned for jury service and almost 500 trials held in both the DC Superior Court and the US District Court for DC.

Thirty years ago next month, justice delayed finally arrived for a pioneer of racial equality, Fred Korematsu. The most famous challenger of the Japanese-American internment had his conviction overturned as a result of information showing the government had withheld vital evidence from the both the Supreme Court and Mr. Korematsu's defense team, led by CCE founder Charles Horsky.

CCE mourns the loss of Board Director Thomas J. Mikula, who passed away on October 9, 2013. Tom had served as the Board representative for Goodwin Procter since 2007, and as a member of the Executive Committee since 2010. He was a member of the Awards Selection Committee for the annual Justice Potter Stewart Award Dinner since 2009, and served as chair of the committee from 2011 – 2013.

Judges, lawyers, law students, and family and friends of Ronald C. Jessamy gathered last week at the Howard University Law School to witness the Washington Bar Association’s presentation to him of the 35th annual Ollie May Cooper Award, and to hear the 33rd Annual Founder’s Lecture given by Professor Charles J. Ogletree of Harvard Law School.

Three CCE Board Directors were recently recognized for their leadership within the Washington, DC legal community. CCE congratulates all of the honorees!