Honorable David Richter currently serves as a Magistrate Judge on the Superior Court of the District of Columbia (“Superior Court”).  He currently sits in the Criminal Division, Traffic Branch, presiding over hearings and trials in criminal cases prosecuted by the District of Columbia Office of the Attorney General. He previously served in the Civil Division in both the Landlord Tenant Branch and Small Claims Branch. He also serves on the Committee on Judicial Education and Training, the Subcommittee on Law Clerk Training, and the Committee on CJA Investigators. 

Before joining the bench, Judge Richter worked for the District of Columbia Criminal Code Reform Commission, where he helped draft and review criminal justice legislation and advised the City Council on proposed laws. Judge Richter was a solo practitioner specializing in defending indigent individuals charged with crimes in the Superior Court. Over nearly thirteen years in practice, primarily as a Criminal Justice Act Panel member, Judge Richter served as lead counsel in hundreds of criminal cases. He has represented juveniles in delinquency matters as well as adults charged with misdemeanors, domestic violence, and serious felonies. Judge Richter also served on the board of the District of Columbia Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers and on the Superior Court Trial Lawyers Association’s Committee on the Criminal Justice Act Panel. 

Judge Richter earned his Bachelor of Arts degree from Bates College and his Juris Doctor from Santa Clara University School of Law.  Following law school, he clerked for the Honorable Robert E. Morin and the Honorable Geoffrey M. Alprin on the Superior Court.