Hon. Sherry Moore Trafford has served as a Magistrate Judge for the Superior Court of the District of Columbia since February 2016. She was designated Deputy Presiding Magistrate Judge in November 2019 and has been assigned to calendars in all Divisions of the Court. Before her appointment, she served as a staff attorney for the Mental Health Division of the Public Defender Service for the District of Columbia (“PDS”) for twelve years, representing individuals subject to mental health detention and commitment proceedings. Judge Trafford began her career at PDS in the Civil Legal Services Division, providing representation to PDS clients in civil matters arising out of, or related to, their criminal cases. Before working at PDS, Judge Trafford had a Skadden Fellowship at the Bazelon Center for Mental Health Law, where she provided technical assistance and training on the rights of persons with disabilities under the Fair Housing Act and the Americans with Disabilities Act. She previously served as a law clerk for the law firm of Bernabei & Katz and the Whitman-Walker Clinic.

Judge Trafford received her Bachelor of Arts degree from Indiana University and her Juris Doctor from Yale Law School. Following law school, Judge Trafford served as a law clerk to the Honorable William B. Bryant on the United States District Court for the District of Columbia.