The District of Columbia Judicial Nomination Commission ("Commission") has recommended to the President the names of the six attorneys listed below for his consideration in selecting nominees to fill the judicial vacancy on the Superior Court of the District of Columbia ("Superior Court") created by the retirement of the Honorable Anthony C. Epstein and the Honorable Alfred S. Irving, Jr. The President has sixty (60) days to select a nominee to fill each vacancy.
The Commission recommends the following candidates for the Epstein vacancy:
Elizabeth “Liz” Aloi, Esq., has served as an Assistant United States Attorney (“AUSA”) for the District of Columbia since 2018. There, she investigated and prosecuted public corruption matters. She also prosecuted misdemeanors, violent crime, and domestic violence offenses.
Before joining the United States Attorney’s Office for the District of Columbia (“USAO-DC”), Ms. Aloi was a supervisor and trial attorney in the Money Laundering and Asset Recovery Section (“MLARS”) of the United States Department of Justice’s Criminal Division. At MLARS, she investigated money laundering by corrupt foreign officials as part of the Kleptocracy Asset Recovery Initiative. Before joining MLARS, Ms. Aloi was a trial attorney in the Justice Department's Antitrust Division, where she received the Attorney General's Award for Distinguished Service for the prosecution of a price-fixing cartel. Throughout her tenure with the Justice Department, Ms. Aloi carried a pro bono caseload representing parents in the Superior Court Family Court Operations Division. Early in her career, Ms. Aloi spent two years as counsel to the Chairman of the Senate Judiciary Committee, where she focused on criminal justice reform, including prisoner reentry and juvenile justice.
Ms. Aloi received her Bachelor of Arts degree from Washington University and her Juris Doctor from Columbia Law School, where she was Executive Editor of A Jailhouse Lawyer's Manual. Before attending law school, she was a Mickey Leland-Bill Emerson National Hunger
Fellow.
Brian W. Amy, Jr., Esq., is an Attorney Advisor in the Civil Division of the Superior Court. In this role, he provides legal and procedural advice and assistance to Associate Judges, Magistrate Judges, and Senior Judges, as well as court administrators and other court personnel to ensure compliance with the D.C. Code, case law, and Civil Division policies, business processes, and standard operating procedures. Further, Mr. Amy performs legal research and prepares legal memoranda for Civil Division Judges. He monitors case activity and caseloads for conformance with court performance standards. Mr. Amy also conducts and assists with training for judicial officers and staff, court administrators, and other court personnel related to division rules, processes, and procedures.
Before joining the Superior Court, Mr. Amy served as an Assistant Attorney General in the Office of the Attorney General for the District of Columbia (“OAG”), where he represented the District of Columbia in the Superior Court, the Office of Administrative Hearings, and various administrative agencies.
Mr. Amy received his Bachelor of Arts degree and Master of Government from Johns Hopkins University, his Juris Doctor and Diploma in Comparative Law from Louisiana State University Paul M. Hebert Law Center, and an LL.M. in Litigation and Dispute Resolution from George Washington University Law School.
Hon. Sharon E. Goodie has served as an Administrative Law Judge for the District of Columbia Office of Administrative Hearings since 2005. She presides over matters involving public benefits, homeless shelters, nursing homes, and mental health group home issues. She has previously heard cases involving licensing, property violations, rental housing, taxicab complaints, public school discipline, and unemployment compensation.
Judge Goodie previously worked for the OAG, handling juvenile delinquency, child abuse, and civil neglect cases. She has also worked at private litigation firms handling insurance coverage, medical malpractice, telecommunications, and corporate compliance matters.
Judge Goodie is a Program Director and Team Leader for the National Institute of Trial Advocacy. She teaches Trial Skills programs for practicing attorneys and specialized public service Trial Skills programs for legal aid attorneys. She is also a Commissioner on the District of Columbia Access to Justice Commission, a Judicial Director of the Council for Court Excellence, and President of the Federation of Administrative Law Judges.
Judge Goodie received her Bachelor of Arts degree, cum laude, from Brandeis University and her Juris Doctor from the Georgetown University Law Center. After law school, she clerked for the Honorable Harriett R. Taylor on the Superior Court.
The Commission recommends the following candidates for the Irving vacancy:
Edward A. O’Connell, Esq., serves as the Chief of Staff and Deputy General Counsel to the Inspector General for the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission and Defense Nuclear Facilities Safety Board, where he received two Special Act Awards for outstanding service.
Mr. O’Connell began his legal career as an Assistant State’s Attorney for Baltimore City, prosecuting juvenile delinquency, narcotics, weapons offenses, and violent crimes. He later served as an AUSA for the District of Columbia, receiving numerous Special Achievement Awards. Mr. O’Connell argued several appeals before the District of Columbia Court of Appeals and prosecuted narcotics and weapons offenses in the United States District Court for the District of Columbia. He served as a Community Prosecutor, addressing crime in specific neighborhoods in the District, and was active in Project LEAD, teaching elementary school students about citizenship and the Justice System. Mr. O’Connell prosecuted misdemeanors, narcotics, weapons offenses, and violent crimes in the Superior Court. He served ten years as the U.S. Attorney’s Office’s Vehicular Homicide prosecutor.
Mr. O’Connell received his Bachelor of Arts degree from the Catholic University of America and his Juris Doctor from Quinnipiac School of Law. Following law school, he served as a law clerk to the Honorable Rufus King III on the Superior Court. Mr. O’Connell is active in the John Carroll Society, the William B. Bryant American Inn of Court, the Assistant United States Attorneys Association for the District of Columbia, and the Catholic Charities Legal Network.
Elana S. Suttenberg, Esq., serves as Special Counsel for Policy and Legislative Affairs at the USAO-DC. In that role, she develops and leads legislative efforts, represents the USAO-DC before the Council of the District of Columbia, and coordinates with external stakeholders, including governmental and community partners. Ms. Suttenberg has also been the United States Attorney’s designee to the Criminal Code Reform Commission Advisory Group, the District of Columbia Clemency Board, the Council for Court Excellence’s Criminal Justice Committee, the District Jails and Justice Task Force, and she represents her Office on the Redbook jury instruction committee. She has also served as her Office’s advisor on ethics and professional responsibility.
Previously, Ms. Suttenberg served as a Senior Assistant AUSA, investigating and prosecuting complex and sensitive cases involving domestic violence and sexual offenses committed against children and adults. Since joining the office in 2012, Ms. Suttenberg has prosecuted cases ranging from misdemeanors to violent felonies and briefed and argued cases on appeal. She received numerous Special Act Awards at the U.S. Attorney’s Office and the U.S. Attorney’s Award for Community Outreach in 2022.
Ms. Suttenberg earned her Bachelor of Arts degree, magna cum laude, from the University of Pennsylvania and her Juris Doctor from Georgetown University Law Center, where she served as Managing Editor on The Georgetown Law Journal. After law school, Ms. Suttenberg clerked for the Honorable Chief Judge Royce C. Lamberth on the United States District Court for the District of Columbia.
James “Tony” Towns, Esq., currently serves as a Senior Assistant Attorney General in the Civil Rights and Elder Justice Section of the Public Advocacy Division at the OAG. Mr. Towns has held various influential positions at OAG, including Director of Community Engagement in the Immediate Office and Senior Staff. Before his current role, he served as an Assistant Attorney General in the Civil Division, where he defended the District in tort and constitutional claims in both the local and federal courts in the District of Columbia.
Mr. Towns was recognized with the Special Act or Service Award in 2012 and 2019. In 2022, he was honored with the Distinguished Service Award as part of the trial team that successfully prosecuted a case of source of income discrimination against a property management company, resulting in the largest penalty ever awarded in a housing discrimination case in U.S. history.
Before joining the OAG, Mr. Towns practiced law at Jones & Towns, PLLC, Nationwide Mutual Insurance Company, worked as an Associate at Carr Goodson & Lee, P.C., and was an Attorney Advisor in the Executive Office of the President, Office of National Drug Control Policy.
Mr. Towns received his Bachelor of Arts degree from Morehouse College and Juris Doctor from Georgetown University Law Center. Following law school, he clerked for the Honorable Reggie B. Walton on the Superior Court. He later earned his LL.M. in Trial Advocacy from Temple University Law School.
Please direct any questions to the Commission's Executive Director, Tracy B. Nutall, Esq., at (202) 879-0478 or [email protected].
Members of the District of Columbia Judicial Nomination Commission
The Honorable Marie C. Johns
PPC-Leftwich
1400 K Street, NW
Suite 1000
Washington, DC 20005-2403
(202) 434-9124
[email protected]
Benjamin F. Wilson, Esq.
7825 Orchid Street, N.W.
Washington, DC 20012
(202) 657-2534
[email protected]
Addy R. Schmitt, Esq.
Harris St. Laurent & Wechsler LLP
1775 Pennsylvania Avenue, NW
Suite 650
Washington, DC 20006
(202) 617-5791
[email protected]
Vincent H. Cohen, Jr., Esq.
Dechert LLP
1900 K Street, NW
Washington, DC 20006-1110
(202) 261-3432
[email protected]
Yaida O. Ford, Esq.
Ford Law Pros P.C.
1001 L Street, SE
Washington, DC, 20003
(202) 792-4946
[email protected]
The Honorable Linda W. Cropp
4001 18th Street, NW
Washington, DC 20011
(202) 726-0505
[email protected]
The Honorable Tanya S. Chutkan
United States District Court
for the District of Columbia
United States Courthouse
333 Constitution Avenue, NW
Washington, DC 20001
(202) 354-3390
[email protected]