The District of Columbia Judicial Nomination Commission has redesignated the Honorable Eric T. Washington as Chief Judge of the District of Columbia Court of Appeals for a second four-year term. His second term begins August 5, 2009.

Under Chief Judge Washington’s leadership over the past four years, renovation of the Historic Courthouse was completed and the Court of Appeals moved into the renovated courthouse in April of this year. The Court of Appeals has also made significant progress in reducing the overall time cases are on appeal. In addition, the Court revised its Internal Operating Procedures, rewrote its own rules to help streamline the appellate process, and established a formal Appellate Mediation Program. In conjunction with the DC Bar, the Court of Appeals also approved an Amended Rule XI that made several significant changes to the bar disciplinary process in an effort to make that process more efficient.

A graduate of Tufts University and Columbia University School of Law, Chief Judge Washington served as Special Counsel to the DC Corporation Counsel (now known as the Office of Attorney General for the District of Columbia) and, later, as Principal Deputy Corporation Counsel. He was a partner at the law firm of Hogan & Hartson from 1990 until 1995, when he was sworn in as Associate Judge of the Superior Court of the District of Columbia. In 1999, he joined the District of Columbia Court of Appeals, and he began his first term as Chief Judge of the Court in 2005.

Chief Judge Washington serves as Chair of the Joint Committee on Judicial Administration for the District of Columbia. He also serves on the Board of Directors for the National Center for State Courts, the Advanced Science and Technology Adjudication Resource Center, Inc., and the Boys and Girls Clubs of Greater Washington Foundation. In addition, he has served on a number of committees of the District of Columbia Bar, including the Criminal Justice Act/Counsel for Child Abuse and Neglect Committee, the Standing Committee on the Federal Judiciary, the Nominating Committee, and the Steering Committee for the DC Affairs Section of the Bar.