The District of Columbia Judicial Nomination Commission (Commission) has recommended to the President the six individuals listed below for his consideration in selecting nominees to fill the judicial vacancies on the Superior Court of the District of Columbia created by the retirements of the Honorable John M. Mott and the Honorable Brian Holeman. The President has sixty (60) days to select a nominee to fill these vacancies.
The Commission recommends the following candidates to fill Judge Mott’s vacancy:
Jason Park, Esq. is an Assistant United States Attorney at the United States Attorney’s Office for the District of Columbia, where he has worked since 2012. Currently, he serves as a Deputy Chief in the Felony Major Crimes Section of the Superior Court Division, supervising a team of Assistant United States Attorneys handling felony firearms and narcotics offenses in the Superior Court of the District of Columbia. Before he became a supervisor, Mr. Park investigated and prosecuted violent crime matters in Superior Court, specializing in sexual assault and child sexual and physical abuse cases. He also served as the Office’s Project Safe Childhood Coordinator, prosecuting child exploitation and juvenile sex trafficking cases in federal district court. For his prosecution work, he has received the FBI Washington Field Office Service Award and the United States Attorney’s Office Impact Award. Before joining the United States Attorney’s Office, Mr. Park was an associate in the white collar criminal defense group at Steptoe & Johnson LLP, where he represented individuals in connection with a variety of government investigations. Mr. Park also worked as a commercial litigation associate in the New York office of Chadbourne & Parke LLP. Mr. Park graduated from Princeton University in 2002, with a Bachelor of Arts degree in philosophy and a certificate in Germanic language and literature, and he received his Juris Doctor degree, cum laude, from the Georgetown University Law Center in 2006. Mr. Park previously clerked for the Honorable Ricardo M. Urbina of the United States District Court for the District of Columbia.
Hon. Kenia Seoane López serves as a Magistrate Judge in the Superior Court of the District of Columbia. Prior to her appointment in 2012, Judge Seoane López served as a Bilingual Attorney Negotiator in the Domestic Violence Unit of the Superior Court. Before joining the Superior Court of the District of Columbia, she was an Assistant Attorney General in the Legal Services Section of the Child Support Division in the Office of the Attorney General for the District of Columbia. Judge Seoane López is a Board Member of the Spanish Education Development Center, the Secretary of the District of Columbia Chapter of the National Association of Women Judges, the Chair of the Hispanic Bar Association of the District of Columbia Judicial Council, and a former president of the Hispanic Bar Association of the District of Columbia. In 2017, Judge Seoane López was appointed by Chief Judge Robert E. Morin to the District of Columbia’s Child Support Guideline Commission. Judge Seoane López received her Bachelor of Science degree in criminal justice, cum laude, from Northeastern University, her Masters of Arts degree in Latin American, Caribbean, and Iberian Studies from the University of Wisconsin Graduate School, and her Juris Doctor degree from the University of Wisconsin Law School. Upon graduating from law school, Judge Seoane López clerked for the Massachusetts Superior Court and then for the Superior Court of the District of Columbia.
Elizabeth J. Shapiro, Esq. is a Deputy Director in the Civil Division of United States Department of Justice, Federal Programs Branch. She has served in the Department of Justice since 1991, defending the government against a wide variety of constitutional and statutory challenges. In 2001, Ms. Shapiro was named to the Civil Division’s Terrorism Task Force, and she served as a Special Assistant United States Attorney in the Northern District of Texas prosecuting a major national security case. Prior to joining the Department of Justice, Ms. Shapiro litigated appellate cases in the Office of the Solicitor, United States Department of Labor. Ms. Shapiro is regarded as an expert in the area of government information and privileges, and she regularly teaches classes throughout the country. She has received numerous awards throughout her career, including two Attorney General Awards, and she was elected to membership in the American Law Institute. Ms. Shapiro received her undergraduate degree from the University of Michigan, Phi Beta Kappa, and her law degree from the Georgetown University Law Center. Following law school, Ms. Shapiro clerked for the Honorable Stephen F. Eilperin of the Superior Court of the District of Columbia.
The Commission recommends the following candidates to fill Judge Holeman’s vacancy:
Dwight E. Crawley, Esq. is a solo practitioner in the District of Columbia who specializes in defending individuals charged with committing federal and state crimes in the District of Columbia, Virginia, and Maryland. Mr. Crawley has served as sole, lead, or associate counsel on multiple capital murder cases as well as other cases involving serious felony crimes and misdemeanors. In addition, Mr. Crawley has successfully obtained numerous acquittals for his clients as well as a reversal, remand, and dismissal of a conviction conceded by the Attorney General of Virginia and ordered by the Supreme Court of Virginia. Prior to starting his own practice as a criminal defense attorney, Mr. Crawley served as an Assistant Commonwealth’s Attorney for the Office of the Commonwealth’s Attorney for the City of Richmond, Virginia. There, he prosecuted cases ranging from simple misdemeanors to first-degree murder. Born in Petersburg, Virginia, Mr. Crawley received his Bachelor of Science degree, cum laude, in business management from Virginia State University. Thereafter, he received his Juris Doctor degree from the George Washington University Law School. Following law school, Mr. Crawley clerked for the Honorable William T. Newman, Jr., Chief Judge of the Arlington County Circuit Court in Arlington, Virginia.
James A. Crowell, Esq. is the Director of the Executive Office for United States Attorneys, serving as the principal staff officer for the Deputy Attorney General for all matters related to the United States Attorneys. Prior to serving as Director, Mr. Crowell served in the Office of the Deputy Attorney General as Principal Associate Deputy Attorney General, Chief of Staff, and Associate Deputy Attorney General. Mr. Crowell served as a federal prosecutor for 16 years, handling national security, fraud, corruption, violent crime, and narcotics cases. Mr. Crowell joined the United States Department of Justice’s Antitrust Division, National Criminal Enforcement Section, as a trial attorney through the Attorney General’s Honors Program. Thereafter, he served as a trial attorney with the Department of Justice’s Criminal Division, Public Integrity Section. Mr. Crowell was also an Assistant United States Attorney in the District of Maryland, where he held numerous supervisory positions, including Criminal Chief. Mr. Crowell has served in the United States Army Reserves for 24 years in the Infantry, Civil Affairs, and Judge Advocate General Corps. As a Judge Advocate, he served as Senior Defense Counsel, representing soldiers in civil and criminal cases related to soldier misconduct and criminal offenses. Mr. Crowell received his Bachelor of Arts degree from Hampden-Sydney College and his Juris Doctor degree from the Boston University School of Law. Following law school, Mr. Crowell clerked for the Honorable Charles A. Pannell, Jr., of the United States District Court for the Northern District of Georgia.
Andrea L. Hertzfeld, Esq. is a Senior Assistant United States Attorney who has served for the past eight years at the United States Attorney’s Office in the District of Columbia. For the last four years, Ms. Hertzfeld has handled a specialized caseload prosecuting child exploitation crimes in federal court. Prior to assuming that role, Ms. Hertzfeld was a Senior Assistant United States Attorney in the Sex Offense Unit, where she investigated and tried serious sexual assault cases involving both adult and child victims in the Superior Court of the District of Columbia. She has also served for the past year as Senior Litigation Counsel. Ms. Hertzfeld was the 2016 recipient of the Attorney General’s Award for Distinguished Service for her role working with law enforcement to investigate and prosecute child exploitation crimes in the District of Columbia and across the nation. She has received the Federal Bureau of Investigation Service Award for the past three consecutive years for her extraordinary work prosecuting child predators, and she has been awarded several United States Attorney’s Awards for Special Achievement over the course of her tenure in the office. Prior to joining the United States Attorney’s Office, Ms. Hertzfeld spent six years in private practice litigating complex multidistrict commercial disputes, with a focus on human rights and antitrust matters. Ms. Hertzfeld received her Bachelor of Arts degree in economics and sociology, summa cum laude, from Bowling Green State University, and her Juris Doctor degree from Harvard Law School.
Please direct any questions to the Commission’s Executive Director at (202) 879-0478 or [email protected].
Members of the District of Columbia Judicial Nomination Commission
Honorable Emmet G. Sullivan, Chair
United States District Court for the District of Columbia
United States Courthouse
333 Constitution Avenue, NW
Chambers 4935-Annex
Washington, DC 20001
(202) 354-3260
[email protected]
Ronald S. Flagg, Esq.
Legal Services Corporation
3333 K Street, NW
Washington, DC 20007
(202) 295-1620
[email protected]
Mr. William Lucy
1831 Sudbury Lane, NW
Washington, DC 20012
(301) 520-0576
[email protected]
John J. McAvoy, Esq.
3110 Brandywine Street, NW
Washington, DC 20008
(202) 966-8544
[email protected]
Addy R. Schmitt, Esq.
Miller & Chevalier, Chtd.
900 16th Street, NW
Washington, DC 20006
(202) 626-5837
[email protected]
The Honorable Marie C. Johns
Leftwich LLC
1400 K Street, NW
Suite 1000
Washington, DC 20005-2403
(202) 434-9124
[email protected]
Benjamin F. Wilson, Esq.
Beveridge & Diamond, PC
1350 I St NW, #700
Washington, DC 20005
(202) 789-6023
[email protected]