The District of Columbia Judicial Nomination Commission (“Commission”) has advised the President of the United States that Willa B. Perlmutter, Esq., who had been recommended for his consideration in filling the judicial vacancy on the Superior Court of the District of Columbia (“Superior Court”) created by the May 2016 resignation of the  Hon. Stuart Nash, has withdrawn from consideration.  

In accordance with D.C. Code § 1-204.34(d)(2), the Commission recommends the following candidate to replace Ms. Perlmutter. 

HON. PAUL B. HANDY is a Principal Administrative Law Judge (PALJ) for the D.C. Office of Administrative Hearings (D.C. OAH) in two subject areas: Licensing and Enforcement, and the Department of Public Works.  He has served as an ALJ for D.C. OAH since shortly after the agency was founded in 2004, and was an ALJ in Maryland for six years prior to that.  Judge Handy is a former Assistant Public Defender and sole practitioner, with extensive criminal and civil law litigation experience.  He was named attorney of the year for two divisions of the Maryland Office of the Public Defender, and was a Finalist for the 2011 Cafritz Awards for Outstanding Public Service to the District of Columbia community. Judge Handy received a Bachelor of Arts from Rutgers University, with a double major in Labor Studies and Sociology, and a Juris Doctor from the University of Baltimore School of Law. 

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]

Rev. Morris L. Shearin, Sr.                        
Israel Baptist Church
1251 Saratoga Avenue, NE
Washington, DC  20018
(202) 269-0288
[email protected]

Benjamin F. Wilson, Esq.
Beveridge & Diamond, PC
1350 I St NW, #700
Washington, DC 20005
(202) 789-6023
[email protected]