The District of Columbia Judicial Nomination Commission (“Commission”) has forwarded to President George W. Bush the names of three lawyers for his consideration in selecting a nominee to fill a judicial vacancy on the Superior Court of the District of Columbia.  The President has sixty (60) days to select a nominee to fill the vacancy created by the retirement of Associate Judge Mary A. Gooden Terrell.

The Commission recommends the following three candidates to fill the vacancy:

Alfred S. Irving Jr., age 48, was appointed as a Magistrate Judge on the Superior Court of the District of Columbia, on July 23, 2007. Prior to his appointment to the Bench, Mr. Irving served for approximately 14 years as a trial attorney with the US Department of Justice, initially, from 1993 to 1998, in the Commercial Litigation Branch of the Civil Division, next, from 1998 to 2001, in the Asset Forfeiture and Money Laundering Section of the Criminal Division, and finally, from 2001 to 2007, in the Environmental Enforcement Section of the Environment and Natural Resources Division. Prior to his federal government service, Mr. Irving was an associate attorney with two law firms, first with the international law firm of  LeBoeuf, Lamb, Leiby & MacRae, and later with Newman & Holtzinger, P.C. Mr. Irving has been an active member of the DC Bar, having served as a member of the Litigation Section’s Steering Committee and for a short time as its Co-Chair. Mr. Irving received his JD degree from Georgetown University Law Center in 1987, and his BA degree in 1981 from Wake Forest University.

Richard S. Love, age 58, is a Senior Assistant Attorney General in the Office of the Attorney General for the District of Columbia, an office he joined in 1981. In his current position with the Office of the Solicitor General, Mr. Love prepares and argues appeals of civil and administrative cases brought by and against the District of Columbia. Mr. Love has extensive litigation experience having supervised two Civil Division sections, the Equity and Correctional Litigation Section, in addition to his tenure as a trial assistant in both the Civil and Criminal Divisions. He has also served as Senior Counsel to then Corporation Counsel John M. Ferren, and earlier in his career, as Special Assistant to then Corporation Counsel, Charles F.C. Ruff. Mr. Love was the 2004 recipient of the District of Columbia Bar, Beatrice Rosenberg award for excellence in government service. He received his law degree from the Antioch School of Law in 1980 and his undergraduate degree from the Pennsylvania State University in 1972.

Vytas V. Vergeer, age 43, is the Legal Clinic Director at Bread for the City, a non-profit agency serving Washington, DC's poor. In this capacity, he oversees provision of free legal services in the areas of landlord/tenant, family and public benefits law. He first joined Bread for the City as a staff attorney in 1994, becoming Legal Clinic Director in 1999, guiding the clinic from having two attorneys to its current staff of eleven. From 2000 to 2001, Mr. Vergeer served as Director of Government Relations for the National Housing Law Project, before returning to Bread for the City.  His DC Bar activities include Chairing the Real Estate, Housing and Land Use Section for two years and being an appointed member of the Landlord/Tenant Implementation Task Force. Mr. Vergeer received his law degree from Catholic University, the Columbus School of Law in 1993 and BA in Philosophy from the University of  Maryland in 1987. He served as a judicial law clerk to the Honorable John Ferren on the DC Court of Appeals.