Sandra Strawder

D.C. Court of Appeals

The District of Columbia Court of Appeals is the highest court of the District of Columbia. The Court consists of a Chief Judge and eight Associate Judges. The Court is assisted by the service of retired judges who have been recommended and approved as Senior Judges. The cases before the Court are decided by randomly selected three judge divisions, unless a hearing or rehearing before the Court sitting en banc is ordered. As the court of last resort for the District of Columbia, the Court of Appeals is authorized (1) to review all final orders and judgments, as well as specified interlocutory orders, of the Superior Court of the District of Columbia; (2) to review decisions of administrative agencies, boards, and commissions of the District government; and (3) to answer questions of law certified by the Supreme Court of the United States, a Court of Appeals of the United States, or the highest appellate court of any state. The Court also: (1) is responsible for attorney admissions to the D.C. Bar and attorney discipline; (2) manages the resolution of complaints of unauthorized practice of law; (3) promulgates its own rules and the rules of professional conduct for members of the District of Columbia Bar, and (4) reviews proposed rules of the D.C. Superior Court.