Judge Bios

Commissioner Christian was born in Lynchburg, Virginia on February 16, 1953, to Robert and Alice Christian. She has resided in the District of Columbia for thirty-three (33) years. Commissioner Christian attended the public schools in the District of Columbia until her graduation from Dunbar Senior High School in 1971. She earned a Bachelor’s of Arts Degree in 1978 from Georgetown University where she was the first recipient of the Georgetown University Benjamin Banneker Scholarship Fund.

Upon graduation from Georgetown University Law Center in 1978, Commissioner Christian joined the Office of General Counsel, National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration and practiced environmental law. The following year she served as Law Clerk to the Honorable Henry H. Kennedy, Jr. Commissioner Christian was Judge Kennedy’s first law clerk. After completing her judicial clerkship, Commissioner Christian became an Assistant Corporation Counsel for the District of Columbia. As a trial assistant she prosecuted juvenile delinquents, child abuse/neglect cases, spousal and intrafamily abuse and abuse and neglect of the elderly. In 1983, Commissioner Christian was promoted to supervisor of trial attorneys with the Intra-Famikly Offense Unit of the Office of the Corporation Counsel where she remained until 1987, at which time she was sworn in by Chief Judge Fred B. Ugast as a Hearing Commissioner for the District of Columbia Superior Court. As a presiding judicial officer in the Civil, Criminal, and Family Division of the court, Commissioner Christian conducts hearings and enters final judgments in detention hearings, preliminary hearings, criminal non-jury trials, child support trials, divorces, mental retardation cases, and small claims proceedings.

Her professional and Bar affiliations include the Bar of the Supreme Court of the United States of America, the National Association of Women Judges, the District of Columbia Bar, the Bar Association of the District of Columbia, the National Bar Association, the Washington Bar Association, and the Greater Washington Area Chapter of Black Women Attorneys. She is currently Treasurer for District 4 of the National Association of Women Judges.

Commissioner Christian has received numerous Honors and Awards including an Award of Appreciation, District of Columbia Coalition Against Domestic Violence (1989); Award of Achievement, District of Columbia Public Schools (1989); Public Service Award, Government of the District of Columbia (1987); Award of Commendation, Mayor of the District of Columbia (1987); Award of Excellence in Christian Education, Mount Olive Baptist Church (1987); Award of Appreciation, American Burn Association (1987); Family Services Administration Award, Department of Human Services (1986); Award of Honor for Achievements and Contribution, District of Columbia Schools (1985); Outstanding Woman Award in Criminal Justice, Progressive D.C. Chapter, Federally Employed Women (1984); and the Benjamin Banneker Scholarship, Georgetown University (1971).

Katherine Christian is a member of the District of Columbia Superior Court Criminal Justice Act Committee and a member of the District of Columbia Superior Court Rules Committee where she chairs the Subcommittee on Intrafamily Rules. She also is a member of Mount Olive Baptist Church where she has taught Sunday School for the past twenty-one years.

Commissioner Christian is married to Mr. Ernest A. Washington and has a five year old son, Christian A. Washington.