Judge Bios

On July 11, 2013, President Barack Obama nominated William W. Nooter to be an Associate Judge of the Superior Court of the District of Columbia. The Senate confirmed the nomination on November 19, 2015 and Judge Nooter was sworn in on December 22, 2015.

Judge Nooter was born in St. Louis, MO but has lived in Washington, D.C. since his teenage years. He received his Bachelor of Arts from St. John’s College in Annapolis, Maryland. He obtained his Juris Doctor with honors from The National Law Center at George Washington University in 1981.

While attending law school, Judge Nooter served as a Student Investigator for the Public Defender Service at Saint Elizabeths Hospital. He also participated in the Law Students in Court Program, Criminal Division. Following law school, Judge Nooter worked as investigator and co-counsel for three criminal defense attorneys. He then clerked for the Honorable Tim Murphy, Superior Court of the District of Columbia. From 1982 to 1989, Judge Nooter served as a trial attorney for the Office of the Corporation Counsel (now Office of the Attorney General), spending four years in the Juvenile Section. While serving in this capacity, he tried the case of In re LaShawn R. As the first case to have a finding of “child neglect” based solely upon educational deprivation, it is still cited in annotations of D.C. Code 16-2301. Judge Nooter also served in the Civil Division of the Office for three years, defending the District of Columbia in numerous civil actions in D.C. Superior Court and the United States District Court for the District of Columbia.

Judge Nooter was with the law firm of Jordan Coyne & Savits, where he tried civil cases in District of Columbia and Maryland courts from 1989 to 2000. He handled a broad range of cases including personal injury actions, professional liability, employment and insurance coverage issues. Judge Nooter was installed as a Magistrate Judge of the Superior Court of the District of Columbia on October 12, 2000. He served as the Presiding Magistrate Judge from 2010 through 2013.

Since 1998, Judge Nooter has been a Trustee for the Foundation of the Bar Association for the District of Columbia and served as Secretary on the Board of Directors for the Janney Extended Day Program from 2000 to 2003. Judge Nooter also volunteered his services as a civil mediator for the Multi-Door Dispute Resolution Division of the Superior Court from 1988 until his appointment to the Court in 2000. Judge Nooter is a member of The Counsellors, a member of the National Council of Juvenile and Family Court Judges, a member of the National Conference of Specialized Court Judges, Judicial Division, American Bar Association (District 3 Representative from 2003 to 2006 and Chair of the Domestic Law Committee from 2003 to present) and the George Washington American Inn of Court (Vice-President 2004-2005; President 2005-2006; Counsellor 2006-2007). Judge Nooter has served on numerous Superior Court Committees and is currently a member of the Court’s Strategic Planning Leadership Council. Judge Nooter has also participated in numerous training programs for lawyers, law students, social workers, foster parents and new judges.