Judge Bios

The District of Columbia Judicial Nomination Commission, at its meeting on May 23, 2005, designated the Honorable Eric T. Washington, age 51, to serve a four-year term as Chief Judge of the District of Columbia Court of Appeals. His term begins August 6, 2005.

Judge Eric T. Washington was sworn in as an Associate Judge of the District of Columbia Court of Appeals on July 1, 1999. Since his appointment, he has heard and decided hundreds of appeals from the Superior Court and District of Columbia administrative agencies. He currently serves as co-chair of the Strategic Planning Leadership Council for the District of Columbia Courts, and serves on the Standing Committee on Fairness and Access to the Courts and the newly-created Access to Justice Commission. Judge Washington is a 1976 graduate of Tufts University. He received his law degree from the Columbia University School of Law in 1979. He was admitted to the State Bar in Texas in 1979 and the District of Columbia Bar in 1985. He is also admitted to practice in the United States Supreme Court, the United States District Court for the District of Columbia, and the United States Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit, the Fifth Circuit, and the Eleventh Circuit.

In 1979, Judge Washington began his legal career as an associate attorney with the law firm of Fulbright & Jaworski in Houston, Texas. He was engaged in a general labor and employment practice which included handling unfair labor practice cases before the National Labor Relations Board and fair employment cases before the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission as well as various state and federal courts.

In 1983, Judge Washington relocated to Washington, D.C. to serve as Legislative Director and Counsel to U.S. Congressman Michael A. Andrews of Texas. He subsequently rejoined Fulbright & Jaworski in Washington, D.C., where he resumed a general administrative litigation practice. From 1987 through 1989, Judge Washington served first as Special Counsel to the Corporation Counsel (now called the Office of the Attorney General for the District of Columbia) and later as Principal Deputy Corporation Counsel for the District of Columbia, where he was responsible, along with the Corporation Counsel, for providing all legal services to the Government of the District of Columbia.

From January 1990 to May 1995, Judge Washington was a partner in the law firm of Hogan & Hartson where his practice included a broad range of administrative law and civil litigation matters. Judge Washington left Hogan & Hartson in 1995 when he was appointed to the Superior Court of the District of Columbia as an Associate Judge. During his tenure on the Superior Court, Judge Washington presided over more than one hundred criminal trials as well as cases in both the Drug Court and the Court’s Domestic Violence Unit. In addition, Judge Washington handled tax and probate matters on certification from other judges and has been responsible for more than one hundred cases involving children who were victims of abuse and neglect.

Judge Washington has been active in many professional, civic and charitable organizations. He has served on several committees of the District of Columbia Bar, including the Criminal Justice Act/Counsel for Child Abuse and Neglect Committee, the Standing Committee on the Federal Judiciary, and the Bar’s Nominating Committee. He also served as a member of the Steering Committee for the D.C. Affairs Section of the Bar. Judge Washington presently serves on the Board of Directors for the Boys and Girls Clubs of Greater Washington and the Board of Directors for the Boys and Girls Clubs Foundation. He formerly served on the Board of Directors for the Einstein Institute for Science, Health and the Courts and currently serves as chair of the Board of Directors of the Advanced Science and Technology Adjudication Standards, Credential and Accreditation Board.

Judge Washington has lived in Washington, D.C. for more than 22 years. He was born in Jersey City, New Jersey and is the son of Dr. and Mrs. Eleby R. Washington of Scotch Plains, New Jersey. He is married to Sheryl Webber Washington. They have three children, Lindsay, Erica, and Ricky.

By law, the District of Columbia Judicial Nomination Commission designates the Chief Judge of the Superior Court and the Court of Appeals. The members of the Commission are Professor Patricia M. Worthy, Chairperson, Ms. Brooksley Born, Esquire, Ms. Wilma A. Lewis, Esquire, Mr. William Lucy, Reverend A. Knighton Stanley, the Honorable Emmet G. Sullivan and Mr. Thomas S. Williamson, Esquire.