District of Columbia Resources

Local Court System

The D.C. Home Rule Act, Pub. L. No. 93-198, 87 Stat. 744 (1973) (D.C. Code Ann. §§ 1-201.01 to 1-207.71) provided for the establishment of the Superior Court of D.C. and the D.C. Court of Appeals. The appointment of judges for these two courts was granted to the President with the advice and consent of the Senate.

D.C. Court of Appeals

The D.C. Court of Appeals is the court of last resort for the District of Columbia. It was known as the "Municipal Court of Appeals" from 1942 to 1962 when it was renamed "District of Columbia Court of Appeals." It is authorized to review all final orders, judgments and specified interlocutory orders of the Superior Court of the District of Columbia. It also has jurisdiction to review decisions of administrative agencies, boards, and commissions of the District government. It is authorized by Congress to review proposed rules of the trial court and promulgates its own rules.

Superior Court of the District of Columbia

The Superior Court of the District of Columbia handles all local trial matters, including civil, criminal, family court, probate, tax, landlord-tenant, small claims, and traffic.

District of Columbia Court system directories:

• Leadership Connect (formerly known as the Yellow Book and Leadership Library): Provides contact and biographic information of the D.C. Court of Appeals judges, but not D.C. Superior Court judges.
• In print: Judicial Yellow Book: Who's Who in Federal and State Courts: Law Library Call Number: Reference Desk & Stacks JK2679 .J8 (1995 - 2008), no longer updated at Law Library.
• In print: Federal-State Court Directory: Law Library Call Number: Reference Desk & Stacks KF8700 .A19 W3 (2007 - 2017), no longer updated at Law Library. Provides a D.C. Court structure chart. Also provides contact information of the Court of Appeals, Superior Court, Office of Corporation Council and Mayor's Office.
  • Formerly called in print Want's Federal-State Court Directory: Law Library Call Number: Reference Desk & Stacks KF8700 .A19 W3 (1984 - 2007).
• In print: Directory of State Court Clerks & County Courthouses: Law Library Call Number: Reference Desk & Stacks KF8700 .A19 D574 (1994 - 2008, 2010), no longer updated at Law Library. Companion publication to Federal-State Court Directory, Law Library Call Number: Reference Desk KF8700 .A19 W3. last updated at Law Library in 2010.
• In print: BNA's Directory of State and Federal Courts, Judges, and Clerks: A State-by-State and Federal Listing, Law Library Call Number: Reference Desk & Stacks KF8700 .A19 K56 (2005 - 2011), last updated at Law Library in 2012, publication ceased with 2019. Provides a D.C. Court structure chart as well as contact information of all D.C. judges and judiciary staff.

Federal Court System

• United States Court of Appeals, District of Columbia Circuit (U.S. Cir.)
• United States District Court, District of Columbia (U.S. D.): Trial court of D.C. at the federal level.
• The History of the D.C. Circuit Courts and published readings by the Historical Society of the District of Columbia Circuit
• About the history of the U.S. district courts for the District of Columbia (Fed. Jud. Ctr.)
• Supreme Court of the District of Columbia, 1863-1936 (Fed. Jud. Ctr.)
• Theordore Voorhees, The District of Columbia Courts: A Judicial Anomaly, 29 Cath. U. L. Rev. 917 (1980)

D.C. Court of Appeals

• Rules of the DC. Court of Appeals: Includes Current Rules and Schedule of Fees and Costs.
• District of Columbia Court Rules on Lexis
• Rules of the District of Columbia Court of Appeals on Westlaw
• DC Court Rules on Bloomberg Law
• In print: District of Columbia Court Rules Annotated: Law Library Call Number: State 1st Floor KFD1729 .A193 (1982 - ).
• In print: Citations to the Rules of the Courts of the District of Columbia, Law Library Call Number: State 1st Floor KFD1729 .A14 R8, publication ceased in 1999.
• In print: Court Rules Service: Law Library Call Number: Stacks and State 1st Floor KFD1792 .A2. Contains court rules for D.C. Superior Court, D.C. Court of Appeals, U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia, the U.S. Bankruptcy Court for D.C., and the U.S. Court of Appeals for D.C.

D.C. Superior Court

• Superior Court Rules (D.C. Cts.)
• Promulgation Orders Archives (2004 - ) (D.C. Cts.)
• District of Columbia Court Rules on Lexis
• District of Columbia State Rules Westlaw
• DC Court Rules on Bloomberg Law
• In print: District of Columbia Court Rules Annotated: Law LIbrary Call Number: State 1st Floor KFD 1729 .A193 (1982 - ).
• In print: Citations to the Rules of the Courts of the District of Columbia: Law Library Call Number: State 1st Floor KFD1792 .A14 R8, publication ceased in 1999.
• In print: Court Rules Service: Law Library Call Number: Stacks and State 1st Floor KFD1792 .A2. Contains rules for D.C. Superior Court, D.C. Court of Appeals, U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia, the U.S. Bankruptcy Court for D.C., and the U.S. Court of Appeals for D.C.