WASHINGTON, DC – The DC Court of Appeals today announced the passing of Senior Judge Frank E. Schwelb at Georgetown University Hospital on Wednesday, August 13, 2014.

“Frank was a great colleague, a brilliant lawyer, and an esteemed jurist. He turned the tragedy of his wartime escape from his homeland into a life-time commitment to civil rights and justice for all. He will be truly missed by his DC Courts family,” said Chief Judge Eric T. Washington.

Judge Schwelb was appointed to the Superior Court of the District of Columbia by President Jimmy Carter in 1979 and to the District of Columbia Court of Appeals by President Ronald Reagan in 1988 and took senior status in 2006.

Judge Schwelb was born in Prague, Czechoslovakia and lived in Britain as a refugee for eight years before relocating to the United States with his family at the age of fifteen. He graduated from Yale University, Phi Beta Kappa, in 1953 before earning his law degree from Harvard Law School in 1958. From 1955 to 1957, Judge Schwelb served in the US Army.

Following law school, Judge Schwelb served as an associate at the New York firm of Mudge, Stern, Baldwin & Todd (later Nixon, Mudge, Rose, Guthrie, Alexander & Mitchell, then Mudge, Rose, Guthrie & Alexander). From 1962 to 1979, he served in the Civil Rights Division of the US Department of Justice, enforcing federal statutes prohibiting discrimination in voting, education, employment and public accommodations. In 1969 he was appointed the first Chief of the Housing Section of the Civil Rights Division, overseeing the Department's fair housing enforcement program. He also served as Special Counsel to the Health, Education and Welfare Secretary’s Review Panel on New Drug Regulation from 1976 to 1977

Judge Schwelb authored several law review articles and numerous judicial opinions, including United States v. Porter, 618 A.2d 629 (DC 1992) (admissibility of DNA evidence); District of Columbia v. Sierra Club, 670 A.2d 354 DC 1996 (right to judicial review, separation of powers); In re Abrams, 689 A.2d 6 (DC 1997) (applicability of presidential pardon authority to disciplinary proceeding against attorney); Nixon v. United States, 728 A.2d 582 (DC 1999) (admissibility of expert testimony regarding battered woman’s syndrome). He lectured on Equal Housing Opportunity at law schools, bar organizations, and real estate industry groups, taught various CLE courses, and participated in Moot Court and other training for law students

He frequently briefed visiting Czech and Slovak judges, attorneys, and other international visitors regarding US legal system. Judge Schwelb participated in several international legal programs in the United States and abroad. As a Justice Department attorney, he received awards for sustained superior performance, and in 1967 he was named a Younger Federal Lawyer of the Year by the Federal Bar Association. He enjoyed travel, sports, Gilbert and Sullivan, Shakespeare and Czech and Slovak activities.

Judge Schwelb is survived by Taffy Wurzburg Schwelb …