WHAT: Investiture of Judge Anna Blackburne-Rigsby as the 11th Chief Judge of the DC Court of Appeals

WHERE: Historic Courthouse, 430 E Street, NW Ceremonial Courtroom

WHEN: Friday, March 17, 2017, 4:00 PM

WHO: Chief Judge Eric T. Washington will preside over the investiture; Judge Emmet Sullivan, US District Court of the District of Columbia and Chair of the Judicial Nomination Commission, will present the commission. DC Court of Appeals Chief Judge-designate Anna Blackburne-Rigsby; DC Superior Court Chief Judge Robert E. Morin; DC Superior Court Judge Robert Rigsby

Biography –

Judge Anna Blackburne-Rigsby’s judicial career with the DC Courts spans over two decades. Judge Anna Blackburne-Rigshy was nominated by President George W. Bush to the DC Court of Appeals in August 2006. Prior to her appointment to the DC Court of Appeals, Judge Blackburne-Rigsby was nominated by President William Jefferson Clinton to the DC Superior Court and served from 2000-2006. Judge Blackburne-Rigsby previously served as a Magistrate Judge on the DC Superior Court from 1995-2000.

Judge Blackburne-Rigsby chairs the District of Columbia Courts’ Standing Committee on Fairness and Access, and serves on the District of Columbia’s Access to Justice Commission. Judge Blackburne-Rigsby is the Chair and Moderator of the National Consortium on Racial and Ethnic Fairness in the Courts. Judge Blackburne-Rigsby is a Past President of the National Association of Women Judges (NAWJ) for the 2013-2014 term and is the former chair of the Board of Managerial Trustees for the International Association of Women Judges.

Judge Blackburne-Rigsby graduated from Duke University with a Bachelor of Arts degree in Political Science, and received the Duke University Presidential Leadership Award. She earned her law degree from Howard University School of Law, graduating in the top five percent of her class. While in law school, she served as the Lead Articles Editor of the Howard Law Journal and served as the Co-Captain for the Charles Hamilton Houston Moot Court Team.

Following law school, Judge Blackburne-Rigsby was an associate at the law firm of Hogan Lovells US LLP (formerly Hogan and Hartson) in Washington, DC, where she litigated commercial, real estate, employment discrimination, and education matters before state and federal courts and administrative agencies. Judge Blackburne-Rigsby later joined the District of Columbia Office of the Corporation Counsel (now District of Columbia Office of the Attorney General), where she served as Special Counsel to the Corporation Counsel, working as part of the senior management team, She then served as Deputy Corporation Counsel, managing the Family Services Division and responsible for prosecuting child abuse and neglect, child support enforcement, and domestic violence cases. Judge Blackburne-Rigsby has taught Trial Advocacy at the Harvard Law School and teaches Professional Responsibility as an Adjunct Professor at the David A. Clarke School of Law at the University of the District of Columbia.

Judge Blackburne-Rigsby is married to Judge Robert Rigsby, Associate Judge of the DC Superior Court, former Corporation Counsel for the District of Columbia, and a retired Colonel and Military Judge in the United States Army Reserves. They are the proud parents of a son in college.