2024 Judicial Evaluation Survey Now Open

November 12, 2024

The D.C. Bar Judicial Evaluation Committee invites Bar members who have appeared before certain selected judges on the D.C. Court of Appeals and D.C. Superior Court to provide feedback to help improve judges’ performance and further the courts’ commitment to the administration of justice. This year’s evaluation period runs from November 12, 2024, to January 10, 2025.

The committee has selected 7 Court of Appeals judges and 29 Superior Court judges  for evaluation. Attorneys who had a case pending before one or more of the judges during the 24-month evaluation period (July 1, 2022, through June 30, 2024) are eligible to participate.

The anonymous survey is administered by Research USA, an independent research organization, to ensure confidentiality. The survey typically takes no more than 15 minutes to complete.

Results of the survey are presented to the chief judges of both courts, the individual judges evaluated, and the D.C. Commission on Judicial Disabilities and Tenure in the spring. The commission “takes all input seriously, whether from complaints or concerns brought to its attention formally and informally, through fitness review comments, or based on important feedback received through D.C. Bar evaluations,” said U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia Judge Colleen Kollar-Kotelly and retired D.C. Superior Court Magistrate Judge Diane Brenneman, chair and vice chair of the commission, respectively. 

“The participation of attorneys and the legal community is essential and can help provide important positive and constructive feedback to judges through the lens of practitioners, their clients, and the public,” Kollar-Kotelly and Brenneman said.

“When the commission receives the results of D.C. Bar evaluations, commissioners give careful consideration on further discussions with judges to encourage continued learning, awareness, and improvement over the course of judicial terms. The commission often will communicate with judges on areas of strengths or improvement and, if serious issues are noted, the commission can consider other options to ensure continued confidence in our local courts and the justice system,” they added.

The commission recommends that survey respondents be as specific as possible in their feedback. “Without case information and details, the commission is limited in what it can do,” Kollar-Kotelly and Brenneman said.

Citing judicial shortages, increased caseloads, calendar backlogs, new court case management systems, and other challenges, Kollar-Kotelly and Brenneman said the commission is also “keenly aware of the stresses on the judges and lawyers in the District,” and that its goal is to “support judges by sharing important feedback and early intervention to address and avoid bigger problems.”

The commission considers all input to be confidential, and attorneys can contact the commission directly through its website at https://cjdt.dc.gov. If you do not receive an email with the survey link by November 15 and are eligible to participate, please contact Research USA at [email protected].