History of the D.C. Courts

The District of Columbia Court of Appeals, the court of last resort in the District of Columbia, was created by Congress by the District of Columbia Court Reform and Criminal Procedure Act of 1970 (Public Law 91-358, 84 Stat. 473). This court reviews all appeals from the Superior Court, as well as appeals from decisions and orders issued by D.C. government administrative agencies. Final judgments of the D.C. Court of Appeals are reviewable by the Supreme Court of the United States.

The Act also created the Superior Court of the District of Columbia as a trial court of general jurisdiction over virtually all local legal matters. The Court consists of divisions which provide for all local litigation functions including criminal, civil, juvenile, domestic relations, probate, tax, landlord and tenant, and traffic.

Both the D.C. Court of Appeals and the Superior Court of the District of Columbia (collectively referred to as the "D.C. Courts") can trace their origins to the first judicial body created for the District of Columbia in 1801, one year after the District itself was established by Congress. From 1801 to 1970 the District's judicial system underwent many changes, not only to the composition and jurisdiction of the courts, but also to their names. These include justices of the peace, the Municipal Court, the D.C. Court of General Sessions, the Supreme Court of the District of Columbia, the Juvenile Court, and on the appellate level, the Municipal Court of Appeals.

References
Here are some documents with the history of the District of Columbia Courts and their predecessors:

Hearings of the Committee on the District of Columbia and the Committee on the Judiciary, United States Senate, 1969.

"The State of the District of Columbia Court of Appeals," Theodore R. Newman, Jr., 27 Catholic University Law Review 453.

Voorhees, Theodore "The District of Columbia Courts: A Judicial Anomaly," 29 Catholic University Law Review 918.

Moultrie, H. Carl "The District of Columbia Superior Court," 28 Catholic U.L. Rev. 717.

Morris, Jeffrey Brandon, Calmly to Poise the Scales of Justice: A History of the Courts of the District of Columbia Circuit (Durham, N.C.: Carolina Academic Press, 2001).

Biography of Chief Judge H. Carl Moultrie I

H. Carl Moultrie I was appointed an Associate Judge of the Superior Court of the District of Columbia in 1972. Six years later, on June 22, 1978, he was appointed the court's first African American Chief Judge. He held that position until his death on April 9, 1986.

Chief Judge H. Carl Moultrie I was born April 3, 1915, in Tampa, Florida and was reared in Charleston, South Carolina. In 1936, he received an A.B. degree from Lincoln University in Oxford, Pennsylvania and two years later, he received a degree in Sacred Theology. In 1952, he received an M.A. from New York University. He received his law degree from the Georgetown University Law Center in 1956. In 1957, he joined the law firm of Cobb, Howard, Hayes and Windsor and practiced law until his judicial appointment.

Many innovations were introduced at the court during Chief Judge Moultrie's tenure. One of his first initiatives was to establish the practice of designating a presiding judge to oversee the management of each operating division of the court. Another innovation was the establishment of the pilot project that later became the Multi-Door Dispute Resolution Division. Chief Judge Moultrie was one of the first judges in the District of Columbia to order a videotaped confession into evidence. He was instrumental in lifting the glass ceiling for women and minorities.

Chief Judge Moultrie developed a reputation as a hard, but fair judge who was seldom reversed. He received innumerable honors and awards from community organizations. In recognition of the unique leadership of Chief Judge H. Carl Moultrie, the Joint Committee on Judicial Administration in the District of Columbia named in his honor the courthouse that is located at 500 Indiana Avenue, N.W.

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