The retirements of Hon. Ann O’Regan Keary and Hon. Harold L. Cushenberry, Jr. from the DC Superior Court leave vacancies that the Judicial Nomination Commission is eager to fill. The Commission recently forwarded a list of nominees to President Obama.

Candidates for Judge Keary’s Seat

The following candidates have been recommended to fill Judge Keary’s vacated seat:

Mark Back, Esq.: Mr. Back currently serves as DC’s Department of Disability Services General Counsel, an agency he helped to create. He has lived in the DC area for at least two decades and has held positions within the Office of the Attorney General. Before government work, Mr. Back practiced privately in DC and taught Admin law as well DC Court practice to new District of Columbia admitees. He earned his undergraduate degree, from the University of Cincinanati and just JD from the George Washington University Law School.

Ralph C. Ferrera, Esq.: A current partner at the law firm of Prokauser Rose, LLP, Mr. Ferrara’s practice includes complex securities cases and shareholder derivative litigation. Mr. Ferrera has argued before SCOTUS and has clients across the USA representing them in both federal and state court. He also served as GC for the SEC for three years from 1979-81. He received his bachelors from Georgetown University, his JD from University of Cincinnati College of Law, and his LLM George Washington University Law School.

Hon. Elizabeth C. Wingo: Magistrate Judge Wingo sits on the bench of the Superior Court of the District of Columbia where she has served in numerous divisions since 2006. Before her joining the bench, she served as Assistant DA for Public Safety in the AG’s office of DC. She also served as an Assistant United States Attorney in DC where she was a prosecutor; and where she tried more than 50 cases. She practiced law privately in DC. She recevied her undredgraduate degree from Dartmouth and her JD from Yale Law School.

Candidates for Judge Cushenberry’s Seat

The following candidates have been recommended to fill Judge Cushenberry’s vacant seat:

Alan R. Burch, Esq.: Mr. Burch currently serves as Assitant Appellate Counsel in Civil Division at the US Attorney’s Office in DC where he defends claims against federal agencies and officials. He has prior experience in the Enforcement & Compliance Division of the Treasury Department’s Office of the Comptroller of the Currency litigating administrative and consumer protection cases. He earned his undergraduate degree from the University of Washington and holds a diplome semestriel from the Sorbonne. He holds a master’s degree and a JD from the University of Virginia and University of Virginia School of Law, respectively.

Lee W. Jackson, Esq.: Mr. Jackson is currently at the firm of James & Hoffman P.C. He has prior experience representing international and local unions and their members before local, state and federal agencies. His career in the law began as a Field Attorney for the NRLB and he later became an attorney for the NRLB’s Office of General Counsel. Mr. Jackson’s blue-collar representation work goes as far bas as 1982. From that year to 1991, he worked in Philadelphia representing teachers, firefighters and reporters. He earned his undergraduate degree from Jackson State College, and his JD from George Washington University Law School.

Jason Tulley, Esq.: Mr. Tulley is Counsel to the Public Defender Service of DC. As Special Counsel for this division, he heads that agency’s Forensic Practice Group with focus on science and litigation issues which include DNA evidence, fingerprinting and the psychology of eyewitness identification. Mr. Tulley joined the Public Defender in 2003 and has represented indigent criminal defendants in felony cases. He worked in private practice from 1996 to 2000. He received his undergraduate degree from the State University of New York and earned his JD from the University of Maryland School of Law.

Additional information on each of the candidates including more detailed information on each of their biographies can be found at the Judicial Nomination Commission’s website.

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