Another Vacancy Opens Up on D.C. Superior Court

The Judicial Nomination Commission didn’t get much of a break.

Just one week ago, the commission announced that it had selected three candidates to send to President George W. Bush to fill a vacancy on D.C. Superior Court. This morning, the commission issued another announcement saying that the court has another opening to fill.

After Judge Linda Turner’s retirement takes effect on Dec. 5, the commission will have 60 days to submit the names of three candidates for the spot.

Turner, who was appointed to the bench in 1990 by President George H. W. Bush, is a former assistant U.S. attorney. In October 1989, she was promoted to the position of Deputy Chief of the Superior Court Division.

Turner presided over the 1999 trial of Elwyn Lehman, the tour bus driver for gospel singer CeCe Winans who was arrested after inadvertently bringing a handgun onto White House grounds. After a three-day trial, Turner found Lehman not guilty on three misdemeanor charges associated with the gun incident. 

Turner chaired the domestic violence rules advisory committee and the committee on selection and tenure of magistrate judges.

The Commission invites qualified applicants to submit their names for consideration. Applicants must be citizens of the United States, active members of the District of Columbia Bar, residents of the District of Columbia, and, for the five-year period immediately preceding the nomination, must be engaged in the active practice of law in the District of Columbia, on the faculty of a law school in the District of Columbia, or employed as an attorney by the United States or the District of Columbia government. 

Comments

[Beija]

Do you not find it odd that Judge Turner is retiring and that such short notice has been given? Furthermore, she was just reappointed 3 years ago and she currently is the chair of the Committee on Selection and Tenure of Magistrate Judges. There is more going on...