Catharine Friend Easterly (born December 18, 1970)Testimony of Catharine Easterly, nominee for the District of Columbia Court of Appeals
/ref> is an

associate judge An associate justice or associate judge (or simply associate) is a judicial panel member who is not the chief justice in some jurisdictions. The title "Associate Justice" is used for members of the Supreme Court of the United States and some st ...

of the

District of Columbia Court of Appeals The District of Columbia Court of Appeals is the highest court of the District of Columbia, the capital city of the United States. The court was established in 1942 as the Municipal Court of Appeals, and it has been the court of last resort ...

, the highest appellate court for the

District of Columbia Washington, D.C., formally the District of Columbia and commonly known as Washington or D.C., is the capital city and Federal district of the United States, federal district of the United States. The city is on the Potomac River, across from ...

Biography

Early life

Easterly was born in

Boston, Massachusetts Boston is the capital and most populous city in the Commonwealth (U.S. state), Commonwealth of Massachusetts in the United States. The city serves as the cultural and Financial centre, financial center of New England, a region of the Northeas ...

to Harry and Patsy Easterly, and raised in

Richmond, Virginia Richmond ( ) is the List of capitals in the United States, capital city of the Commonwealth (U.S. state), U.S. commonwealth of Virginia. Incorporated in 1742, Richmond has been an independent city (United States), independent city since 1871. ...

, where she graduated from St. Catherine's School. She majored in history at

Yale College Yale College is the undergraduate college of Yale University. Founded in 1701, it is the original school of the university. Although other Yale schools were founded as early as 1810, all of Yale was officially known as Yale College until 1887, ...

, graduating in 1992, and received her

Juris Doctor A Juris Doctor, Doctor of Jurisprudence, or Doctor of Law (JD) is a graduate-entry professional degree that primarily prepares individuals to practice law. In the United States and the Philippines, it is the only qualifying law degree. Other j ...

degree from the

University of Virginia School of Law The University of Virginia School of Law (Virginia Law) is the law school of the University of Virginia, a public research university in Charlottesville, Virginia. Founded by Thomas Jefferson in 1819 as part of his "academical village", and now ...

in 1996.

Career

During her law school summers Easterly worked at the

Maryland Office of the Public Defender The headquarters of the Maryland Office of the Public Defender is located in the William Donald Schaefer Tower; Suite 1400, 6 St. Paul Street, Baltimore, MD 21202. Natasha Dartigue is the Public Defender. Historic legislation of the Maryland Offi ...

, the

Legal Aid Society of the District of Columbia The Legal Aid Society of the District of Columbia is the oldest and largest civil legal aid organization in Washington, D.C. Created in 1932, the Legal Aid Society provides representation and legal services to indigent residents of the District ...

, and the

Public Defender Service for the District of Columbia The Public Defender Service (PDS) for the District of Columbia provides legal defense to individuals on a court-appointed basis for criminal (at the trial and appellate levels) and delinquency cases indigent adult and juvenile defendants/ respond ...

. After law school, Easterly worked as an appellate

public defender A public defender is a lawyer appointed to represent people who otherwise cannot reasonably afford to hire a lawyer to defend themselves in a trial. Several countries provide people with public defenders, including the UK, Belgium, Hungary and Si ...

in New York for four and a half years, first at the Legal Aid Society of Nassau County and then at the Office of the Appellate Defender in

New York City New York, often called New York City (NYC), is the most populous city in the United States, located at the southern tip of New York State on one of the world's largest natural harbors. The city comprises five boroughs, each coextensive w ...

. From 2001 to 2003, Easterly practiced civil and criminal litigation at a law firm in New York and then as a solo practitioner in

Washington, D.C. Washington, D.C., formally the District of Columbia and commonly known as Washington or D.C., is the capital city and federal district of the United States. The city is on the Potomac River, across from Virginia, and shares land borders with ...

During this period her clients included the

Metropolitan Opera The Metropolitan Opera is an American opera company based in New York City, currently resident at the Metropolitan Opera House (Lincoln Center), Metropolitan Opera House at Lincoln Center, situated on the Upper West Side of Manhattan. Referred ...

. In April 2003, she returned to D.C.'s Public Defender Service, where she worked in the Special Litigation Division until she was appointed to the bench. In that role she litigated civil and criminal cases, wrote amicus briefs, and testified before the

Council of the District of Columbia The Council of the District of Columbia (or simply D.C. Council) is the legislative branch of the government of the District of Columbia. As permitted in the United States Constitution, the district is not part of any U.S. state and is overseen ...

. Easterly was nominated for the D.C. Court of Appeals by President

Barack Obama Barack Hussein Obama II (born August 4, 1961) is an American politician who was the 44th president of the United States from 2009 to 2017. A member of the Democratic Party, he was the first African American president in American history. O ...

on August 2, 2011, and confirmed by the

Senate A senate is a deliberative assembly, often the upper house or chamber of a bicameral legislature. The name comes from the ancient Roman Senate (Latin: ''Senatus''), so-called as an assembly of the senior (Latin: ''senex'' meaning "the el ...

on November 18, 2011.U.S. Senate Confirms Nominations of Corinne A. Beckwith and Catharine F. Easterly to Court of Appeals
/ref>

References

External links

Official bio of Judge Easterly
{{DEFAULTSORT:Easterly, Catharine F. 1970 births Living people 20th-century American lawyers 20th-century American women lawyers 21st-century American judges 21st-century American women judges 21st-century American lawyers 21st-century American women lawyers Judges of the District of Columbia Court of Appeals Lawyers from Washington, D.C. Lawyers from Boston Public defenders University of Virginia School of Law alumni Yale College alumni St. Catherine's School alumni