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Federal Control Complicates DC Justice
Courts and Supervisory Agencies Face Pandemic Challenges by Gavrielle Jacobovitz
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n 2019, DC Council Chair Phil Mendelson (D), Ward 6 Councilmember Charles Allen (D) and Congresswoman Eleanor Holmes Norton (D) urged the US Senate to fill the District’s Superior Court and Court of Appeals’ judicial vacancies in an expeditious manner. These vacancies, wrote Allen and Mendelson in a joint letter, adversely impacted residents’ rights and public safety. As a result, “there has been a growing backlog of cases facing both courts,” wrote Congresswoman Norton in a separate missive. They wrote the letters because the matter was outside of their control. The US President
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E a s t o f t h e R i v er D C N e w s . c o m
