Maribeth Raffinan, 46, is a judge for the DC Superior Court. She lives in the District with her husband and two children.

As a judge presiding over criminal cases in the District you see society at its worst on a daily basis. Does that weigh on you?

Every day, every moment, every second it can weigh on me. You see victims who have been harmed in some way or defendants who have been arrested and charged and are standing trial. I don’t like to feel like I’m a person with a lot of power and authority and control, but the decisions we make have big impacts on people who are really not in great places in their lives. There are a lot of hard decisions out there.