Joint Committee

The Joint Committee on Judicial Administration in the District of Columbia is the policy-making body for the District of Columbia Courts. By statute, its responsibilities include, among others, general personnel policies, accounts and auditing, procurement and disbursement, development and coordination of statistics and management information systems and reports, and submission of the annual budget request.

The Joint Committee was created as part of the District of Columbia Court Reform and Criminal Procedure Act of 1970 (the Act). Pursuant to the Act, five judges serve on the Joint Committee: the Chief Judge of the District of Columbia Court of Appeals, who is the chair; the Chief Judge of the Superior Court of the District of Columbia; an associate judge of the Court of Appeals, who is elected by the judges of that court; and two associate judges of the Superior Court, who are elected by the judges of the Superior Court.

By statute, there is an Executive Officer for the District of Columbia Courts, who is responsible for the administration of the Courts, subject to the supervision of the chief judges of the two courts, regarding the implementation in the respective courts of various administrative matters, consistent with the general policies and directives of the Joint Committee.