The Honorable Stephen Rickard

Stephen F. Rickard was nominated by President Donald Trump to be an Associate Judge of the Superior Court of the District of Columbia on September 2, 2025. His nomination was confirmed by the United States Senate on December 18, 2025. He was sworn in as an Associate Judge of the Superior Court of the District of Columbia on January 20, 2026.

Judge Rickard earned his Bachelor of Arts degree, magna cum laude, from Brown University and his Juris Doctor degree, summa cum laude, from the Boston University School of Law.

Judge Rickard then served as a law clerk for the Honorable Joseph L. Tauro on the United States District Court of the District of Massachusetts and the Honorable Juan R. Torruella on the United States Court of Appeals for the First Circuit.

From 2009 to 2022, he served as an Assistant United States Attorney (AUSA) in the District of Columbia, most recently in the Homicide Section. He previously served as Chief of the General Crimes Section and as a Deputy Chief supervising the Misdemeanor Unit and, later, violent crime prosecutions in the Felony Major Crimes Section. He also served in the office’s Appellate Division. As an AUSA, he argued dozens of appeals in the D.C. Court of Appeals and tried dozens of cases in the Superior Court.

From August 2022 to 2026, Judge Rickard served as a Magistrate Judge of the Superior Court of the District of Columbia. In that capacity, Judge Rickard served in the Civil Division, presiding over Landlord & Tenant, Small Claims, Debt Collection, and Mortgage Foreclosure cases. He has also served on multiple committees, including the Information Technology Steering Committee, the Committee on Amenities and Misfortunes, the Committee on Judicial Education and Training, the Committee on Jury Instructions, and the Court’s Artificial Intelligence Taskforce.