The Honorable Darlene M. Soltys

Darlene M. Soltys was nominated by President Barack Obama to be an Associate Judge of the Superior Court of the District of Columbia on July 9, 2015. Her nomination was confirmed by the United States Senate on December 17, 2015.

Judge Soltys grew up in Anne Arundel County, Maryland. She graduated with honors from the University of Maryland, Baltimore County, where she majored in Political Science and History and received her law degree from Georgetown University Law Center. At GULC, she participated in the Criminal Justice Clinic, representing indigent people charged in the Superior Court.

Judge Soltys served as the first law clerk to the Honorable Gregory E. Mize. She worked for the then-Office of Corporation Counsel trying cases against juvenile respondents. Judge Soltys served as an Assistant State’s Attorney in Prince Georges County, Maryland, in the Child Abuse and Sexual Assault Section and later in the Homicide Section. In 2004, Judge Soltys joined the United States Attorney’s Office for the District of Columbia. During her tenure there, Judge Soltys served primarily in the Violent Crimes and Narcotics Trafficking Section of the Criminal Division trying cases in federal District Court. Judge Soltys participated in long-term investigations using wire tap authorizations and other forms of electronic surveillance to infiltrate violent gangs and drug trafficking organizations alongside members of the FBI/MPD Safe Streets Task Force. Judge Soltys is a recipient of the Director’s Award for Superior Performance as an Assistant United States Attorney. She was named Senior Litigation Counsel in 2013 and received numerous special achievement awards from USAO-DC. Judge Soltys also collaborated with visiting foreign prosecutors and jurists and lectured at area law schools on matters pertaining to gang prosecutions and the use of electronic surveillance.

Her first judicial assignment was in the Probate/Tax Division. Since 2019, she has served in Family Court, first in the Domestic Relations Branch handling divorce and custody cases, and now as Presiding Judge.