The Honorable Sherry Trafford

Sherry Trafford was appointed Magistrate Judge of the Superior Court by Acting Chief Judge Frederick Weisberg and the Board of Judges in February 2016.

Prior to joining the Court, Magistrate Judge Trafford served as a staff attorney in the Mental Health Division at Public Defender Service since 2004. In that capacity, she represented numerous individuals in mental health detention and commitment cases and post-trial not guilty by reason of insanity release proceedings. Prior to serving in the Mental Health Division, Judge Trafford was a staff attorney in the Civil Legal Services Division at Public Defender Service, representing youth and adults in landlord/tenant, custody, abuse and neglect, and public benefits cases.

Judge Trafford received a Skadden Public Interest Law Fellowship in 1997, and served as a staff attorney at the Bazelon Center for Mental Health Law, where she represented individuals with mental illness and provided technical assistance and training regarding enforcement of fair housing rights.

Judge Trafford played an active role in community organizations in the District of Columbia, chairing the Board for Open Doors/More Light Presbyterians, volunteering at Miriam’s Kitchen, and serving in leadership roles over 12 years as an active District of Columbia Public Schools parent. She graduated from Indiana University with a Bachelor of Arts degree in economics, with honors, and she earned her law degree from Yale Law School. After law school she served as a law clerk for the Honorable William B. Bryant in the United States District Court for the District of Columbia.