JNC Recommends Candidates for District of Columbia Court of Appeals Vacancies

The District of Columbia Judicial Nomination Commission ("Commission") has recommended to the President the names of the six attorneys listed below for his consideration in selecting nominees to fill the judicial vacancies on the District of Columbia Court of Appeals ("Court of Appeals") created by the retirement of the Honorable Kathryn A. Oberly and the resignation of the Honorable Loren L. AliKhan. The President has sixty (60) days to select a nominee to fill each vacancy.

The Commission recommends the following candidates for the Oberly vacancy:

Hon. James A. Crowell, IV, is an Associate Judge in the Civil Division of the Superior Court of the District of Columbia ("Superior Court"). He currently serves on several Superior Court Committees, including as Co-Chair of the Committee on Security, a member of the Committee on Jury Instructions, a member of the Committee on the Selection and Tenure of Magistrate Judges, and a member of the Advisory Committee on Civil Rules.

Before his appointment to the bench, Judge Crowell joined the United States Department of Justice ("DOJ") through the Attorney General's Honors Program. Over the course of his career with the DOJ, Judge Crowell served as the Director of the Executive Office for United States Attorneys, Principal Associate Deputy Attorney General, Chief of Staff to the Deputy Attorney General, and as a long-time Assistant United States Attorney ("AUSA") in the District of Maryland, where he served as Criminal Chief. Judge Crowell also served in the United States Army Reserves for 31 years in the Infantry, JAG, Civil Affairs & Psychological Operations, and Information Operations.

Judge Crowell received his Bachelor of Arts degree from Hampden-Sydney College and his Juris Doctor from Boston University School of Law. Following law school, Judge Crowell clerked for the Honorable Charles A. Pannell, Jr., on the United States District Court for the Northern District of Georgia.

Daniel J. Lenerz, Esq., currently serves as a Deputy Chief in the Appellate Division of the United States Attorney's Office for the District of Columbia ("USAO DC"), where he litigates criminal cases in the Court of Appeals and the United States Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit. He also served as a trial attorney with the USAO-DC in the Superior Court. Mr. Lenerz is a member of the D.C. Circuit Advisory Committee on Procedures and the committee that drafts the Redbook jury instructions. He also teaches Legal Rhetoric as an Adjunct Professor at the American University, Washington College of Law ("AUWCL").

Before joining the USAO-DC, Mr. Lenerz was an appellate attorney in the DOJ's Civil Division, where he handled cases before the federal appellate courts and the Supreme Court of the United States ("Supreme Court"). Mr. Lenerz also worked as Senior Counsel to the Criminal Division's Assistant Attorney General. Earlier in his career, Mr. Lenerz focused on complex civil litigation as an associate at Latham & Watkins LLP. He spent a year as a criminal trial attorney in the San Diego U.S. Attorney's Office.

Mr. Lenerz received his undergraduate degree, cum laude, from Pomona College and his Juris Doctor, Order of the Coif, from Stanford Law School. Following law school, he clerked for the Honorable Myron H. Thompson on the United States District Court for the Middle District of Alabama, the Honorable Stephen F. Williams on the United States Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit, and Justice John Paul Stevens on the Supreme Court.

Amy Upshaw, Esq., is a partner at King & Spalding, where she practices in the Appellate, Constitutional, and Administrative Law Group. Ms. Upshaw delivers strategic advice to clients on their most complex matters, leads key legal motions in the trial court, and regularly argues appeals. She has briefed appeals in nearly every federal appellate court, addressing constitutional issues, class action law, torts, contract interpretation, and other areas of law. Ms. Upshaw is frequently asked to speak on panels about appellate law, administrative law, and the Supreme Court. And she maintains an active pro bono practice.

Ms. Upshaw received her Bachelor of Arts degree, summa cum laude, from the University of South Carolina and her Juris Doctor with Honors from the University of Chicago Law School, where she served as a Comments Editor on the University of Chicago Law Review. Following law school, she clerked for the Honorable Diane Sykes on the United States Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit and Justice Clarence Thomas on the Supreme Court.

The Commission recommends the following candidates for the AliKhan vacancy:

Stuart G. Nash, Esq., is currently a Partner at Holland & Knight, LLP, and serves as Co-Chair of the firm's national White Collar and Government Investigations Group. There, he represents individual and corporate clients in criminal and civil litigation matters in courts across the country.

Before joining Holland & Knight, Mr. Nash served as an Associate Judge on the Superior Court, presiding over calendars in the Criminal, Civil, and Family Divisions. Further, he served as an Associate Deputy Attorney General and Director of the Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Forces (OCDETF) Program - an initiative combining the efforts of over 2000 federal law enforcement agents and 600 federal prosecutors, with the mission of investigating, prosecuting, and dismantling the world's most powerful drug trafficking and money-laundering cartels. Mr. Nash served as an AUSA in the USAO-DC, where he was detailed as Counsel to the Senate Judiciary Committee and as Counselor to the Attorney General of the United States. He was also an associate at the law firm Williams & Connolly.

Mr. Nash received his Bachelor of Arts degree, magna cum laude, from Duke University and his Juris Doctor from Harvard Law School. Following law school, he clerked for the Honorable Sam J. Ervin, III, on the United States Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit, and for the Honorable T.S. Ellis, III, on the United States District Court for the Eastern District of Virginia.

Ashwin P. Phatak, Esq., is the Principal Deputy Solicitor General for the District of Columbia in the Office of the Attorney General for the District of Columbia ("OAG"). There, he oversees appellate litigation for the District government in the Court of Appeals, the United States Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit, and the Supreme Court. Mr. Phatak has supervised over 1,000 cases and has argued several high-profile matters. His practice covers all aspects of District law, including consumer protection, constitutional law, employment law, tax, criminal law, and administrative law.

Before joining the OAG, Mr. Phatak was an appellate counsel at the Constitutional Accountability Center, a non-profit in the District. Further, he served as an attorney-adviser in the Office of Legal Counsel at the DOJ. Mr. Phatak is a member of the American Law Institute, the Edward Coke Appellate Inn of Court, and the D.C. Circuit's Advisory Committee on Procedures. He also serves as a volunteer mentor with The Appellate Project.

Mr. Phatak received his Bachelor of Arts degree, summa cum laude and Phi Beta Kappa, from Tufts University, and his Juris Doctor from Harvard Law School, magna cum laude, where he served as an editor of the Harvard Law Review. Following law school, he clerked for the Honorable Patricia A. Millett on the United States Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit and for the Honorable Beverly B. Martin on the United States Court of Appeals for the Eleventh Circuit.

Hon. Ebony M. Scott currently serves as an Associate Judge on the Superior Court. She is assigned to the Family Court and serves on many Superior Court Committees, including as Co-Chair of the Committee on Pro Bono and Affordable Counsel, the Standing Committee on Fairness and Access to the D.C. Courts, and the Committee on Public Education and Court Independence.

Before joining the Bench, Judge Scott served as Deputy Director of the Mayor's Office of Legal Counsel, where she assisted the Director in overseeing the general counsel of District agencies and provided legal advice to the Mayor, agency Directors, and Deputy Mayors. She also served as an Assistant Attorney General and Acting Chief of the Housing and Environmental Justice Section at the OAG. Judge Scott later joined the Office of Human Rights as General Counsel. She began her career as a Civil Trial Attorney and litigated cases in both the District and Maryland.

Judge Scott currently serves on the Advisory Council for the Abramson Scholarship Foundation, the Dean's Advisory Council for the AUWCL, the Board of Directors for the Council for Court Excellence, and as Chair of the Judicial Council Division of the Washington Bar Association. She is an Adjunct Assistant Professor at the AUWCL, where she teaches Civil Trial Advocacy. In 2023, Judge Scott received the Joseph H. Hairston Award from the AUWCL for her distinguished public service.

Judge Scott earned her Bachelor of Arts degree from the University of Rochester and her Juris Doctor from the AUWCL. Following law school, Judge Scott clerked for the Honorable Anna Blackburne-Rigsby on the Court of Appeals.

Please direct any questions to the Commission's Executive Director, Tracy B. Nutall, Esq., at (202) 879-0478 or [email protected].

Members of the District of Columbia Judicial Nomination Commission

The Honorable Marie C. Johns

Benjamin F. Wilson, Esq.
7825 Orchid Street, N.W.
Washington, DC 20012
(202) 657-2534
[email protected]

Addy R. Schmitt

Kropf Moseley Schmitt PLLC

1100 H Street, NW

Suite 1220

Washington, DC 20005

(202) 236-5291

Vincent H. Cohen, Jr., Esq.
Dechert LLP
1900 K Street, NW
Washington, DC 20006-1110
(202) 261-3432
[email protected]

The Honorable Linda W. Cropp
4001 18th Street, NW
Washington, DC 20011
(202) 726-0505
[email protected]

The Honorable Tanya S. Chutkan
United States District Court
for the District of Columbia
United States Courthouse
333 Constitution Avenue, NW
Washington, DC 20001
(202) 354-3390
[email protected]

Margarita K. O'Donnell, Esq.
Zuckerman Spaeder LLP
2100 L Street, NW
Suite 400
Washington, DC 20037
(202) 367-6702
[email protected]