Judith Pipe

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Judith Pipe

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Nonpartisan

Superior Court of the District of Columbia

Tenure

2024 - Present

Term ends

2039

Years in position

1

Predecessor

Michael L. Rankin

Report an officeholder change

Education

Bachelor's

American University, 2003

Law

Catholic University, Columbus School of Law, 2007

Judith Pipe is a judge on the Superior Court of the District of Columbia. She was nominated to the court by President Joe Biden (D) on July 11, 2023, and confirmed by the United States Senate on June 5, 2024, by a vote of 55-38. To see a full list of judges appointed by Joe Biden, click here.

The Superior Court of the District of Columbia is one of 94 U.S. District Courts. They are the general trial courts of the United States federal courts. To learn more about the court, click here.

Prior to joining the court, Pipe was a federal magistrate judge on the Superior Court of the District of Columbia.

Judicial nominations and appointments

Superior Court of the District of Columbia (2024-present)

See also: Federal judges nominated by Joe Biden

On July 11, 2023, President Joe Biden (D) nominated Pipe to the Superior Court of the District of Columbia. She was confirmed by a 55-38 vote of the U.S. Senate on June 5, 2024. Pipe received commission on June 21, 2024. To read more about the federal nominations process, click here.

Nomination Tracker
Nominee Information
Name: Judith Pipe
Court: Superior Court of the District of Columbia
Progress
Confirmed after nomination.
ANominated: July 11, 2023 (first), January 3, 2024 (second)
AABA Rating:
Questionnaire: Questionnaire
AHearing: September 21, 2023
Hearing Transcript: Hearing Transcript
QFRs: (Hover over QFRs to read more)
AReported: September 27, 2023 (first), January 31, 2024 (second)
AConfirmed: June 5, 2024
AVote: 55-38

Confirmation vote

The U.S. Senate confirmed Pipe by a vote of 55-38 on June 5, 2024. To see a full breakdown of the vote on the official U.S. Senate website, click here.

Pipe confirmation vote (June 5, 2024)
Party	Yea	Nay	No vote
Democratic	47	0	1
Republican	5	38	6
Independent	3	0	0
Total	55	38	7

Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee hearing

Pipe was reported to the full Senate on September 27, 2023, after a 7-2 committee vote. After her renomination, Pipe was reported to the full Senate on January 31, 2024, with a 10-3 committee vote.

Nomination

On June 28, 2023, President Joe Biden (D) announced his intent to nominate Pipe to the Superior Court of the District of Columbia. The president officially nominated Pipe on July 11, 2023. Pipe's nomination was returned to the president at the sine die adjournment of the U.S. Senate on January 3, 2024. The president renominated Pipe on January 11, 2024. Click here for a list of other nominees who have been nominated by President Joe Biden.

Pipe was nominated to replace Judge Michael L. Rankin, who assumed senior status in 2019.

Biography

Education

Pipe earned a bachelor's degree from American University in 2003 and a law degree from the Catholic University’s Columbus School of Law in 2007.

Professional career

• 2024-present: Judge, Superior Court of the District of Columbia
• 2020-2024: Magistrate judge, Superior Court of the District of Columbia
• 2007-2019: Staff attorney and a supervising attorney with the Public Defender Service for the District of Columbia

About the court

The Superior Court of the District of Columbia resides in Washington, D.C. It is a trial court of general jurisdiction established by the U.S. Congress in 1970.

The Superior Court handles all local trial matters. This includes topics such as:

• Civil law
• Criminal law
• Family law
• Probate
• Taxes
• Landlord-tenant
• Small claims
• Traffic

To read opinions published by this court, click here.

The federal nomination process

Federal judges are nominated by the president of the United States and confirmed by the Senate. There are multiple steps to the process:

• The president nominates an individual for a judicial seat.
• The nominee fills out a questionnaire and is reviewed by the Senate Judiciary Committee.
• The Senate Judiciary Committee holds a hearing with the nominee, questioning them about things like their judicial philosophy, past rulings or opinions, etc.

• As part of this process, the committee sends a blue slip to senators from the home state in which the judicial nomination was received, allowing them to express their approval or disapproval of the nominee.

• After the hearing, the Senate Judiciary Committee will vote to approve or return the nominee.

• If approved, the nominee is voted on by the full Senate.
• If the Committee votes to return the nominee to the president, the president has the opportunity to re-nominate the individual.

• The Senate holds a vote on the candidate.

• If the Senate confirms the nomination, the nominee receives a commission to serve a lifelong position as a federal judge.
• If the Senate does not confirm the nomination, that nominee does not become a judge.

See also

• Superior Court of the District of Columbia
• Washington, D.C.

External links

Suggest a link

• Search Google News for this topic
• Superior Court of the District of Columbia
• Biography from the Superior Court of the District of Columbia

Footnotes