Interview of Judges for United States District Court for the District of Columbia
By Robie A. Beatty

At our regularly scheduled meeting of the Board of Directors in May 2009, I was privileged to lead the D.C. Chapter of the Federal Bar Association’s interview of two (2) candidates who hope to become judges on the United States District Court for the District of Columbia. Those persons are Attorney Amy Berman Jackson and The Honorable Russell F. Canan. During this meeting, the entire Board had the opportunity to talk with and ask questions of both candidates. Based on the interviews and on their qualifications, the D.C. Chapter was pleased to submit letters in support of the applications of both candidates.

Attorney Jackson has extensive experience as a litigator, having worked in the U.S. Attorney’s Office for many years. She is now in private practice in the District of Columbia. Mrs. Jackson and her husband have two (2) children who have been raised in the District of Columbia, where the family resides. Mrs. Jackson is involved with civic organizations in some of the spare time she has. It was apparent to the Board that Attorney Jackson is an individual whose life experiences, both professional and personal, give her the qualities necessary to recognize both sides of arguments that might be presented in cases before her. In letters of support from her application, Mrs. Jackson’s colleagues recommended that she be given a seat on the U.S. District Court. In addition, the Board of the D.C. Chapter, believed her to be someone who could be a fair and prudent member of the judiciary.

The Honorable Russell F. Canan, a judge on the Superior Court of the District of Columbia, was the other candidate interviewed for a seat on the United States District Court for the District of Columbia. As an Associate Judge on the District of Columbia Superior Court, Judge Canan obtained Senate confirmation in order to become a judge on that Court. In 2008, after serving 15 years on the bench, the District of Columbia Commission on Judicial Disabilities and Tenure recommended that Judge Canan be reappointed for another 15 year term. The Board was persuaded that Judge Canan’s colleagues and members of the Bar who practice before him, are accurate measures of the type of judge he is. They appear to hold him in high esteem and underscore his excellent temperament, his respectful treatment of litigants, lawyers and court personnel and his wide-ranging knowledge of the law. The Board of the D.C. Chapter opined to the Federal Law Enforcement Nominating Commission that Judge Canan appears to have the qualities that could only enhance his tenure as a judge on the United States District Court for the District of Columbia.