DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA COURT OF APPEALS JUDGE ANNA BLACKBURNE-RIGSBY SWORN IN AS 34TH PRESIDENT OF NAWJ

Judge Anna Blackburne-Rigsby was sworn in as the 34th President of the National Association of Women Judges at its 2013 Annual Conference in New Orleans, Louisiana on October 12, 2013. During her installation ceremony, Judge Blackburne-Rigsby remarked that “through education and outreach programs, NAWJ is poised for Ensuring Access to Justice for All.” Judge Blackburne-Rigsby added that she will expand partnerships and collaborations to ensure that the “important work of NAWJ will impact a wider audience.”

“NAWJ has meant a lot to me personally because I joined in 1995 with my mother,” Justice Laura D. Blackburne (retired), as the only mother/daughter judges in the country. It is, “an honor and privilege to serve as President of such a phenomenal organization.”

Judge Blackburne-Rigsby was nominated by President George W. Bush to the District of Columbia Court of Appeals in August 2006. Prior to her appointment to the District of Columbia Court of Appeals, Judge Blackburne-Rigsby was nominated by President William Jefferson Clinton to the Superior Court of the District of Columbia and served from 2000-2006. Judge Blackburne-Rigsby previously served as a Magistrate Judge on the Superior Court of the District of Columbia from 1995-2000.

Judge Blackburne-Rigsby chairs the District of Columbia Courts’ Standing Committee on Fairness and Access, and serves as Co-Chair of the District of Columbia’s Access to Justice Commission. In addition to her work with NAWJ, she also serves as Chair of the Board of Managerial Trustees for the International Association of Women Judges (IAWJ).

Judge Blackburne-Rigsby graduated from Duke University with a Bachelor of Arts. She earned her law degree from Howard University School of Law. Judge Blackburne-Rigsby is married to Judge Robert Rigsby, Associate Judge of the District of Columbia Superior Court, former Corporation Counsel for the District of Columbia, and a Colonel and Military Judge in the United States Army Reserves. They are the proud parents of a teenage son Julian.

The National Association of Women Judges is composed of women and men judges at all levels of the federal, state, tribal, military and administrative judiciary from all over the United States, as well attorneys, academics and other legal professionals. Formed in 1979, NAWJ champions diversity on the bench, the independence of the judiciary and equal access to justice. Through the International Association of Women Judges, which NAWJ founded in 1991, we address issues affecting the rule of law throughout the world.

For more information contact NAWJ Executive Director Marie Komisar at 202-393-0222.