District of Columbia Court of Appeals

The District of Columbia Court of Appeals is the local, non-federal highest court of the District of Columbia and the equivalent of a state supreme court. It was established in 1942 as the Municipal Court of Appeals and has been the court of last resort for matters of local D.C. law since 1970, when Congress passed the District of Columbia Court Reform and Criminal Procedure Act. With the Superior Court of the District of Columbia it forms the District's court system, and it sits in the former District of Columbia City Hall building at Judiciary Square. It has a chief judge and eight associate judges, appointed by the President and confirmed by the Senate for 15-year terms. It is distinct from the federal United States Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit, with which its similar name is sometimes confused. The court also established the District of Columbia Bar.