SRES107APR29

TheWeekInCongress.com

Week Ending April 29, 2005

Senate Resolution 107 commending Annice M. Wagner, Chief Judge of the District of Columbia Court of Appeals, for her public service.

BRIEF

Chief Judge Wagner’s steady and direct rise from People’s Counsel for the District of Columbia to her present position includes appointments by President Carter, President George H.W. Bush and Congress.

Among Chief Judge Wagner’s accomplishments is making legal representation more accessible to the poor.

Sponsor: Senator Susan Collins (R-ME)

Vote: Passed Senate by Unanimous Consent (April 28, 2005)

Cost to the taxpayers: No discernible cost.

MORE INFORMATION

S. Res. 107

Whereas Annice M. Wagner, Chief Judge of the District of Columbia Court of Appeals, entered Federal Government service in 1973 as the first woman to be appointed General Counsel of the National Capital Housing Authority, then a Federal agency;

Whereas, from 1975 to 1977, the Honorable Annice M. Wagner served as People's Counsel for the District of Columbia, an office created by Congress to represent the interests of utility consumers before the District of Columbia Public Service Commission and the District of Columbia Court of Appeals;

Whereas, in 1977, the Honorable Annice M. Wagner was appointed by President Carter and confirmed by the Senate to serve as an Associate Judge of the Superior Court for the District of Columbia;

Whereas, while serving as an Associate Judge of the Superior Court, the Honorable Annice M. Wagner served in the civil, criminal, family, probate, and tax divisions and served for 2 years as presiding judge of the probate and tax divisions;

Whereas, while serving as an Associate Judge of the Superior Court, Annice M. Wagner served on various commissions and committees to improve the District of Columbia judicial system, including serving as chairperson of the Committee on Selection and Tenure of Hearing Commissioners, and as a member of the Superior Court Rules Committee and the Sentencing Guidelines Commission;

Whereas, as an Associate Judge of the Superior Court, Annice M. Wagner served as chairperson of the Court's Advisory Committee on Probate and Fiduciary Rules and was largely responsible for the implementation of new rules intended to streamline and clarify procedures regarding missing, protected, and incapacitated individuals;

Whereas, as an Associate Judge of the Superior Court, the Honorable Annice M. Wagner served as chairperson of the Task Force on Gender Bias in the Courts, which conducted a comprehensive study of bias in the courts;

Whereas, under Annice M. Wagner's leadership, the District of Columbia courts established the Standing Committee on Fairness and Access to the Courts to ensure racial, gender, and ethnic fairness;

Whereas Annice M. Wagner was appointed by President George H.W. Bush and confirmed by the Senate in 1990 to be an Associate Judge of the District of Columbia Court of Appeals;

Whereas Annice M. Wagner was appointed in 1994 to serve as Chief Judge of the District Court of Appeals;

Whereas, while Chief Judge of the District of Columbia Court of Appeals, Annice M. Wagner served as Chair of the Joint Committee on Judicial Administration in the District of Columbia;

Whereas, under Annice M. Wagner's leadership, the District of Columbia courts initiated the renovation of the Old District of Columbia Courthouse (Old City Hall) in Judiciary Square, a National Historic Landmark, for future use by the District of Columbia Court of Appeals;

Whereas, under Annice M. Wagner's leadership, the District of Columbia courts initiated the master planning process for the renovation and use of unused or underutilized court properties, which will lead to the revitalization of the Judiciary Square area in the Nation's Capital;

Whereas, under Annice M. Wagner's leadership, the Court of Appeals, along with the District of Columbia Bar, the District of Columbia Bar Foundation, and the District of Columbia Consortium of Legal Service Providers, established the District of Columbia Access to Justice Commission, a commission that will propose ways to make lawyers and the legal system more available for poor individuals in the District of Columbia;

Whereas Annice M. Wagner served as President of the Conference of Chief Justices, an organization of Chief Justices and Chief Judges of the highest court of each of the 50 States, the District of Columbia, and the territories;

Whereas Annice M. Wagner served as Chairperson of the Board of Directors of the National Center for State Courts;

Whereas the Honorable Annice M. Wagner commands wide respect within the legal profession nationally, having been selected to serve as one of 11 members of the American Bar Association's Section on Dispute Resolution's Drafting Committee on the Uniform Mediation Act, which collaborated with the National Conference of Commissioners on Uniform State Laws in promulgating the Uniform Mediation Act, which, in 2001, was approved and recommended for enactment in all of the States, to foster prompt, economical, and amicable resolution of disputes through mediation processes which promote public confidence and uniformity across state lines;

Whereas, since 1979, Annice M. Wagner has been involved with the United Planning Organization, which was established in 1962 to conduct initiatives designed to provide human services in the District of Columbia and she has served as Interim President of the Organization's Board of Trustees;

Whereas, since 1986, Annice M. Wagner has participated as a member of a teaching team for the Trial Advocacy Workshop at Harvard Law School;

Whereas Annice M. Wagner, Chief Judge of the District of Columbia Court of Appeals, was born in the District of Columbia and attended District of Columbia Public Schools and received her Bachelor's and law degrees from Wayne State University in Detroit, Michigan; and

Whereas Annice M. Wagner's dedication to public service and the citizens of the District of Columbia has contributed to the improvement of the judicial system, increased equal access to justice, and advanced public confidence in the court system: Now, therefore, be it

Resolved, That the Senate commends the Honorable Annice M. Wagner for her commitment and dedication to public service, the judicial system, equal access to justice, and the community.

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