Norton Appoints New Member to her Federal Law Enforcement Nominating Commission, Shirley Ann Higuchi

WASHINGTON, DC – Congresswoman Eleanor Holmes Norton (D-DC) today appointed Shirley Ann Higuchi, president of the District of Columbia Bar from 2003 to 2004, to her Federal Law Enforcement Nominating Commission, which screens and recommends candidates from whom Norton chooses to send to the President as her recommendation for important federal law enforcement positions in D.C. Prior to her current position as Associate Executive Director of Legal and Regulatory Affairs for the American Psychological Association, Higuchi was with the law firm Epstein, Becker & Green P.C. Higuchi also served two elected terms on the Board of Governors of the D.C. Bar from 1994 to 2000, and served as Chair of the Bar's Nominations Committee in 2001. In 2008, she was appointed to a 6-year term on the D.C. Commission on Judicial Disabilities and Tenure, where she is responsible for reviewing misconduct, evaluating reappointments, and conducting fitness reviews of D.C. Superior Court and D.C. Court of Appeals judges. She received the Honorable Annice M. Wagner Pioneer Award from the D.C. Bar in 2006 for extraordinary community and public service contributions and significant contributions to the advancement of others in the legal profession, and the Lever Award in 2002 from the D.C. Law Students in Court Program for her innovative efforts to provide resources to benefit low-income residents in the District. She received her Juris Doctor degree from Georgetown University Law Center in 1984, and graduated from the University of Michigan with a Bachelor of Arts with Distinction and High Honors in 1981.

"On top of her superior legal qualifications and long-standing experience with judicial nominations and oversight, Shirley Ann Higuchi has an exemplary track-record of working to improve the hometown D.C. community," said Norton. "We are fortunate Ms. Higuchi, a lawyer who has a uniquely deep understanding of the District, its legal system, and judges, has agreed to serve."

President Obama, like President Clinton, granted Norton senatorial courtesy to recommend federal district court judges and other federal law enforcement officials in the District. Norton's 17-member Commission is chaired by Pauline Schneider, a former president of the D.C. Bar and a special counsel at Ballard Spahr LLP.

Published: December 4, 2013