Charles Willoughby and Risa Berkower Join Superior Court Bench

Charles Willoughby and Risa Berkower Join Superior Court Bench

August 19, 2024

By John Murph

On August 19, D.C. Superior Court Chief Judge Anita Josey-Herring administered the oath of office to new Associate Judge Charles J. Willoughby Jr. and Magistrate Judge Risa Berkower.

A native Washingtonian, Judge Willoughby served for the past 10 years as an assistant United States attorney (AUSA) with the United States Attorney's Office for the District of Columbia, where he was appointed deputy chief of the General Crimes Section's Case Initiation Unit in 2023. Previously, he was deputy chief of the same section's Misdemeanor Unit.

"I've been a public servant for the majority of my professional career," Willoughby said. "To continue serving the residents of the District is something that's very important to me. I'm happy to be able to continue to do so professionally in my role as an associate judge."

Willoughby has aspired to become a judge since January 2023. "I appeared before a number of judges for various trial hearings," he said. "[During] the latter part of my tenure at the U.S. Attorney's Office, I was fortunate enough to serve in a supervisor capacity. That allowed me to mentor younger AUSAs, to watch them in court, and to see the way different judges handled their courtrooms."

Willoughby was nominated in June 2023 by President Biden and confirmed a year later. "Patience is certainly a virtue, which is something that I'll exercise when I'm on the bench," Willoughby said. "The most important thing I've learned in my professional capacity is the importance of listening. I want everyone who comes into my courtroom to know that they will be heard."

Berkower also stressed the importance of listening fairly to both sides as she assumes her magistrate judge position within the Criminal Division. "Hearing everybody out and having an open mind is what I plan to bring because it was so important to me as a litigant and also to all of the many witnesses, victims, and other individuals that were involved in my cases."

Also a Washington, D.C., native and former prosecutor in the U.S. Attorney's Office in D.C. (Fraud, Public Corruption, and Civil Rights Section), Berkower played integral roles in the federal hate crimes prosecution of James Fields for the murder of Heather Heyer at the 2017 Unite the Right Rally in Charlottesville, Virginia, and in the first trial related to the January 6, 2021, insurrection at the U.S. Capitol.

"I was a litigator for 17 years before I came to this job," Berkower said. "What I always hoped for when I walked into a courtroom was for a judge [to have] an open mind, hear everybody out, and make a decision [based] on what was presented and the law. And that is what I plan to bring."