D.C. Superior Court

As of September 27, 2020, D.C. Superior Court remains closed for most purposes because of the Covid-19 pandemic.

With respect to criminal cases, the Chief Judge has suspended, tolled and extended all statutory and rules-based time limits in the D.C. Code.  For example, all the time between March 18 and November 9. 2020 will not count in the time calculation with respect to a defendant’s speedy trial rights.  The Chief Judge has also “tolled” the statute of limitations for criminal offenses — six years for most felony offenses and three years for most misdemeanors — and waived time requirements with respect to preliminary hearings and indictments.

Most status hearings for non-detained defendants has been pushed back to November 9, 2020 at the earliest.  For example, a status hearing that was orginally scheduled for August 20 has now been re-scheduled for January 21, 2020.  

To the extent that any criminal cases will move forward, the hearings will either be remote (with everyone participating by Webex or by phone) or partially remote.  Partially remote hearings typically involve the judge and defendant attending in person with others participating remotely. 

In order to contact D.C. Superior Court with respect to criminal records or other matters handled by the Criminal Division of the D.C. Superior Court Clerk’s office, please email criminalcasemanagement@dcsc.gov.  Although the clerks are currently working remotely, they are typically very responsive.  

To contact the Clerk’s office with respect to the sealing or expungement of criminal records, please email criminalmotionsealingteam@dcsc.gov.

For citation and accident reports and other police reports, please email  mpd.public-docs@dc.gov.

Additional information on legal, administrative and procedural issues for D.C. is provided below.

Civil Protection Orders
Criminal Appeals
Criminal Charges/Security Clearance
D.C. Rules of Criminal Procedure
D.C. Rules of Evidence
Diversion Programs for First-Time Offenders
Expungement/Sealing of Criminal Records
How to Obtain a Copy of Your Police Report
How to Obtain a Copy of Your Criminal Record
Jury instructions