Featured Articles

Analysis of Historical Data Published By JNC Provides Perspective on Nominations to D.C. Courts

Nov 25th, 2011 | By Douglas C. Melcher

On October 31, 2011, the Judicial Nomination Commission (“JNC”) published historical data regarding, inter alia, its recommendations of attorneys to serve as Associate Judges on the District of Columbia Court of Appeals and the Superior Court of the District of Columbia. This article discusses my analysis of some of that data. By way of background, the JNC
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Court of Appeals Interprets Super. Ct. Civ. R. 8(a) to Include Plausibility Standard

Sep 21st, 2011 | By Douglas C. Melcher

On September 15, 2011, the District of Columbia Court of Appeals decided Potomac Dev. Corp. v. District of Columbia, No. 10-CV-632 (D.C. Sept. 15, 2011), which, inter alia, interpreted Super. Ct. Civ. R. 8(a) to include a “plausibility standard” for pleading civil claims in the District of Columbia. This new pleading standard sets a higher hurdle
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Court of Appeals Adopts Supplemental Test for Negligent Infliction of Emotional Distress Claims

Jul 28th, 2011 | By Douglas C. Melcher

In Hedgepeth v. Whitman Walker Clinic, decided on June 30, 2011, the District of Columbia Court of Appeals, sitting en banc, unanimously ruled that a patient who was allegedly negligently misdiagnosed by a doctor at a health clinic as having HIV, and who allegedly suffered severe and verifiable emotional distress as a direct result, had
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