Magistrate Judge, Superior Court of the District of Columbia

Western Presbyterian Church Board Representative

Sherry Trafford was appointed to serve as a magistrate judge for the Superior Court of the District of Columbia in February 2016.  She has presided over calendars in all divisions of the Court and was designated Deputy Presiding Magistrate Judge in November 2019.

Prior her to appointment, Judge Trafford was a staff attorney for the Mental Health Division of the Public Defender Service for the District of Columbia for twelve years.  She represented individuals at all stages of civil commitment cases, from initial detention hearings to jury trials, and in criminal NGI post-commitment hearings.  She began her career at the Public Defender Service representing individuals in civil matters ancillary to their criminal cases.  Before working at the Public Defender Service, she was the recipient of a Skadden Fellowship and served as a staff attorney at the Bazelon Center for Mental Health Law, where she provided technical assistance and training on the rights of persons with disabilities under the Fair Housing Act and the Americans with Disabilities Act.

Judge Trafford is a graduate of Yale Law School and clerked for the Honorable William B. Bryant at the United States District Court for the District of Columbia.  She has resided in Capitol Hill since 1993 and actively participated in her daughter’s education in District of Columbia Public Schools.  She served as the Board Chair for the Open Doors Chapter of More Light Presbyterians and now serves on the Board of Directors for Miriam’s Kitchen, a homeless services provider.