Legal Happenings
CJDT Honors Service of Former Commissioners
March 20, 2026
From left to right: Amy Bess, Nikki Sertsu, Amy Conway-Hatcher, Diane Brenneman, William Parker Lightfoot, Dr. Patrick Jackson, Colleen Kollar-Kotelly
On March 11 the D.C. Commission on Judicial Disabilities and Tenure (CJDT) recognized the exceptional service of five former commissioners at an event that brought a wide array of significant figures from the District’s legal community to the D.C. Bar headquarters.
Among those in attendance were D.C. Superior Court Chief Judge Milton C. Lee Jr. and his predecessor, Judge Anita Josey-Herring, as well as D.C. Court of Appeals Chief Judge Anna Blackburne-Rigsby. Joining them were D.C. Attorney General Brian Schwalb, D.C. Council Chair Phil Mendelson, several councilmembers, and federal and D.C. judges.
To the amusement of attendees, CJDT Chair Amy Bess compared the commission to the Harry Potter character Voldemort, calling it “the name that shall not be spoken” in her introductory remarks. Bess highlighted the functions of the commission, including maintaining public confidence in an independent, impartial, fair, and qualified judiciary and enforcing the high standards of conduct for judges on and off the bench.
“Our mission is, quite simply, to support judicial excellence,” Bess said, “because when judges succeed, our courts succeed, and when our courts succeed, the public’s trust in the judicial system is strengthened, and that is ultimately what the commission’s work is about.” She stressed the urgency of this mission in the context of a judiciary contending with significant vacancies and high rates of court filings and prosecutions.
Following Bess’s remarks, U.S. District Judge Loren L. AliKhan, CJDT vice chair, spoke about the service of the commission’s former chair, Judge Colleen Kollar-Kotelly of the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia. AliKhan noted that Kollar-Kotelly made significant inroads in improving confidence and cooperation between the commission and its various stakeholders.
“Colleen really transformed the reputation of the commission [as] being not just a place where you go to complain, but also a place where you go to celebrate the really hard work of our judges,” AliKhan said, acknowledging Kollar-Kotelly’s contributions to the organization’s modernization and COVID-era online pivot.
Next to be recognized was William Parker Lightfoot, a former chair and vice chair who served 25 consecutive years on the commission. Bess introduced him by reading out a letter from D.C. Mayor Muriel Bowser in commemoration of his service: “Your legal acumen, judgment, and leadership were essential to carrying out the commission’s critical purpose of ensuring public confidence in the judiciary.”
Lightfoot said that he loved every moment of his service, particularly because of the people he worked with — many of whom were present in the room. Lightfoot then introduced former vice chair and retired D.C. Superior Court Judge Diane Brenneman, whose longtime service and significant contributions to the commission were recognized and applauded.
Nikki Sertsu, one of CJDT’s two nonattorney members, shared a resolution for the next honoree, Dr. Patrick Jackson, a former commissioner who serves as chief of the Division of General Surgery at MedStar Georgetown University Hospital. “Patrick was invaluable to us on the commission where he served for almost two years,” Sertsu said.
The resolution stated that Jackson’s medical expertise was paramount to the commission in making determinations regarding whether a judge suffers from a mental or physical disability that is likely to become permanent and that prevents or seriously interferes with the proper performance of their judicial duties.
Kollar-Kotelly then spoke about the contributions of Amy Conway-Hatcher, former special counsel to the commission. “She is known for her impeccable judgment and discretion in sensitive matters,” Kollar-Kotelly said. In addition to handling numerous complex legal issues for the commission, Conway-Hatcher also served in the role of interim executive director.
In closing, Bess expressed gratitude for the five individuals honored during the event, saying they helped “ensure that the courts of the District of Columbia remain the independent, strong, and flourishing courts that they are because when our judges succeed, justice flourishes.”
