Recent News

The Council for Court Excellence (CCE) is proud to announce the selection and hiring of two new Open Horizon Fellows - Dionejala Muhammad and Rachel Hirsch - who will begin their work later this summer. In 2022, CCE became the first organization to partner with Open Horizon to expand the pipeline of public interest attorneys and policy advocates. CCE is proud to continue this partnership and to bring on our fourth class of Fellows in 2026.

Burgeoning numbers at jail strains aging facility, DOC budget. As of May 2026, the population of the D.C. Jail is rising again, and is now higher than during the law enforcement surge of the summer and fall of 2025.

In this issue: insights from D.C.'s legal luminaries, strengthening oversight and accountability, advancing second chance hiring solutions, building community engagement through candidate forums and signature gatherings.

CCE, along with 30+ cosponsoring organizations, is hosting educational candidate forums for the 2026 D.C. Mayoral and Congressional races.

Every spring, the Council for Court Excellence (CCE) hosts its Justice Potter Stewart Award Dinner to honor people and organizations that have demonstrated exceptional leadership in advancing justice in the District of Columbia. The 2026 dinner will be held on Thursday, May 21 at the Organization of American States, honoring Sandra Jackson, President and CEO of House of Ruth, and Washington Lawyers’ Committee for Civil Rights & Urban Affairs. 

In the fall of 2025, CCE released a series of educational fact sheets focused on different aspects of D.C. criminal law, youth justice, courts, and legal systems that are receiving local and national attention.

CCE is proud of the impact we have made in the D.C. community in 2025. Our annual Highlights features some key examples of the work we've done and reports we've published.

CCE, in partnership with Volare (formerly Network for Victim Recovery of DC), today released an update to CCE’s popular community guide, A Victim’s Guide to the District of Columbia’s Legal System. Originally published in 1987, this newest edition provides a roadmap to help victims understand their rights, connect with comprehensive support services, and navigate the complex web of agencies, stakeholders, and processes to pursue justice in D.C. The 2025 edition reflects recent updates to D.C. law and changes to program availability.

In this issue: Defending D.C.'s Home Rule and legal system independence, launching new justice education initiatives, and engaging events on immigration and workforce development

On October 16, 2025, CCE released a report entitled, "Committed Youth Awaiting Placement in the D.C. Youth Services Center," which addresses systemic delays that leave some D.C. justice-impacted youth in extended confinement while awaiting appropriate placement through the Department of Youth Rehabilitation Services (DYRS).

On Tuesday, September 30, 2025, the Council for Court Excellence hosted our 21st Bench-Bar-Media dialogue event, titled “Immigration and Justice: The U.S. Legal System Most Americans Never See.” The event drew an audience eager to understand the realities of the U.S. immigration court system.

Today, CCE released a data snapshot showing the population of the D.C. Jail population rising since the August 2025 law enforcement surge.