Anna Blackburne-Rigsby


Anna Elizabeth Blackburne-Rigsby is the Chief Judge of the District of Columbia Court of Appeals, the highest appellate court for the District of Columbia.

Early life and career

Born in Washington, D.C., Blackburne-Rigsby graduated from Jamaica High School in Queens, New York, in 1979. She earned a bachelor's degree in political science from Duke University in 1983 and a J.D. degree from the Howard University School of Law in 1987. After law school, she spent five years as an associate at Hogan & Hartson in D.C. In 1992, she went to work at the office of the corporation counsel for D.C., first as a special counsel and then as deputy corporation counsel in charge of the Family Services Division. In 1995, she became a hearing commissioner at the Superior Court of the District of Columbia, a role later retitled magistrate judge. In 2000, President Bill Clinton assigned her the position of Associate Judge in the D.C. Superior Court. Six years later, President George W. Bush prompted her to the position of Associate Judge of the Court of Appeals in 2006, and her latest position of Chief Judge of the Court of Appeals was assigned to her in 2017.

Personal life

Blackburne-Rigsby is married to Robert Rigsby, an Associate Judge of the Superior Court of the District of Columbia and former corporation counsel. Her mother, Laura D. Blackburne, is a former chair of the New York City Housing Authority and judge on the New York Supreme Court. She is a member of Shiloh Baptist Church and Alpha Kappa Alpha.