---
title: "Juliet McKenna | KnowJudges"
canonical: "https://knowjudges.com/kyj/judge/juliet-mckenna-dc-superior-court-associate-judge"
page_type: "judge_profile"
updated: "2026-10-07"
---

# Juliet McKenna

Superior Court of the District of Columbia · Associate Judge

## Profile

- Court: Superior Court of the District of Columbia
- State: District of Columbia
- Role: Associate Judge
- Service status: active
- Last verified: 2026-07-29

## Summary

Official statewide and applicable court procedural guidance applies to this judge.

## Before you appear

- Read the judge-specific standing order first when one is listed.
- Check the docket and case orders for requirements that supersede broader guidance.
- Confirm current remote-access and courtroom technology arrangements before the proceeding.

## Courtroom Rules

### recording and rebroadcasting

Scope: courtwide

Recording, photographing, or rebroadcasting a remote Superior Court hearing is not allowed.

Evidence excerpt: Audio and video recording, taking pictures of remote hearings, and sharing the live or recorded remote hearing by rebroadcasting, live-streaming, or otherwise are not allowed.

[Hearing Information](https://www.dccourts.gov/superior-court/hearing-information)
Source checked: 2026-07-27


## Sources

- [Official profile](https://www.dccourts.gov/superior-court/superior-court-judges/mckenna-juliet)
- [Official roster](https://www.dccourts.gov/superior-court/superior-court-judges/mckenna-juliet)
- [District of Columbia Courts official judicial roster](https://www.dccourts.gov/superior-court/superior-court-judges/mckenna-juliet)
- [Hearing Information](https://www.dccourts.gov/superior-court/hearing-information)

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## Biography

### Professional career

- Adjunct Professor of Law at Georgetown University Law Center (2012–2014), teaching Child Welfare Law and Practice in the District of Columbia
- Juliet J. McKenna is an Associate Judge of the Superior Court of the District of Columbia, appointed in 2005, with a career spanning public service, criminal and family law, and legal education
- 2002–2005: Magistrate Judge on the D.C. Superior Court under the Family Court Act of 2001
- After law school, she worked at Crowell & Moring and then joined the Office of Corporation Counsel (now the D.C. Attorney General) in 1996, prosecuting civil child abuse and neglect cases
- Professional Certificate in Restorative Justice from Vermont Law School

### Education

- Yale Law School in — J.D. (1995)
- B.A., magna cum laude, from Georgetown University in 1992

### Additional information

- 2005–present: Associate Judge, appointed December 16, 2005, to a 15-year term
- Deputy Presiding Judge (2018–2019) and Presiding Judge (2020–2021)
- Criminal Division (2012–2021): Handled misdemeanors to serious felonies, including first-degree sexual assault and murder cases
- Judge McKenna has served on multiple D.C. Superior Court committees, including the Family Court Implementation Committee, Family Court Panels Committee (Chair 2009–12), Advisory Committee on Criminal Rules (co-Chair 2020–21), Criminal Justice Act Panels Committee (co-Chair 2015–21), and the D.C. Sentencing Commission
- Juliet JoAnn McKenna was born October 19, 1970 in Valparaiso, Indiana, and raised in Connecticut
- She also served with Lawyers for Children America, supporting pro bono attorneys as guardians ad litem for children in the abuse and neglect system
- Family Court: Served on Juvenile, Domestic Relations, and Adoptions calendars for six years after appointment