---
title: "Sherry Trafford | KnowJudges"
canonical: "https://knowjudges.com/kyj/judge/sherry-trafford-dc-superior-court-magistrate-judge"
page_type: "judge_profile"
updated: "2026-10-07"
---

# Sherry Trafford

Superior Court of the District of Columbia · Magistrate Judge

## Profile

- Court: Superior Court of the District of Columbia
- State: District of Columbia
- Role: Magistrate 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/trafford-sherry)
- [Official roster](https://www.dccourts.gov/superior-court/superior-court-judges/trafford-sherry)
- [District of Columbia Courts official judicial roster](https://www.dccourts.gov/superior-court/superior-court-judges/trafford-sherry)
- [Hearing Information](https://www.dccourts.gov/superior-court/hearing-information)

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## Biography

### Professional career

- Before joining the court, Judge Trafford was a staff attorney in the Mental Health Division of the Public Defender Service for the District of Columbia since 2004
- Sherry M. Trafford is a Magistrate Judge of the Superior Court of the District of Columbia, appointed in February 2016, with a career in public defense, civil rights law, and community leadership
- Law clerk to Hon. William B. Bryant on the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia

### Education

- in Economics (with honors) — Indiana University — B.A.
- Yale Law School — J.D.

### Additional information

- on the Chief Judge’s leadership team, first as Deputy Presiding Magistrate Judge and then as Presiding Magistrate Judge — November 2019–December 2024
- Judge Trafford has presided over cases in all divisions of the DC Superior Court, including landlord/tenant, small claims, tax sale foreclosure, housing conditions, debt collection, and mortgage mediation
- She began her career in the Civil Legal Services Division