James A. Belson (born September 23, 1931) is a former judge of the

Superior Court of the District of Columbia The Superior Court of the District of Columbia, commonly referred to as DC Superior Court, is the trial court for the District of Columbia, in the United States. It hears cases involving criminal and civil law, as well as family court, landlor ...

and the

District of Columbia Court of Appeals The District of Columbia Court of Appeals is the highest court of the District of Columbia, in the United States. Established in 1970, it is equivalent to a state supreme court, except that its authority is derived from the United States Congr ...

. Born in

Milwaukee Milwaukee ( ), officially the City of Milwaukee, is both the most populous and most densely populated city in the U.S. state of Wisconsin and the county seat of Milwaukee County. With a population of 577,222 at the 2020 census, Milwaukee is ...

Wisconsin Wisconsin () is a state in the upper Midwestern United States. Wisconsin is the 25th-largest state by total area and the 20th-most populous. It is bordered by Minnesota to the west, Iowa to the southwest, Illinois to the south, Lake M ...

and raised in

Washington, D.C. ) , image_skyline = , image_caption = Clockwise from top left: the Washington Monument and Lincoln Memorial on the National Mall, United States Capitol, Logan Circle, Jefferson Memorial, White House, Adams Morgan, ...

, Belson graduated from

Gonzaga College High School Gonzaga College High School is a private Catholic college-preparatory high school for boys in Washington, D.C. Founded by the Jesuits in 1821 as the Washington Seminary, Gonzaga is named in honor of Aloysius Gonzaga, an Italian saint from the 16 ...

in 1949. In the 1950s, he earned bachelor's and law degrees from

Georgetown University Georgetown University is a private university, private research university in the Georgetown (Washington, D.C.), Georgetown neighborhood of Washington, D.C. Founded by Bishop John Carroll (archbishop of Baltimore), John Carroll in 1789 as Georg ...

where he was a member of the

Philodemic Society The Philodemic Society is a student debating society at Georgetown University founded in 1830 by Father James Ryder, S.J. The Philodemic is among the oldest such societies in the United States, and is the oldest secular student organization at ...

, and worked as a law clerk for prominent D.C. lawyer

Edward Bennett Williams Edward Bennett Williams (May 31, 1920 – August 13, 1988) was an American lawyer who became a high-profile defense lawyer and co-founded the law firm of Williams & Connolly. Williams also owned several professional sports teams, including the Ba ...

and federal appeals judge E. Barrett Prettyman. He spent three years in the

United States Army The United States Army (USA) is the land service branch of the United States Armed Forces. It is one of the eight U.S. uniformed services, and is designated as the Army of the United States in the U.S. Constitution.Article II, section 2, cla ...

as a JAG and then returned to Washington, where he became a partner at Hogan & Hartson. In 1968, President

Lyndon Johnson Lyndon Baines Johnson (; August 27, 1908January 22, 1973), often referred to by his initials LBJ, was an American politician who served as the 36th president of the United States from 1963 to 1969. He had previously served as the 37th vice ...

appointed Belson to the District of Columbia Court of General Sessions, which became the

in 1971. Belson was the first judge to see the Watergate burglars, signing a search warrant and setting bail. After thirteen years on the Superior Court bench, Belson was elevated to the

in 1981. ''

The Washington Post ''The Washington Post'' (also known as the ''Post'' and, informally, ''WaPo'') is an American daily newspaper published in Washington, D.C. It is the most widely circulated newspaper within the Washington metropolitan area and has a large nati ...

'' described him as "a widely respected legal writer and jurist." He was a candidate for chief judge in 1984 and 1988, but the

District of Columbia Judicial Nomination Commission The District of Columbia Judicial Nominating Commission is the judicial nominating commission of Washington D.C. It selects potential judges for the Superior Court of the District of Columbia and the District of Columbia Court of Appeals. Dutie ...

instead chose William C. Pryor and

Judith W. Rogers Judith Ann Wilson Rogers (born July 27, 1939) is a Senior United States circuit judge of the United States Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit. Education and career Born in New York City, Rogers received an Artium Baccalaureus ...

, respectively. Belson took senior status in 1991 and continued to hear cases until retiring from the court in 2017.

References

1931 births Living people Military personnel from Milwaukee Judges of the District of Columbia Court of Appeals Judges of the Superior Court of the District of Columbia Georgetown University Law Center alumni Georgetown University alumni Gonzaga College High School alumni 20th-century American judges 21st-century American judges Philodemic Society members People associated with Hogan Lovells {{US-judge-stub