Robert Daniel Okun (born January 6, 1960) is an associate 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 ...

Education and career

Okun earned his

Bachelor of Arts Bachelor of arts (BA or AB; from the Latin ', ', or ') is a bachelor's degree awarded for an undergraduate program in the arts, or, in some cases, other disciplines. A Bachelor of Arts degree course is generally completed in three or four years ...

, ‘’

magna cum laude Latin honors are a system of Latin phrases used in some colleges and universities to indicate the level of distinction with which an academic degree has been earned. The system is primarily used in the United States. It is also used in some So ...

,’’ from the

University of Pennsylvania The University of Pennsylvania (also known as Penn or UPenn) is a private research university in Philadelphia. It is the fourth-oldest institution of higher education in the United States and is ranked among the highest-regarded universitie ...

in 1981, his

Juris Doctor The Juris Doctor (J.D. or JD), also known as Doctor of Jurisprudence (J.D., JD, D.Jur., or DJur), is a graduate-entry professional degree in law and one of several Doctor of Law degrees. The J.D. is the standard degree obtained to practice law ...

, ‘’

cum laude Latin honors are a system of Latin phrases used in some colleges and universities to indicate the level of distinction with which an academic degree has been earned. The system is primarily used in the United States. It is also used in some Sou ...

,’’ from the

Harvard Law School Harvard Law School (Harvard Law or HLS) is the law school of Harvard University, a private research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Founded in 1817, it is the oldest continuously operating law school in the United States. Each class ...

in 1984. After graduating, he clerked for Judge Frank E. Schwelb of the Superior Court of the District of Columbia. He had a career in

public service A public service is any service intended to address specific needs pertaining to the aggregate members of a community. Public services are available to people within a government jurisdiction as provided directly through public sector agencies ...

working as an attorney for various government departments and later served as Chief of the Special Proceedings Division of the U.S. Attorney's Office for the District of Columbia.

D.C. superior court service

President

Barack Obama Barack Hussein Obama II ( ; born August 4, 1961) is an American politician who served as the 44th president of the United States from 2009 to 2017. A member of the Democratic Party, Obama was the first African-American president of the U ...

nominated Okun on September 20, 2012, to a 15-year term as an associate judge of the

. On November 20, 2012, the

Senate Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs The United States Senate Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs is the chief oversight committee of the United States Senate. It has jurisdiction over matters related to the Department of Homeland Security and other homeland s ...

held a hearing on his nomination. His nomination expired on January 3, 2013, following the

Adjournment sine die Adjournment ''sine die'' (from Latin "without a day") is the conclusion of a meeting by a deliberative assembly, such as a legislature or organizational board, without setting a day to reconvene. The assembly can reconvene, either in its presen ...

of the United States Congress. On March 19, 2013, President

renominated Okun to the same court to the seat vacated by Linda Kay Davis. On May 22, 2013, the Committee reported his nomination favorably to the Senate floor and on the following day, May 23, 2013, the full

Senate A senate is a deliberative assembly, often the upper house or chamber of a bicameral legislature. The name comes from the ancient Roman Senate (Latin: ''Senatus''), so-called as an assembly of the senior (Latin: ''senex'' meaning "the el ...

confirmed his nomination by

voice vote In parliamentary procedure, a voice vote (from the Latin ''viva voce'', meaning "live voice") or acclamation is a voting method in deliberative assemblies (such as legislatures) in which a group vote is taken on a topic or motion by responding vo ...

. He was sworn in on November 8, 2013.

Notable rulings

In 2020, Okun signed off on the early release of Darrell Moore as part of D.C’s Incarnation Reduction Amendment Act despite Moore not completing a number of the Act’s metrics, including earning a high school equivalency diploma behind bars, completing vocational training and having housing and a job lined up. Moore was convicted of first degree murder and sentenced to 66 years to life. Moore was released after serving 26 years and would soon after be indicted for the murder of Julius Hayes. In 2021, Okun signed off on the early release of Michael Garrett as part of

COVID-19 Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) is a contagious disease caused by a virus, the severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). The first known case was COVID-19 pandemic in Hubei, identified in Wuhan, China, in December ...

-based compassionate release in March. Garrett, of no fixed address, was arrested and charged with assault with intent to kill for the murder of a 71-year-old woman in December 2021.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Okun, Robert 1960 births Living people 21st-century American judges Harvard Law School alumni Judges of the Superior Court of the District of Columbia People from Great Neck, New York University of Pennsylvania alumni