Georgetown Law

Judge Pasichow was sworn in as a D.C. Superior Court Judge on August 25, 2008. Since her appointment, Judge Pasichow has presided over criminal and civil (protection order) cases while assigned to the Domestic Violence Division, felony cases in her assignment to the Criminal Division, juvenile criminal matters in her rotation to the Family Division, criminal cases referred for diversion to the Mental Health Court and is currently presiding over Civil cases while assigned to the Civil Division.

Judge Pasichow was born in Queens, New York. She attended public schools in Oceanside, Long Island, New York. She relocated to Washington, D.C., in 1973, to pursue her bachelor’s degree at The George Washington University where she graduated with Distinction in 1977 and was entered into the membership of Phi Beta Kappa. After receiving her Juris Doctor degree in 1981, Judge Pasichow worked in the area of occupational health for administrative law judges on the Benefits Review Board at the United States Department of Labor.

Judge Pasichow turned her sights to the D.C. Superior Court where she served as a judicial law clerk to the Honorable Sylvia Bacon of the Superior Court of the District of Columbia, an experience that changed the path of her legal career and eventually brought her into the D.C. Superior Court as a litigator.

In 1986, Judge Pasichow was sworn in as an Assistant United States Attorney in the Office of the United States Attorney for the District of Columbia, where she remained until her appointment as Associate Judge. She served in the Appellate Division early in her career, in all sections of the Superior Court Division and handled a variety of federal cases for the Transnational Major Crimes and Federal Major Crimes Sections of the Office’s Criminal Division.

During her tenure, Judge Pasichow served as Deputy Chief of the Homicide Section, Chief of the Violent Crime Section, District Chief of the Community Prosecution-Major Crimes Section for the Second and Fourth Districts, and Special Counsel for Professional Development in the Superior Court Division. In those roles, she managed line prosecutors and their caseloads, worked to advance the Office’s presence in and participation with community crime-solving efforts, assisted with the professional development and trial skills of prosecutors practicing before the D.C. Superior Court. Judge Pasichow also instructed Assistant United States Attorneys across the country in areas of trial advocacy, criminal procedure, and evidence, at the United States Department of Justice’s National Advocacy Center.

Judge Pasichow is on the faculty of the National Institute for Trial Advocacy (NITA), serving as a faculty member since 1998. She teaches basic trial advocacy and is Co-Director of NITA’s next level advanced trial advocacy course for attorneys. Judge Pasichow was honored with the National Institute for Trial Advocacy’s Justin D. Simon Award for Excellence in Teaching.