Kelly Higashi

Kelly Higashi (born February 1, 1962) is an associate judge of the Superior Court of the District of Columbia. In February 2018, Higashi was nominated by President Donald Trump to a 15-year term as an associate judge on the Superior Court of the District of Columbia. She was confirmed by the U.S. Senate on July 12, 2018, and her investiture was on October 26, 2018.

Higashi received her Bachelor of Arts from the University of Pennsylvania and her Juris Doctor from the George Washington University Law School. After law school, she clerked for Frederick Weisberg of the Superior Court of the District of Columbia from 1992 to 1994.

Prior to becoming a judge, Higashi served from 1994 to 2000 as an Assistant United States Attorney, from 2000 to 2003 as deputy chief and later chief of the Misdemeanor Trials Section of the Superior Court Division, and from 2003 to 2018 as deputy chief and later chief of the Sex Offense and Domestic Violence Section at the United States Attorney's Office in the District of Columbia. She investigated and tried criminal cases involving domestic violence and sexual assault cases with adult and child victims. Higashi received the Assistant United States Attorneys Association Harold Sullivan Award in 2016. She also received several United States Attorney's Awards for Special Achievement, the United States Attorney's Justice for Victims of Crime Award, and the United States Attorney's Award for Excellence in Management.