The Hon. John F. McCabe is an associate judge for the Superior Court of the District of Columbia. McCabe was appointed to the bench by former President Barack Obama on July 11, 2011, filling a vacancy created by the resignation of the Hon. James E. Boasberg. He was confirmed by the United States Senate on November 18, 2011.
Prior to his appointment, McCabe was a magistrate for the Family Division of the Superior Court of the District of Columbia, a position to which he was named in 2002. Before that, he spent time as an assistant United States attorney with the Office of the United States Attorney for the District of Columbia (1998 to 2002), handling misdemeanor, felony, appellate, grand jury, and homicide matters.
McCabe earned a bachelor’s degree in economics from Duke University in 1980. He then completed a J.D. at Tulane University School of Law in 1986.
After graduating from law school, McCabe entered into private practice in Atlanta. He worked in that capacity until 1989, at which time he became a staff attorney with the Legal Aid Society of the District of Columbia. Then, in 1990, he joined the District of Columbia Office of the Corporation Counsel, where he held assignments as Chief of the Domestic Violence Section.
Born in New York City, McCabe was raised in New Jersey. He is actively involved with the D.C. Road Runners Club and the D.C. Triathlon Club. When not presiding over legal proceedings, he volunteers as a tutor at the Thurgood Marshall Academy Public Charter School, the Abramson Scholarship Foundation, and the Community Club at New York Avenue Presbyterian Church. He is also a member of a rock and roll and rhythm and blues band.