Judge Russell F. Canan was appointed to the Superior Court of the District of Columbia in 1993 by President William Jefferson Clinton.
Judge Canan was born in New York City and attended public schools in the area. After graduating from college he worked as a health education worker at which time he assisted in setting up health clinics for migrant farm workers. He obtained his law degree from Antioch School of Law in the District of Columbia.
Judge Canan served as a law clerk to the late John D. Fauntleroy, an Associate Judge of the Superior Court of the District of Columbia. He also worked for the Legal Assistance Branch of the Superior Court. In 1977, Judge Canan and classmates from Antioch School of Law opened the law offices of Canan, Burns & O’Toole. His practice focused on litigation primarily in the criminal defense and civil rights fields.
Three judges share their own stories in their book “Tough Cases: Judges Tell the Stories of Some of the Hardest Decisions They’ve Ever Made."
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