The Hon. Moxila A. Upadhyaya is a magistrate judge of the United States District Court for the District of Columbia. She was appointed to the bench on September 7, 2022.
She received a bachelor’s degree in journalism from the Missouri School of Journalism and a B.A. in Latin from the University of Missouri. Upadhyaya then completed a J.D. at American University, Washington College of Law. While a law student, she completed trial work, representing clients in the Criminal Justice Clinic and sat as a member of the Administrative Law Review.
After graduating from law school, Upadhyaya began her legal career as a law clerk to the Hon. Eric T. Washington with the District of Columbia Court of Appeals. Following her clerkship, she joined Venable, LLP in Washington, D.C., where she handled complex commercial and administrative litigation. Then, in 2011, she briefly left the firm to serve as the first law clerk to the Hon. Robert L. Wilkins with the Superior Court for the District of Columbia before rejoining her practice the following year. She remained with the firm, where she was elevated to partner, until her appointment to the bench.
Upadhyaya also maintained a pro bono practice, representing indigent clients in post-conviction proceedings, including in challenges under the District of Columbia Innocence Protection Act and the District of Columbia Incarceration Reduction Amendment Act. For her efforts, she received the Defender of Innocence Award from the Mid-Atlantic Innocence Project (2009) and the Pro Bono Lawyer of the Year award from Venable (2006).
Upadhyaya served on the Superior Court’s Committee on Grievances and is a former co-chair of the Litigation Section Steering Committee of the District of Columbia Bar. She was also involved with the Board of Directors of the District of Columbia Access to Justice Foundation and the Council for Court Excellence.
Upadhyaya is a Fellow of the American Bar Foundation.
She was born in Gujarat, India, and raised near Kansas City, Missouri.