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Historic! Indian American Shama Hakim Mesiwala Confirmed as Associate Justice of California Third District Court of Appeal

Historic! Indian American Shama Hakim Mesiwala Confirmed as Associate Justice of California Third District Court of Appeal

  • She is the first Muslim-American woman to serve on any court of appeal in the United States.

Indian American Shama Hakim Mesiwala was confirmed earlier this month as Associate Justice of the California Third District Court of Appeal. She becomes the first South Asian American female and Muslim American female on any appellate court in the country. 

The 48-year-old Democrat was confirmed on Feb. 14, by the Commission on Judicial Appointments, which consists of Chief Justice Tani Cantil-Sakauye, Attorney General Rob Bonta and Robie, as reported by The Mercury News. She was nominated late last year by Gov. Gavin Newsom to fill the vacancy created by the retirement of Justice Coleman A. Blease. 

Mesiwala, who was born in Stanford in 1974 and raised in Cupertino, has served as a Sacramento County Superior Court judge since 2017. She is the first South Asian American appointed to a judgeship in Sacramento County. Before that, she served in the Third District Court of Appeal from 2004 to 2017. 

She has also worked as a senior judicial attorney for Senior Presiding Justice Ronald B. Robie; as a staff attorney at the Central California Appellate; and an attorney at the Office of the Federal Public Defender, Eastern District of California. 

Co-founder of the South Asian Bar Association of Sacramento, she has been an adjunct professor since 2013, at the UC Davis School of Law, where she earned her degree.

The following is AI generated profile of Shama Hakim Mesiwala:

Shama Hakim Mesiwala is an accomplished legal professional and the first Muslim-American woman to serve on any court of appeal in the United States. She currently holds the position of Associate Justice of the California Third District Court of Appeal, to which she was appointed in October 2019.

Born and raised in Los Angeles, California, Mesiwala graduated from the University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA) with a Bachelor of Arts degree in English and a minor in Political Science. She went on to attend the University of Southern California (USC) Gould School of Law, where she earned her Juris Doctor degree.

After law school, Mesiwala worked as a judicial law clerk for the Honorable Ferdinand F. Fernandez of the United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit. She then worked as an associate attorney at the law firm of Gibson, Dunn & Crutcher LLP in Los Angeles, where she practiced appellate law and complex commercial litigation. She later joined the California Department of Justice, where she worked as a deputy attorney general in the Criminal Appeals, Writs, and Trials Section.

In 2018, Mesiwala was appointed as a judge of the Sacramento Superior Court by Governor Jerry Brown. During her time on the superior court, she presided over a variety of criminal and civil cases, including complex commercial disputes, employment cases, and environmental cases.

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In her current role as an Associate Justice of the California Third District Court of Appeal, Mesiwala hears appeals from trial courts in a 23-county area in northern and central California. She is known for her thoughtful and thorough opinions, her attention to detail, and her ability to apply complex legal principles to real-world situations.

Throughout her career, Mesiwala has been recognized for her legal expertise and her commitment to public service. She has been involved in a variety of community organizations and activities, including serving on the board of directors of the South Asian Bar Association of North America and the Center for Fathers and Families, a non-profit organization that provides services and support to families in the Sacramento area.

Mesiwala is widely regarded as a trailblazer in the legal profession, particularly for women and minorities. Her appointment to the appellate court is a testament to the values of diversity, inclusion, and equality that are at the heart of the American legal system.

In addition to her legal work, Mesiwala is known for her personal qualities of integrity, compassion, and professionalism. She is a mentor to many young lawyers and law students, and she is committed to promoting diversity and inclusion in the legal profession.

Overall, Shama Hakim Mesiwala is a highly respected legal professional and public servant who has made significant contributions to the legal profession and the community at large. Her work as an attorney, judge, and appellate justice is marked by a steadfast dedication to ensuring that everyone is treated fairly and that the law is applied justly. She is an inspiration to all who seek to make a difference in the world through their legal work, their public service, and their personal qualities of integrity, compassion, and professionalism.

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