Today's DJ has Shama Mesiwala charted unlikely path to appellate bench -- Judge Mesiwala, a former appellate court research attorney, spent 13 years toiling behind the scenes on the court where she is now a justice.
Shama H. Mesiwala made the most of a dead-end job. When she became a justice of the 3rd District Court of Appeal, several news outlets noted she was the first South Asian and Muslim American woman on any appellate court in the United States. But during a recent interview in her office looking out on the California State Capitol, she highlighted a different kind of judicial diversity. Recent governors have made a point of naming judges from specialties that have not traditionally been a fast track to the bench, especially public defenders, and family law attorneys. But Mesiwala comes from another neglected specialty: appellate court research attorneys. She spent 13 years toiling behind the scenes on the court where she is now a justice.
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