California Courts of Appeal --3rd Appellate District
Career Highlights: Elevated to 3rd District Court of Appeal by Gov. Gavin Newsom, 2023; adjunct professor, UC Davis School of Law, 2013-present; Superior Court judge, Sacramento County, 2017-23; Superior Court Commissioner, Sacramento County, 2017; chambers attorney to 3rd District Court of Appeal Justice Ronald B. Robie, 2006-17; central staff attorney, 3rd District Court of Appeal, 2004-06; staff attorney, Central California Appellate Program, 1999-2004; attorney, Office of the Federal Public Defender, Eastern District of California, 1999.
Law School: UC Davis School of Law, 1998
Career Highlights: Elevated to 3rd District Court of Appeal by Gov. Gavin Newsom, 2023; adjunct professor, UC Davis School of Law, 2013-present; Superior Court judge, Sacramento County, 2017-23; Superior Court Commissioner, Sacramento County, 2017; chambers attorney to 3rd District Court of Appeal Justice Ronald B. Robie, 2006-17; central staff attorney, 3rd District Court of Appeal, 2004-06; staff attorney, Central California Appellate Program, 1999-2004; attorney, Office of the Federal Public Defender, Eastern District of California, 1999.
Law School: UC Davis School of Law, 1998
SACRAMENTO--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 specialt... (continued)
