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In a major leap for the Muslim minority in the United States, a Muslim attorney was appointed to a California Superior Court judgeship, to be the first Muslim American on a California bench. \u201cI hope that my appointment serves as an example to others in the Muslim American community, particularly the youth, that our faith and identity need not be an obstacle to our full participation in California’s civic institutions,\u201d Halim Dhanidina told India-West newspaper on Friday, June 8.
\u201cSimilarly, I hope to perform my new responsibilities in a way that demonstrates to society at large that Muslim Americans can serve the community in the pursuit of justice with dignity and honor,\u201d he said.
Dhanidina was appointed to a California Superior Court judgeship May 18 by Governor Jerry Brown.
He will take up his new role June 20, although he has not yet been assigned to a court.
Born in Chicago, Dhanidina is the son of Gujarati parents who emigrated from Tanzania to the US in 1960.
A founding member of the Association of South Asian Prosecutors, Dhanidina spent 14 years as a Los Angeles County deputy district attorney.
He noted that his 14 years as a deputy district attorney and being in court nearly every day have made him intimately familiar with how a courtroom works, including the rules that govern a trial.
The 39-year-old attorney said his many years in the D.A.\u2019s office have imbued him with a sense of \u201cgrace under pressure.\u201d
Dhanidina spent five years prosecuting gang members and three years in the major crimes division, which included several death penalty cases.
\u201cI\u2019ve had some very highly-charged, pressure filled cases,\u201d said Dhanidina.
\u201cGang cases have so many consequences,\u201d he added
Dhanidina earned his law degree at University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA), where he served as the co-chair of the Asian Pacific Islander Law Students Association.
He earned his bachelor\u2019s degree at Pomona College, where he founded the first Muslim Students\u2019 Association.
He currently sits on the Board of Governors of the Asian Pacific American Bar Association Los Angeles.<\/p>\n