California Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger has appointed an Indian American lawyer as a judge of the Los Angeles Superior Court, the largest trial court in the United States.
The lawyer, Sanjay T Kumar, took his oath on April 15, becoming one of a handful of South Asian American judges.
Kumar, a 40-year-old Republican, has served as court commissioner in the Los Angeles County Superior Court since 2001, where he was assigned to the criminal court. Previously, he worked as State Deputy Attorney General for 11 years.
A native of Chicago, Kumar is a graduate of Loyola University in that city. He then went to Pepperdine Law School and spent his entire career arguing criminal appeals on behalf of the state before becoming a commissioner.
The judicial panel that reviewed commissioner applications four years ago ranked him as the No 3 candidate among more than 200 who applied for the post.
Welcoming Kumar's appointment, the National Asian Pacific American Bar Association said: "We are delighted to see that Governor Schwarzenegger's recent appointments strive to reflect the diversity of California and hope that our work together will continue to strengthen the judiciary in this way."
