California Appoints First South Asian Judge, Congrats Vibhav Mittal!

Vibhav Mittal Becomes First South Asian Judge Of California Court

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Indian American attorney Vibhav Mittal has been appointed as the first Judge of South Asian descent on the Superior Court of California, County of Orange. Mittal, 39, was sworn in on September 10th by Assistant Presiding Judge Maria Hernandez after his appointment by California Governor Gavin Newsom. Here are a few things you should definitely know about him.

Accomplished Best Under 40s Award

Judge Mittal won the National Asian Pacific American Bar Association’s Best Under 40 Award. The award honors members in the Asian American Pacific Islander legal community under the age of 40 who have achieved prominence in their fields and have demonstrated a strong commitment to the Asian American Pacific Islander community.

Mittal’s Achievements

During his ten-year tenure as a federal prosecutor, Judge Mittal tried 13 criminal trials to verdict, including a groundbreaking public-corruption matter where a state court clerk took over $400,000 in bribes to resolve over 1,000 cases pending in traffic court.

According to the South Asian Bar Association of Southern California (SABA-SC), he also tried a $24 million Ponzi scheme fraud case, and other drug trafficking and gun-related cases.

Mittal also supervised six prosecutors, argued numerous cases before the Ninth Circuit of Court of Appeals, served as an instructor for trial advocacy and member of the Office’s hiring and diversity committees.

Coaching Students with his Exemplary Knowledge & Example

Since 2014, he has been the lead attorney coach for Segerstrom High School’s mock trial team, educating dozens of high school students in Santa Ana on criminal law and courtroom advocacy. He has also been a lecturer for the University of California, Irvine School of Law, encouraging and mentoring law students to pursue careers for public interest.

An Inspiration For AAPI Community

From Yorba Linda, California, Judge Mittal is the first native-born American in his family and the son of Indian immigrants. He has also dedicated efforts to serving the Asian American Pacific Islander community during his career.

We hope he continues to progress and motivate other South Asians in the US.