The United States of America president, Joe Biden, has nominated a black woman to serve in one of California’s federal courts. If confirmed, Maame Ewusi-Mensah Frimpong will be the only black woman to serve in California’s four district courts.
These courts have only seven female judges working for them, and should Maame’s nomination go through, she will join as the eighth female judge in the entire USA.
Maame has been nominated to work in the U.S. District Court for the Central District of California. But who is this phenomenal black woman? Let’s find out.
Maame’s Origin
Maame was born in 1975 in Los Angele County, California, to a Ghanaian immigrant family. Her parents Theodore Ewusi-Mensah and Kwaku Ewusi-Mensah are both immigrants from Ghana.
Education
Maame holds a Bachelor of Arts degree from Harvard University earned in 1997. She also has a Juris Doctor from Yale Law School.
Work Experience
After earning her Arts degree in 1997, Maame worked as a high school teacher in a public school in Ghana. She, however, left a few years later to pursue further studies in law.
After earning her J.D. in 2001, Maame joined Hon. Stephen Reinhardt, the U.S. District Court Justice for the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals as a clerk. She worked with him for almost two years before joining Morrison and Foerster LLP law firm as an associate.
Maame worked with this law firm for approximately five years, where she concentrated on civil and intellectual property litigation. From here, Maame left California and joined the U.S. Department of Justice in Washington, D.C.,
She worked here as a trial attorney for two years handling cases revolving around government contracts, government personnel, and international trade disputes. In 2009, Maame climbed the ladder to become counsel to the U.S. Assistant Attorney General Tony West.
She worked with him till 2011, when she was promoted to serve as the deputy assistant Attorney General of the DOJ’s Consumer Protection Branch. In 2014 Maame once again left this post to serve as counsel to the then U.S. Attorney General Eric H. Holder, Jr.
In 2015 Maame took a break from the Department of Justice and joined the humanitarian world under The Millennium Challenge Corporation in Washington D.C. She served in different capacities, such as a corporate secretary, general counsel, and vice president.
Governor Jerry Brown appointed Maame to serve as a judge of the Los Angeles County Superior Court in 2015. to date this is her current role.