Profile of Amy K. Guerra
Justice Amy K. Guerra was born in Coalinga, California in 1979. She graduated from Kingsburg High School in 1997 and received a Bachelor of Arts in Anthropology from California State University, Fresno in 2001. Justice Guerra served two years in the AmeriCorps *VISTA program before starting law school; she received her Juris Doctor degree in 2007 from the San Joaquin College of Law (SJCL). In law school, she served as the Executive Editor of the San Joaquin Agricultural Law Review from 2006-2007 and served on the Emeritus Board until 2008. As a student, she received the Witkin Award of Excellence in Evidence, Best Brief in the Hopper Moot Court Competition (an appellate advocacy event hosted by SJCL), was selected to represent SJCL at the annual Roger J. Traynor Moot Court competition as Trainer in 2007 and received numerous merit-based scholarship awards during her tenure as a student.
Before her appointment to the Court of Appeal, she served as a judge in the Superior Court of Fresno County from 2018-2026. While at the Fresno Superior Court, she was assigned to Family Law, Felony Domestic Violence, Trial Court, and oversaw Collaborative Courts as a Supervising Judge. Judge Guerra was voted by her peers to serve as a member of the court’s Executive Committee from 2024-2026. She served on numerous committees with the Superior Court including the Domestic Violence Roundtable, the Jury Oversight Committee, the Pro Tem Oversight Committee, the Alternate Dispute Resolution Committee, the Technology Committee, the COVID-19 Technology and COVID-19 Family Law Emergency Local Rule committees and participated on a team for Care Court implementation. Prior to her elevation, Judge Guerra served as Chair of the Fresno County Judicial Mentorship program from 2024-2026 and was a member of the committee since 2022.
Prior to being elevated, Judge Guerra served on a pro tem assignment at the Fifth District Court of Appeal from October 2025 to January 2026. As a member of the judiciary, Judge Guerra served on statewide committees for the Judicial Council of California, which included the Criminal Law Advisory Committee, Access and Fairness Advisory Committee, and Information Technology Advisory Committee), as well as various other subcommittees and work groups. She has served on the California Judges Association’s (CJA) Court Administration and Technology Committee, the Family Law Policy Committee and currently serves on the CJA Appellate Committee. As a judge, she served on the Editorial Board for CJA’s publication The Bench from 2019-2020 and served as a Co-Editor from 2019-2024.
As a member of the judiciary, Judge Guerra has presented on issues related to the intersection of Criminal Justice and Behavioral Health at the American Psychiatric Association Annual Conference, the Collaborative Courts Association Conference and California Judicial Education and Research related trainings. She was selected by Judicial Council of California to attend the Judges and Psychiatrists Leadership Institute and has participated in training attorney volunteers at Project First Step from 2021-2023.
In her capacity as a judge, she was invited to serve on the Steering Committee for Aligning Health and Safety California Project, a multi-agency project involving the Council of State Governments Justice Center (CSG), California Health and Human Services Agency (HHS), Council of Criminal Justice and Behavioral Health (CCJBH). Justice Guerra has been actively involved in Judicial Mentorship at the state level, serving on the Executive Committee of the California Judicial Mentorship Program from 2024-2026, and currently serves on the Executive Committee of the California Judicial Mentorship – Appellate Program.
Prior to her appointment to the bench in 2018, she was the Chief Defense Attorney of the Alternate Defense Office (2014-2018), where she was employed since 2007. During that time and as a law student, she wrote and edited for Central California Life Magazine and other local publications; she had two articles published in California Lawyer. She is a graduate of Leadership Fresno, Class XVII (2011) and was selected as a member of Fresno’s 40 Under 40 class in 2012.
As an attorney, she was actively involved in her community, serving on several non-partisan and organizational committees: Community Public Safety Advisory Board [CPSAB] (civic appointment, City of Fresno, 2017 to 2018); Victim Offender Resolution Program Advisory Board, (2017); Advisory Board (City of Fresno, civic appointment, 2009-2016, Fresno County Alcohol and Drug Advisory Board, (civic appointment, 2014); Board Member, Fresno Community Development Institution (2013); Office of Independent Review Selection Committee, (City of Fresno, civic appointment, 2009); Alumni Representative, Board of Trustees, San Joaquin College of Law (2013); San Joaquin College of Law Student Ambassador (2011-2013); Board Member, Creative Fresno, (2006-2009).