Nathan D. Mihara

Associate Justice Nathan D. Mihara received his B.A. degree in economics from the University of Washington, Seattle, Washington in 1972. In 1975 he received his Juris Doctor degree from Hastings College of Law, San Francisco, California. He was admitted to the California Bar and to practice before the federal Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals in 1976. He became a member of the bar of the United States Supreme Court in 1980.

He had a private law practice in Menlo Park until he joined the California State Attorney General's office as a Deputy Attorney General in San Francisco. There he served in the criminal division prosecuting appeals and writs on the State's behalf until 1985. In June 1985, Governor George Deukmejian appointed Justice Mihara to the Santa Clara County Municipal Court. During his term there, he presided over misdemeanor arraignments, pretrials, trials, law and motion, and civil trials and settlement conferences.

In October 1988, Governor Deukmejian appointed him to the Santa Clara County Superior Court. His assignments in that court included, civil trials and settlement conferences, law and motion calendars, criminal pretrials and trials, family law as well as juvenile and probate matters. Justice Mihara was later elevated by Governor Wilson to be an Associate Justice on the State Court of Appeal, Sixth Appellate District in 1993 where he reviews both criminal and civil appeals and writ matters.

Justice Mihara has served on the Appellate Process Task Force and the Appellate Advisory Committee for the Judicial Council of California. He is an active member of the California Judges Association, the California Asian American Judges Association, and the Asian Pacific Bar Association of Silicon Valley. He has co-chaired the Santa Clara County Bar Association's Appellate Section and has served on its Law Related Education Committee and Minority Access Committee. He has served on the Board of Directors of the Sentencing Alternatives Program in San Jose since 1985. Justice Mihara has also been a lecturer and moderator for many judicial education programs, bar association seminars and local high schools.

He has been active in his community with Little League Baseball, the American Youth Soccer Association and his church. He is married and has one son.