Associate Justice 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 currently serves on the Appellate Process Task Force formed by the Chief Justice to improve efficiency in our appellate justice system. He is an active member of the California Judges Association, the Asian Pacific Bar Association of the South Bay, and the Law Related Education Committee of the Santa Clara County Bar Association. He has also been a lecturer and speaker at various bar association seminars, law schools and local elementary, junior high and high schools. He has served on the Board of Directors of the Sentencing Alternatives Program in San Jose since 1985.
He has been active in the community with Little League Baseball, the American Youth Soccer Association, Mount Hermon Association and his church. He is married and has one son.
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