A New Judge’s Journey

Career Path with

Judge Stephanie Jamieson

As early as she can remember, Stephanie Jamieson’s favorite thing to do was to solve puzzles. Jigsaw puzzles, logic puzzles, crossword puzzles, any new puzzle she could get her hands on, she loved. “That would be the aspect of my personality that I think has been most defining as far as who I am as a lawyer and then becoming a judge. My curiosity and love of solving. My parents said that I was destined to be a lawyer—my mom especially—but it wasn’t on my radar.” It wasn’t until Jamieson was ready to graduate pre-med that she decided to make a shift into law.

1.

Jamieson was actually on track to be a doctor when one of her UC Berkeley professors brought up the idea of law school after watching Jamieson play the role of an attorney in a mock trial. “My professor saw my cross-examination and pulled me aside after class and suggested that I should consider law school. She explained that I came alive as a mock attorney in a way that she hadn’t seen before.” After some initial hesitations, Jamieson began to consider changing course and decided to take the LSAT. “I found the LSAT was just a lot more fun than the MCAT. It’s full of logic puzzles and argumentation, so I felt very at home taking the LSAT. I got my scores back, and I scored 100% on the logic puzzle sections. I hadn’t missed a single question and realized that maybe law school was the right path for me.”

2.

After the LSAT, Jamieson completed her Juris Doctorate at Santa Clara University in 2010. When it was time to start a master’s program, she decided on Cal Western’s LL.M. Trial Advocacy program. “It was by far the most defining element of my law school career. If it weren’t for that master’s program, I don’t think my career would have gone the direction that it did. I don’t imagine I would have had the successes that I’ve had.” Jamieson found inspiration and expertise at Cal Western with professors such as Mario Conte and Justin Brooks of the Innocence Project. She also found tremendous value in learning directly from the many federal defenders or former federal defenders who had experience in court. “The key was the faculty. They cared passionately about why they did their work in federal defense. They cared passionately about their clients and the causes that they were fighting for and ensuring that the next generation of criminal defense attorneys was up to snuff.”

“ Remember every single interaction you have is an interaction that could impact your career down the road. Be professional, be polite, be kind, be generous—to your clients, to your colleagues, to your staff, to every single person that you engage with as an attorney. Because those

relationships—they matter. ” - Judge Stephanie Jamieson ‘11

3.

After graduation, Jamieson began applying to Public Defender’s offices but quickly found that job prospects were few and far between amid a recession. Jamieson decided to wait out the remainder of the downturn and opened her practice in 2011 in the Central Valley. “That’s where my family is, and it’s also the community that raised me. When it came time to decide where I wanted to give back and where I wanted to reinvest my education, I knew that I would be back in the Central Valley. That was the only place that I wanted to be working and living.” Jamieson worked on contract assignments for established attorneys, assisted them on trials, and took on overflow cases alongside independent referrals. “It was an exciting and scary way to start a career in criminal defense, but also highly educational. It taught me that public defense is where I wanted to be since accepting people’s money for criminal defense didn’t seem fair. Many people hadn’t asked to be where they were, and so it was vital for me to get into a public defender’s office where I could truly give back to the community.”

4.

In 2013, Jamieson joined the Merced County Public Defender’s Office and worked there for the next nine years. “Working as a public defender lays the groundwork for an incredible amount of experience very quickly and also provides the opportunity to engage with a subset of the community that otherwise most people aren’t interacting with. I had the opportunity to learn about people, to learn their stories while engaging and assisting them in their cases.” Jamieson says the job also provided a unique opportunity to work with a diverse community. “There’s a large immigrant community, including Hispanic communities, Hmong communities, and Sikh communities. You end up working with people from many different walks of life with rich cultural backgrounds and vast sociodemographic experiences. The experience was unique and something I wouldn’t trade for anything.”

5.

In 2021, Jamieson felt it was time to give back to and serve her community more broadly. She applied to the bench on Martin Luther King, Jr. Day. Jamieson went through a lengthy application process full of highs and lows before being sworn in as the youngest judge to join the Merced County Superior Court in 2022 — almost one year from the day she initially applied. “When I received the call from the Governor’s Office, I was elated but also very aware of responsibility and change that just occurred.”

6.

Since being appointed, Jamieson continues to see this next evolution of her career as a series of lessons and puzzles. “I’m learning more about the law than I’ve learned since law school. It feels like another adventure. I’m able to see the law in a more balanced way without the burden of advocating for one side or the other,” says Jamieson. “It’s exciting to take a more holistic approach to the law and see it from all perspectives.”