Judge Maame Ewusi-Mensah Frimpong was appointed to the Central District of California by President Joe Biden in 2022.
Frimpong was born in 1976 in Los Angeles and raised in Los Angeles County, the daughter of Ghanaian immigrants. She graduated valedictorian from The Webb Schools in Claremont, then earned her undergraduate degree magna cum laude from Harvard and her law degree from Yale Law School. She clerked for Judge Stephen Reinhardt of the Ninth Circuit, practiced at Morrison & Foerster, and served in multiple roles at the U.S. Department of Justice including as an Assistant U.S. Attorney. Governor Jerry Brown appointed her to the Los Angeles County Superior Court in 2015. Before her federal confirmation, she was President and CEO of Public Counsel.
Education
- Yale Law School, J.D., 2001
- Harvard College, B.A., 1997 (magna cum laude)
Career
- Law clerk, Judge Stephen Reinhardt, U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit, 2001–2002
- Associate, Morrison & Foerster, 2002–2007
- Roles in U.S. Department of Justice, Civil Division, 2007–2015 (including Assistant U.S. Attorney, Central District of California, 2012–2015)
- Special Assistant Attorney General, California (appointed by Attorney General Kamala Harris), 2015
- Vice President, General Counsel, Millennium Challenge Corporation, 2015
- Judge, Superior Court of California, Los Angeles County, 2015–2022 (appointed by Governor Jerry Brown)
- U.S. District Judge, Central District of California, 2022–present