First Sikh judge pro tem sworn in California’s Kern County

Washington, Jan 26 (IANS/WISHAVWARTA) Navraj Rai, a 32-year-old attorney, has been sworn in as the first Sikh judge pro tempore in California’s Kern County, marking a milestone for the local Sikh community and the county’s court system.

Rai was sworn in last week as a judge pro tem to the Superior Court of California in Kern County. He is the first Sikh to hold the position in the county’s history.

A judge pro tem is a private attorney appointed by the court to handle specific cases. The role is designed to ease heavy court calendars and speed up case resolutions.

Rai said the significance of the moment became clear during the ceremony. “At that moment when you see the courtroom kind of flooded, that’s when it hit me, like, OK, I think this moment is bigger than what I realized,” Rai said.

He said his focus will be on public trust. “I think the thing that excites me the most is interacting with the community and kind of making sure that trust and established faith in the system maintains and stays that way,” Rai was quoted as saying by local KGET news.

Rai is one of 23 attorneys serving in Kern County’s temporary judges program. He is expected to begin his work in traffic court.

Kern County currently has 39 judges and eight commissioners. One judgeship remains vacant.

The county continues to face staffing pressures. A 2022 assessment by the Judicial Council found that Kern County needed 11 additional judges to meet its workload demands.

Bakersfield Vice Mayor Manpreet Kaur said Rai’s appointment is a proud moment for the Sikh community. Kaur attended middle school with Rai.

“We attended Earl Warren Junior High School together, which, of course, another legend from our community that rose to the highest judicial position and power within our country,” Kaur said.

She said Rai’s swearing-in reflects the promise of opportunity for local families. “It’s a tremendous honor to see someone who grew up in our community here in Kern County and the city of Bakersfield now rise to some of the highest positions of leadership locally,” Kaur said.

“And so the Sikh community is incredibly proud to see this next generation accomplishing exactly what you know everyone hopes The American Dream allows for local families to do,” she added.

Rai is the son of immigrant parents from India. He was born in Los Angeles before his family moved to Bakersfield.

He attended Stockdale High School and later studied at the University of California, Davis. He earned his law degree in 2018 from the University of the Pacific.

Rai said his path to law began with a childhood experience. His parents lost their business when he was young.

“It was at that point in time when my parents were giving me these foreclosure notices in the sixth grade and trying to ask me to decipher them, that I realized that I refused to allow this to happen to anybody else,” Rai said.

“And I think that that’s kind of what catapulted me into making sure that something like this doesn’t ever happen again,” he said.

Rai said the response to his appointment has been widespread. “The amount of support that I have received as a result of this has been overwhelming from other countries, other nations,” he said.

He said people from around the world have reached out. “Individuals are writing and sending messages and my phone is just blown up like entirely,” Rai said.

Rai said he felt the community’s pride during the ceremony. “I was able to look into the audience and I could feel the immense sense of pride that the community had,” he was quoted as saying by local ABC23 news channel.

“And I think at that point in time, I finally felt like, okay, this moment is bigger than what I thought it was going to be, that this is more of a moment for the community than it is for me,” he said.

Rai said the appointment sends a broader message. “I think that this sends a message to not just Sikhs in the community, not just to Punjabis in the community,” he said.

“But I think, to every person in Kern County, that this is the place to grow, and this is the place to thrive, and that nothing is impossible,” Rai added.

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