SB family law judge Dina Amani sworn in

San Bernardino Superior Judge Dina Amani took her oath of judicial office April 11, accompanied by 17 family members and 18 judges.

Amani spent six years as a San Bernardino commissioner before being elevated to the bench by Gov. Gavin Newsom on March 17.

She owned Farhat Law Firm, from 2014 to 2019, and was an associate at Ewaniszyk Law Firm from 2005 to 2019 and an associate at Rosin & Associates from 2003 to 2004. 

Former San Bernardino Superior Presiding Judge Michael Sachs recounted the 24 years of professional experience he had with Amani—first as opposing counsel, then as mentors. He met her as chief deputy county counsel, when Amani represented a client injured in a collision with a sheriff’s deputy. The county was at fault—and the county paid up, Sachs said. After Sachs was appointed to a Victorville judgeship, he would see Amani in court. Their interactions continued when they both started working in the Rancho Cucamonga courthouse. Amani told Sachs in 2018, when he was on the commissioner selection committee, that she was interested in being a judge. In 2020, when Sachs made the Inland Counties Judicial Mentorship Program, he took her on as his own mentee.

Amani would continue applying to a judicial seat, and Sachs was “pleased that the governor came to his senses after a bit,” and appointed her.

“I am glad to have been part of the process. It was worth it. Welcome to you and your family. You’ll have a great time,” Sachs said.

Assistant Presiding Juvenile Judge Lynn Poncin said she was amazed when she observed Amani volunteering as a pro tem judge—sometimes driving 90 miles from Corona to Barstow to do so.

The biggest complaint people have from pro se litigants is that they don’t feel heard—but Amani heard them, Poncin said.

“She made sure she was connecting with everyone who came before her,” Poncin said. 

Poncin wrote letter after letter to justices on the California Supreme Court, asking them to consider Amani’s judicial application. It’s like your application goes into a black hole, but it finally paid off.

“When you got that phone call, I was so happy for you. I am honored to be your colleague,” Poncin said.

San Bernardino Superior Judge Khymberli Apaloo said that she was impressed by Amani’s calmness in the chaos of family law, and has been determined to help her as an attorney.

“For all of us who were in family law, whether we were an attorney or a judge, remember how that was? It was like drinking from the fire hose through a straw, and the fire hose would rip the straw away from your mouth, and you would have to go find another straw and start all over. So I committed myself that, what I wanted to do was make sure that whatever questions you had, if I could help, I would. We had an opportunity to speak. I was so impressed, because what I saw in those conversations was how calm you are, how patient. You had such excellent questions, right on target,” Apaloo said.

Commissioner Shannon Suber, who worked with Amani for six years in private practice, praised her work ethic.

“We were private attorneys in the high desert during a recession. She pivoted and learned bankruptcy. She pivoted and learned family. She pivoted and learned probate. She did what she did, bankruptcy and corporate formation, from the beginning to the end. She learned anything she could to keep us going, anything she could do to help us,” Suber said.

As a commissioner, Suber praised Amani’s diligence and devotion to her family, saying their cars are often the last in the parking lot.

“You exemplify everything in a judicial officer that the court could ask for,” Suber said.

Amani said she was humbled and full of gratitude to be sworn in. She told her family that they are the heart of everything she does, and thanked Sachs and Apaloo for mentoring her. 

“I look forward to serving before you with honor, integrity and compassion,” Amani said.

“I promise to uphold the law, and to serve with the greatest humility and consciousness," she ended.

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