—Roadrunner Becomes Judge: How a Zoom Meeting Inspired Damian G. 加西亚追求 新路径



A Roadrunner is one of our newest San Bernardino County Superior Court judges.

Damian G. 加西亚 was appointed to the bench in July, adding to a successful career 作为一名律师. When asked how he wanted to be remembered in this new role, 加西亚 replied, “I would just like the perception to be that Judge 加西亚 is a good judge. He’s firm and he’s fair, and he does a good job.”

But most importantly, the 46-year-old Beaumont resident said he wants the public to 了解他的故事.

“I want to be known within the community particularly by going around to different schools and work [places] to break down the barrier by giving disclosure to young people about exactly what a judge does,” 加西亚说,. “There’s a lot of unknowns about 这个职位.”

Born and raised in 雷德兰兹, 加西亚说, he was the first person in his immediate family to go to college – “My parents were just happy that I got my high school diploma,” he said – but 加西亚 set his sights on higher education. However, he did not have the prerequisites to attend a four-year university right after graduation. 相反, he attended a little community college located on the hills of Yucaipa: Crafton Hills 大学. “That’s where I blossomed,” 加西亚 explained. “It was a whole new world. I got to do what I wanted, and I liked the independence.”

After completing his general ed courses, 加西亚 transferred to the University of California, Riverside, where he earned a bachelor’s in political science. 从那里，他走了 on to get a master’s in business with an emphasis in computers at the University of 雷德兰兹.

Originally, 加西亚 had his sights set on becoming a police officer, but his mom and his then-wife thought that career was too dangerous. “At the time I was working in 银行. And while getting my MBA, I had a business law class where I got the highest grade, and it was in that class where my professor asked me, ‘Why don’t you go to 法学院?’”他解释道.

所以，加西亚做到了. Right after graduating from the U of R, he passed the Law School Admission Test (LSAT) and was accepted to the University of La Verne’s 法学院. In 2005, 加西亚 entered the job market with his law degree in hand, though he had no experience 在法律上. But a local firm took a chance and hired 加西亚 as a clerk and, later, a full-time attorney after he passed the bar.

Soon, 加西亚 became partner and was co- leading the firm – Banks, 加西亚 & 詹尼斯, based in Rancho Cucamonga – before a Zoom meeting about how to become a judge changed 他的职业方向.

He learned that San Bernardino County’s population is composed of 40 percent Hispanics, but only 11 percent of the judges serve on the San Bernardino County Superior Court 是拉美裔. 加西亚 took that meeting as his new calling. “After that, I knew I wanted to help diversify the bench,” he said.

Balancing a career, fatherhood, and his desire to serve the community may seem a lot for a judge to juggle, but don’t doubt 加西亚. He has a plan to succeed, and that plan includes coming back to 九州体育平台入口 to serve the 大学.

“Crafton was a gift, a springboard for those – a lot of folks like me – who don’t have the right grades or the financial resources right off the bat to go to a four-year,” 加西亚说,. “But once I got settled in, I joined some different organizations and thrived, and I want to do some outreach to inspire [others] by showing them my example 我是怎么来到这里的.” He recently served on the 九州体育平台入口 Foundation 董事会.