Currently a judge for the Superior Court of California, County of Los Angeles, Shellie Samuels brings to her position 25 years of experience at the Los Angeles County District Attorney’s Office. During her tenure as a deputy district attorney for the Hardcore Gang Division, she prosecuted approximately 50 murder cases and in 1993 became the first w...
Currently a judge for the Superior Court of California, County of Los Angeles, Shellie Samuels brings to her position 25 years of experience at the Los Angeles County District Attorney’s Office. During her tenure as a deputy district attorney for the Hardcore Gang Division, she prosecuted approximately 50 murder cases and in 1993 became the first woman to receive designation as County Prosecutor of the Year from the Los Angeles County Association of Deputy District Attorneys. Shellie Samuels later served the District Attorney’s Office in positions including grand jury legal advisor, prosecutor for the Major Crimes Unit, and calendar deputy.
In 2010, Judge Samuels earned appointment as a Los Angeles County Superior Court justice from then-governor Arnold Schwarzenegger. Serving at a courthouse in Van Nuys, California, she administers a high-volume misdemeanor calendar comprising 35 to 50 cases per day. She has also presided over more than 50 misdemeanor criminal trials since taking the bench.
At the University of California, Los Aneles, Shellie Samuels earned a BA in history and a teaching credential. After teaching high school history, government, and English classes for the Fresno Unified School District, she attended Loyola Law School, where she participated in the International Law Moot Court and graduated in the top 15 percent of her class.