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Judge Joann Willis Newton
Category: Judges
Joanne Willis Newton operates her own law practice, Law Offices of Joanne Willis Newton, APC, in San Diego and specializes in federal Indian law and tribal law.
She is also a panel attorney for Appellate Defenders, Inc. and represents minors and indigent parents in juvenile dependency appeals before the California Court of Appeals. After serving as the first Chief Judge of the San Manuel Tribal Court, she was appointed in April 2010 as a Pro Tempore Judge of the Intertribal Court of Southern California.
Before going out on her own in 2005, she was employed for seven years with California Indian Legal Services. Prior to that she worked for several years in Canada as a consultant on matters of Aboriginal law to a number of First Nations’ entities and federal agencies. She served on the Board of the California Indian Law Association for five years in the positions of President, Vice-President and Secretary.
Ms. Willis Newton earned an LL.M from the University of San Diego (1998) and a LL.B. from the University of Ottawa School of Law (1992). She is admitted to practice in the following jurisdictions: California (1999), Quebec (1998) and Ontario (1995). She and her two daughters are members of the Cree Nation of Chisasibi, located in northern Quebec.