Susan Amini

Last updated
Susan Amini
Judge of the King County Superior Court
Incumbent
Assumed office
May 13, 2013
Personal details
Born Tehran, Iran
NationalityAmerican
Spouse
Mo Habib
​
​
(m. 1980;died 2016)​
Children Cyrus Habib
Alma mater University of Tehran
University of Maryland School of Law
ProfessionJudge

Susan Habib Amini is a judge of the King County Superior Court, where she has served on the bench since 2013. She was appointed by Governor Jay Inslee as one of his first judicial appointments. [1]

Contents

She is the first judge of Middle Eastern descent to serve in Washington State. [2] [3]

Early life and education

Amini was born in Tehran, Iran, where she attended Catholic school and then obtained her undergraduate degree in political science from the University of Tehran. [4] She has stated that she developed a passion for the U.S. legal system by watching Perry Mason episodes on television. [5] Once she graduated from university, and as the Islamic Revolution took over Iran, Amini married Mo Habib and moved with him to Maryland. Their son, future Washington State Lieutenant Governor Cyrus Habib was born in 1981. [6] Amini obtained her law degree from the University of Maryland School of Law, after which the family moved to Washington State. [6]

Career

Amini practiced law for twenty-three years before being appointed to the bench, first as a public defender and then, beginning in 1994, in private practice at the Amini Law Firm, where she handled family law, immigration, civil, and criminal cases. She represented clients from over fifty countries of origin. [2] [6]

She also served for many years as a Judge Pro Tempore in courts throughout the King County region. [1]

Judicial service

Amini has served on the bench since 2013, presiding over cases ranging from criminal felony trials to multi-million dollar civil disputes.

Notable decisions

In 2018, she upheld historic tenant rights legislation passed by the City of Seattle in the face of litigation brought by landlords. [7]

In 2019, Amini ruled that one of the state's most widely used child abuse experts was unqualified, leading to a review of dozens of cases in which children had wrongfully been removed from their families. [8] [9]

Personal life

Amini's advocacy for her son, Cyrus Habib, who became blind due to childhood cancer, often featured prominently in his political speeches and news coverage. [10] [11]

She and her husband, engineer and investor Mo Habib, were married in 1980. He died from cancer in 2016. [12] In 2020, she established the Mo Habib Memorial Foundation to celebrate his life and legacy. [12]

In 2022, the foundation entered into a partnership with the University of Washington to establish the Mo Habib Translation Prize in Persian Literature, the first such prize in the country. [13]

Amini also sits on the board of the Seattle Symphony Orchestra and the King County Law Library, and on the St. James Cathedral Parish Finance Council. [14] [15] [16]

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References

  1. 1 2 "Governor Inslee appoints Susan Amini to King County Superior Court | Governor Jay Inslee". governor.wa.gov. Retrieved 2024-01-15.
  2. 1 2 "Judge Susan Amini - Superior Court - King County, Washington".
  3. ↑ "Susan Amini appointed King County Judge". Northwest Asian Weekly. 2013-05-13. Retrieved 2024-01-15.
  4. ↑ "PAAIA Congratulates Susan Amini on her Appointment to King County Superior Court". PAAIA. 2013-05-07. Retrieved 2024-01-15.
  5. ↑ "NW Lawyer - Jul-Aug 2013 (wabarnews.org)" (PDF).
  6. 1 2 3 webview (2022-03-02). "SUSAN: Judging from the bench". Refugee Women's Alliance. Retrieved 2024-01-15.
  7. ↑ "Tenant Advocates Score a Big Win in Court, Still Want More Protections". Seattle Met. Retrieved 2024-01-15.
  8. ↑ "Tacoma doctor removed from expert role in diagnosing child abuse amid questions about her credibility". king5.com. 2021-03-25. Retrieved 2024-01-15.
  9. ↑ Binion, Andrew. "Abuse charges dropped in Kitsap case that relied on the expertise of ex-Mary Bridge doctor". Kitsap Sun. Retrieved 2024-01-15.
  10. ↑ Bruni, Frank (April 11, 2020). "Opinion | A Politician Takes a Sledgehammer to His Own Ego". The New York Times– via NYTimes.com.
  11. ↑ "Meet 2018 Superhero Cyrus Habib". ParentMap. Retrieved 2024-01-15.
  12. 1 2 Foundation, Mo Habib Memorial. "Mo Habib Memorial Foundation". Mo Habib Memorial Foundation. Retrieved 2024-01-15.
  13. ↑ "Call for Translations: MELC Launches Mo Habib Translation Prize in Persian Literature | Middle Eastern Languages and Cultures | University of Washington". melc.washington.edu. Retrieved 2024-01-15.
  14. ↑ "Parish Finance Council". www.stjames-cathedral.org. Retrieved 2024-01-15.
  15. ↑ pllkc (2017-05-25). "The Library Welcomes Two New Board of Trustees Members". King County Law Library. Retrieved 2024-01-15.
  16. ↑ "contact | Seattle Symphony". www.seattlesymphony.org. Retrieved 2024-01-15.
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