The Honorable Maureen Duffy-Lewis is an elected judge of the Los Angeles Superior Court since 1987. Judge Duffy-Lewis began her career on the bench when she was appointed to the L.A. Municipal Court on July 8, 1987, by California Governor George Deukmejian—one of his youngest appointments.
Assigned since 2004 to Dept. 38 at the Stanley Mosk Central Civil Courthouse as a Trial Judge Unlimited General Jurisdiction Civil Jury and Court Trials, Judge Duffy-Lewis manages approximately 450-500 cases at anytime, handling such complex matters as employment, intellectual property, medical malpractice, construction defects and contract/financial disputes encompassing commercial to entertainment. Additionally, she supervises all Water Master cases for the San Gabriel Water District, approving all board appointments, as well as modifications and rule changes to contracts with state and local private enterprise.
Judge Duffy-Lewis was elected by the Judges of the Court to the Executive Committee (Governing Body of the Superior Court) in 2002, 2003, 2016 and 2017.
Prior to her downtown Los Angeles assignments, she was assigned to the San Fernando and Van Nuys courthouses, hearing criminal and civil cases. she spent eight years at the Clara Shortridge Foltz Criminal Justice Center, Dept. 131, Central Criminal Courthouse for the County of Los Angeles, where she handled all aspects of pretrial, trial and post-trial sentencing issues in regard to major felony cases involving murder, robbery, kidnapping, gangs and drugs.
Prior to becoming a judge, she was a Deputy District Attorney and a successful private attorney. During her time as a deputy district attorney she completely over 100 trials to conclusion. Additionally, she actively consulted on developing statutory language for the Code of Civil Procedure regarding the practice of osteopathic medicine in the State of California. The Statutes of California now safeguard the practice and scope of osteopathic medicine. Prior to that, Judge Duffy-Lewis was a gubernatorial appointment to the Board of Osteopathic Medical Examiner’s (1986)
Judge Duffy-Lewis is a two-time awardee of The Fulbright, 2009-2010 and again in 2013. She taught law, mediation and ethics at Sophia University in Sofia Bulgaria. Judge Duffy-Lewis also taught Judges at Judicial College in both Bulgaria and California. She assisted in establishing the court-related mediation programs for the Bulgarian court system and continues to consult and lecture on the subject. She also assists in developing teaching material for the Bulgarian Center for Judicial Education.
