Who Is Manpreet Monica Singh? First Female Sikh Judge In US

Indian-origin Manpreet Monica Singh has been sworn in as a Harris County judge, making her the first female Sikh judge in the US.

Indian-origin Manpreet Monica Singh has been sworn in as a Harris County judge, becoming the first female Sikh judge in the US.

Singh has worked as a trial lawyer for 20 years, and she has been involved in various civil rights organisations at the local, state, and national levels.

"It means a lot to me because I represent H-town (Houston) the most, so for it to be us, I'm happy for it," Singh said at the oath ceremony.

Singh, who is the first Sikh woman judge in the US, says she is more excited about what her election as a judge means to the Sikh community at large. "I am excited about the community getting the spotlight, and people asking who are the Sikhs and why does it matter," she said.

Who is Manpreet Monica Singh?

• Singh was born and raised in Houston and currently lives in Bellaire with her spouse and two children. Her father immigrated to the US in the early 1970s.
• Singh was raised in Northwest Houston and attended Klein Forest High School, the University of Texas at Austin, and the South Texas College of Law. In 2010, she was a runner-up for Houston Young Lawyers Association Most Outstanding Attorney, and in 2017, she won the South Asian Bar Association Distinguished Member Award.
• She is on the board of directors of the ACLU of Texas, the Texas Lyceum, and the Sikh Coalition, where she also serves as a trustee. She also serves as a chapter representative for the exclusive American Board of Trial Advocates. She is also an ongoing lecturer for the Texas Bar CLE classes, where she was awarded the Texas Diversity Champion Award in 2018.
• Singh also received a nationwide Passion for Excellence Award, graduated from the FBI Citizens Academy, and completed the Leadership Houston program. She also served on Mayor Turner’s transition team and as a liaison with the Department of Homeland Security.
• However, as the daughter of an immigrant, her path to the top was not as easy. She says that when she started her career in law, the profession was dominated by white men, and most of them even had trouble pronouncing her name. Her father and brother also faced discrimination and Singh has always tried to find a resolution and bring about change.
• As a child, she was interested in history, particularly the civil rights movement. She says that it was a big deal for her to see people bring a change. So rather than pursuing engineering or medicine like most children from typical Sikh families in the US at that time, she chose to become a lawyer.

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