Judge Tam Nomoto Schumann

Biography

Judge Tam Nomoto Schumann, Ret., J.D., is an Assigned Judge and Adjunct Lecturer at the University of California, Irvine Law School and School of Social Ecology. She received her J.D. from the University of California Berkeley School of Law in 1973 and served as an Orange County Superior Court Judge from 1997 to 2013, following 18 years on the Central Orange County Municipal Court. After retiring from the bench, she worked as a private mediator and arbitrator before returning to judicial service as an assigned judge in 2017. She has taught constitutional law and criminal procedure at UCI since 1987.

Judge Schumann has held numerous leadership positions in judicial organizations focused on ethics and education. She served as President of the California Judges Association (2019-2020) and President of the American Judges Association (2008-2009). She chaired the Ethics Committee of the National Association of Women Judges from 2009 to 2019 and has served on the California Judges Association Ethics Committee since 2011, including as Chair in 2021-2022. She currently serves as Editor in Chief of the CJA Bench Magazine and has been a member of the faculty for the College of Judicial Education and Research since 1986. In 2020, she presented a paper on judicial ethics to Pope Francis at the Vatican and another presentation to the Sarajevo judiciary.

Judge Schumann has developed law school wellness and ethics curricula that have been presented at law schools throughout California and is working to expand these programs nationally. She co-created and serves as faculty for Law School Wellness I, II, and III at UCI Law and has developed workshops on wellness, ethics, and advocacy. She serves as a qualifying ethics instructor and has been a guest lecturer at institutions including UC Davis Veterinary School and Fort Lewis College in Colorado. In 2017, she became the first American appointed as Director of Urasenke Tankokai Orange County by the Japanese headquarters of the Urasenke School of Chado.

Education

• J.D., University of California Berkeley School of Law, 1973
• B.A. in History, University of California, Berkeley, 1970

Distinctions

• Director of Urasenke Tankokai Orange County (first American to be appointed to this position by the Japanese Headquarters), 2017
• Phi Beta Kappa, 1970
• Graduated with Distinction in General Scholarship, University of California, Berkeley, 1970
• Recognition as Pioneer in Judicial Administration Education by Judicial Council, 2003
• American Jurisprudence Award for Future Interests, 1973
• American Jurisprudence Award for Remedies, 1973
• Excellency in Teaching Award, University of California Irvine, 1998
• Woman of the Year Award, Organization of Chinese-American Women, 1988
• Orange County Trial Lawyers Association, Municipal Court Judge of the Year, 1996
• Judge of the Year, Orange County Women Lawyers' Association, 2001