Abby Abinati (1947- )
Abby Abinanti has been walking in two worlds her whole life. A Yurok Elder now, Abby Abinanti was born in San Francisco in 1947 and grew up in Northern California around the Yurok Indian Reservation along the Klamath River. She received her undergraduate degree in journalism from Humboldt State University (Cal Poly Humboldt). Shortly before her graduation she was directed by three Yurok elder women to take advantage of an available scholarship and obtain her law degree. After her initial dismissal of the idea, she ultimately decided to follow the elder’s advice, and she received her Doctor of Jurisprudence from the University of New Mexico in 1973.
Abinanti became the first Native American woman to pass the California State Bar in 1974. She also became the first Native American to become a state judge in California. Over the years she has served both in state courts and tribal courts, each operating under very different philosophies of justice. Judge Abby, as she is known, approaches the law with an eye on an individual’s responsibility to community; she focuses more on restorative justice and reflecting traditional Native values. Judge Abby, served as a court commissioner for the city and county of San Francisco for over 20 years as well as being a Yurok Tribal Court Judge and Chief Tribal Court Judge. Chief Judge Abinanti currently serves as co-chair of the Tribal Court-State Forum, working to improve proceedings where jurisdiction by the state courts and tribal justice systems overlap.
As such she became the first California tribal person to serve as a judicial officer of the state.