Judge Kimberley Baker Guillemet was born and raised in Los Angeles, California. Judge Guillemet has served the community for the entirety of her adult life. Immediately after graduating from Stanford University, she served as a teacher with the Los Angeles Unified School District. After graduating from law school, she served as a public interest attorney where she represented youth with disabilities and youth in the juvenile justice and foster care systems. From there she went on to serve as a Deputy Attorney General for the California Department of Justice where she practiced consumer protection and criminal law under former Attorney General Jerry Brown and, later, former Attorney General Kamala Harris. In 2015, Los Angeles Mayor Eric Garcetti appointed her to launch the city’s first-ever Office of Reentry. As the director of that office, she developed criminal justice reform policies and implemented multi-million dollar programs that created employment, housing, legal advocacy and family reunification opportunities for thousands of Angelenos who were formerly incarcerated. Many of her initiatives live on today.
In 2018, she was appointed to the Los Angeles Superior Court by Governor Jerry Brown. She has served in various criminal, mental health and substance abuse treatment-related assignments and has served as the Assistant Supervising Judge of the Criminal Division (Limited Jurisdiction). Judge Guillemet serves as the Chair of the Los Angeles Superior Court’s Judicial Mentor Program, Chair of the Los Angeles Superior Court’s Mental Health Committee, Vice-Chair of the Los Angeles Superior Court’s Community Outreach Committee, and is a member of the Ad Hoc Research Attorney Committee. She also serves as a facilitator and instructor in the areas of criminal law, behavioral health, implicit bias, imposter phenomenon, equity, inclusion, reconciliation and social justice related issues.
In her spare time, she enjoys writing and motivational speaking. Her debut memoir Black Prep: Life Lessons of a Perpetual Outsider was published in 2021.
Judge Guillemet resides in Los Angeles with her husband and their four daughters.