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Judge Soana Moala was born in Tonga and came to New Zealand when she was 10 years old. She grew up in South Auckland. She has a large family with 15 siblings.
She completed her law degree at Auckland University in 2001. After graduating, she worked as a Crown Prosecutor at Meredith Connell for 10 years. She prosecuted serious criminal trials in the District Court and High Court.
In 2012 Judge Moala left the Crown to set up a small criminal law firm Moala Merrick in Manukau. She worked as a defence lawyer and youth advocate for four years.
In September 2016 she was appointed to the District Court bench. She was the first Tongan female to be appointed as a judge in New Zealand. She has a jury warrant and also sits in the Youth Court at the Manukau District Court.
Judge Moala is a proud South Aucklander, who still lives and works in South Auckland. She has two children, Lucia who is 20 years old and Viliami who is 10 years old.