Great news from the judicial front. Judge Lucy Koh was just confirmed by the US Senate as the first Korean American federal judge in history and the first Asian American judge for the Northern District of California, which includes San Francisco!

Since Obama has been in office, we have almost doubled the number of active federal judges of AAPI heritage from a mere eight in January 2009, including Jacqueline Nguyen, the first Vietnamese American federal judge, Dolly Gee, the first Chinese American woman appointed to the federal bench, and Denny Chin's elevation to the 2nd Circuit, making him the ONLY active AAPI federal appellate judge, only the fifth in history, and the first outside the 9th Circuit.  

More nominations are pending, including Judge Ed Chen for the Northern District of California, Edmond Chang for the Northern District of Illinois (first AAPI nominated to a court covered by the 7th Circuit), Leslie Kobayashi for the District of Hawaii, and Goodwin Liu for the 9th Circuit Court of Appeals.

(Hat tip to APAP Board Member Ramey Ko for this information.)

Here is the press release from Senator Barbara Boxer's office.

BOXER PRAISES SENATE CONFIRMATION OF SANTA CLARA COUNTY JUDGE LUCY KOH TO U.S. DISTRICT COURT

Boxer Recommended Judge Koh’s Nomination to the White House

Washington, D.C. – U.S. Senator Barbara Boxer today lauded the Senate’s historic confirmation of Santa Clara County Superior Court Judge Lucy Koh as a U.S. District Court Judge for the Northern District of California.  The Senate voted 90-0 to confirm Judge Koh, whom Senator Boxer recommended to President Obama following a thorough interview and vetting process.

Senator Boxer said, “Judge Koh made history today, becoming the first Korean-American U.S. District Court judge in the country. Judge Koh’s sharp legal mind – and her background as a former federal prosecutor, a litigator in private practice and a Superior Court judge – will make her an outstanding addition to the federal bench.”

Judge Koh currently serves on the Santa Clara County Superior Court. She has experience as a litigation partner at McDermott, Will and Emery in Palo Alto and as an Assistant U.S. Attorney for the Central District of California. Previously, she served as a Special Assistant to the U.S. Deputy Attorney General in Washington, D.C. and as Special Counsel for the U.S. Department of Justice.  

According to the Federal Judicial Center, just over 1 percent of the nation’s 875 federal judges are Asian-American. 

Over her career, Senator Boxer has recommended a number of Asian-Americans for high-ranking positions on the federal bench and as U.S. Marshals and U.S Attorneys in California. They include U.S. District Judge Anthony Ishii of the Eastern District; U.S. District Court Judges George King and Dolly Gee of the Central District; U.S. Attorney Michael Yamaguchi of the Northern District of California; and U.S. Marshal Jiro “Jerry” Enomoto of the Eastern District.