More promising news on the judicial diversity front - President Obama has nominated Judge Jacqueline H Nguyen of the Federal District Court of California's Central District to the 9th Circuit United States Court of Appeals. If approved, Judge Nguyen would be the first Asian American female judge on the Court of Appeals, and only the second Asian American overall! However, given all of the obstructive and often-racist stonewalling of President Obama's judicial nominees by Republican Senators, who knows what will happen. Here's to hoping that Judge Nguyen is quickly confirmed.

CAPAC Statement Below

WASHINGTON, D.C. — U.S. Rep. Judy Chu (CA-32), Chairwoman of the Congressional Asian Pacific American Caucus (CAPAC), commended President Barack Obama today on his decision to nominate Judge Jacqueline H. Nguyen to serve on the United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit.

“I thank the president on his inspired choice of Judge Nguyen for the Ninth Circuit Court,” said Rep. Chu. “Judge Nguyen has a proven track record as an exceptionally knowledgeable and impartial judge through her distinguished service in the federal district court for the Central District in California, and prior to that as a California state court judge for seven years. I am confident that she will continue serving the citizens of the United States with distinction on the federal appellate court.”

If confirmed, Judge Nguyen would become the first Asian Pacific American female in the history of the United States to serve as a federal appellate court judge and only the second Asian Pacific American federal appellate court judge currently in active service nationwide.

“The nomination of Judge Nguyen is long overdue and should be confirmed expeditiously,” said Rep. Chu, noting that there is currently only one active Asian Pacific American federal appellate court judge out of over 175 active federal appellate court judges in the United States. “There has never been an Asian Pacific American female appellate court judge, and there are currently no APA judges in the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals. This, despite the fact that Asian Pacific Americans constitute approximately 10 percent of the population under the jurisdiction of the Ninth Circuit.”

Photo Courtesy of http://departments.oxy.edu/pr/newsletter/index20091204.html

About me: Hey, I'm Dayne, and I'm a recent graduate of Pomona College. In college, I was active in AAPI student organizing as well as community work. I'm currently based out of Washington, D.C., and I'll be posting two to three times a week with the latest in progressive and AAPI political news and policy analysis, as well as spotlight features on young community leaders. Leave comments and share with friends! Follow me on twitter @ dayne4progress