As we wrap up Asian American and Pacific Islander (AAPI) Heritage Month, Cowan Liebowitz & Latman looks back at the history of AAPI judges on the federal bench.
The first federal Asian American
judge, Herbert Young Cho Choy, was confirmed by the U.S. Senate in
1971. His appointment as a Circuit Judge for the U.S. Court of
Appeals for the 9th Circuit was a testament to his
resilience and determination. Judge Choy was not a stranger to
making history. He was the only Asian American in his class at
Harvard Law and became the first Korean American admitted to
practice law in the United States.
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It wouldn't be until 1998,
nearly 30 years later, that an Asian American woman reached the
same milestone. Judge Susan Oki Mollway became the first AAPI woman
nominated to the federal bench. Judge Mollway, having grown up in
Hawaii, was surprised to learn that she was, in fact, the first
Asian woman to serve as an Article III federal judge. She said that
"surely by the 1990s somebody must have been ahead of me
... [b]ut once [it] happened, I became conscious that I was going
to be a role model for many people." Judge Mollway serves
in Honolulu for the U.S. District Court for the District of
Hawaii.
The large majority of AAPI
federal judges have sat and continue to sit in the 9th Circuit,
which covers both Hawaii and California. It was not until 2010,
when Judge Denny Chin served in the 2nd Circuit, that there were
AAPI judges in any circuit other than the 9th.
Since then, progress continues
to be made with more AAPI judges having been nominated to the
federal bench. In 2022, the U.S. Senate confirmed Judge Cindy
Chung, a former federal prosecutor in Pittsburgh, to serve on the
3rd Circuit, making her the first Asian American judge
on the Philadelphia-based court.
Most recently, in 2024, the U.S.
Senate confirmed Judge Jasmine Yoo's appointment to the U.S.
District Court for the Western District of Virginia. This
appointment makes her Virginia's first Asian American federal
judge. Judge Yoo will take the bench in July.
Cowan Liebowitz & Latman celebrates the Judges who have paved the path and looks forward to those who will follow in their footsteps.
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