Article III Asian-American Judges by President

Under the Constitution, the President appoints federal judges with the “advice and consent” of the Senate. The President usually consults senators or other elected officials concerning candidates for vacancies on the federal courts. The President’s power to appoint new federal judges is not the judiciary’s only interaction with the executive branch.

 

Order of Appointment

PRESIDENT RICHARD M. NIXON 1969–1974
JudgeCourtCommissionAll Art. III CourtsCircuit CourtsDistrict CourtsFemale JudgesStatus
Herbert Young Cho ChoyNinth Circuit4/23/197111--Deceased 3/10/04
Shiro KashiwaCourt of Claims**1/3/197222--Retired 1/7/86
PRESIDENT GERALD FORD 1974–1977
JudgeCourtCommissionAll Art. III CourtsCircuit CourtsDistrict CourtsFemale JudgesStatus
Dick Yin WongHawaii4/25/19753-1-Deceased 12/26/78
Robert Mitsuhiro TakasugiCalifornia (CD)5/7/19764-2-Deceased 8/4/09

PRESIDENT JIMMY CARTER 1977–1981

JudgeCourtCommissionAll Art. III CourtsCircuit CourtsDistrict CourtsFemale JudgesStatus
Thomas TangNinth Circuit10/12/197753--Deceased 7/18/95
Atsushi Wallace TashimaCalifornia (CD)6/30/19806-3-Elevated 1/8/96
Walter Meheula HeenHawaiiNo commission7-4-Not confirmed 12/16/81
PRESIDENT RONALD REAGAN 1981–1989
JudgeCourtCommissionAll Art. III CourtsCircuit CourtsDistrict CourtsFemale JudgesStatus
Harold Michael FongHawaii6/21/19828-5-Deceased 4/20/95
Ronald S.W. LewCalifornia (CD)5/7/19879-6-Senior Status 9/19/06
PRESIDENT WILLIAM J. CLINTON 1993–2001
JudgeCourtCommissionAll Art. III CourtsCircuit CourtsDistrict CourtsFemale JudgesStatus
Denny ChinNew York (SD)8/10/199410-7-Elevated 4/26/10
George H. KingCalifornia (CD)6/30/199511-8-Terminated due to Retirement 1/6/17
Atsushi Wallace TashimaNinth Circuit1/4/1996+4--Senior Status 6/30/04
Anthony W. IshiiCalifornia (ED)10/14/199712-9-Senior Status 10/31/12
Susan Oki MollwayHawaii6/23/199813-101Senior Status 11/6/15
PRESIDENT GEORGE W. BUSH 2001–2009
JudgeCourtCommissionAll Art. III CourtsCircuit CourtsDistrict CourtsFemale JudgesStatus
Dana M. SabrawCalifornia (SD)9/26/200314-11-Active
George H. WuCalifornia (CD)4/17/200715-12-Active
Amul Roger ThaparKentucky (ED)1/4/200816-13-Elevated 5/30/17
Kiyo A. MatsumotoNew York (ED)7/22/200817-142Active

PRESIDENT BARACK OBAMA 2009–2017

JudgeCourtCommissionAll Art. III CourtsCircuit CourtsDistrict CourtsFemale JudgesStatus
Jacqueline H. NguyenCalifornia (CD)12/4/200918-153Elevated 5/15/12
Dolly M. GeeCalifornia (CD)1/4/201019-164Active
Denny ChinSecond Circuit4/23/2010+5--Active
Lucy H. KohCalifornia (ND)6/9/201020-175Active
Edmond E-Min ChangIllinois (ND)12/20/201021-18-Active
Leslie E. KobayashiHawaii12/22/201022-196Active
Edward M. ChenCalifornia (ND)5/12/201123-20-Active
Cathy BissoonPennsylvania (WD)10/19/201124-217Active
Miranda Mai DuNevada3/30/201225-228Active
John Zihun LeeIllinois (ND)5/8/201226-23-Active
Jacqueline Hong-Ngoc NguyenNinth Circuit5/14/2012+6-+Active
Lorna G. SchofieldNew York (SD)12/13/201227-249Active
Pamela K. Chen ±New York (ED)3/5/201328-2510Active
Derrick K. WatsonHawaii4/23/201329-26-Active
Sri SrinivasanDC Circuit5/24/2013307--Active
Raymond T. ChenFederal Circuit8/2/2013318--Active
Vince ChhabriaCalifornia (ND)3/7/201432-27-Active
Manish S. ShahIllinois (ND)5/1/201433-28-Active
Theodore D. ChuangMaryland5/2/201434-29-Active
Indira TalwaniMassachusetts5/12/201435-3011Active
Amit Priyavadan MehtaDistrict of Columbia12/19/201436-31-Active
Jennifer Choe GrovesU.S. Court of International Trade
6/8/2016
37--12Active
PRESIDENT DONALD J. TRUMP 2017–
JudgeCourtCommissionAll Art. III CourtsCircuit CourtsDistrict CourtsFemale JudgesStatus
Amul Roger Thapar
Sixth Circuit
5/25/2017
+9--Active
James C. HoFifth Circuit
1/4/2018
-Active
Karen Gren ScholerTexas (ND)
3/6/2018
13Active
John B. NalbandianSixth Circuit
5/17/2018
-Active
Jill Aiko OtakeHawaii8/3/2018
14Active
Neomi Jehangir RaoD.C. Circuit3/18/2019
15Active
Michael Hun ParkSecond Circuit
5/13/2019
-Active
Kenneth Kiyul LeeNinth Circuit
6/12/2019
-Active
Nicholas J. RanjanPennsylvania (WD)
7/12/2019
-Active
Martha Maria PacoldIllinois (ND)
8/16/2019
16Active
Patrick Joseph BumatayNinth Circuit
12/12/2019
-Active
Anuraag Hari Singhal
Florida (SD)
12/20/2019
-Active
Diane GujaratiNew York (ED)9/18/202017Active

Legend

CD - Central DistrictED - Eastern DistrictMD - Middle DistrictND - Northern DistrictSD - Southern District
WD - Western District(+) Previously appointed to federal court
(±) LGBTQ+
* Reorganized as the Court of International Trade in 1980** Transferred to the Federal Circuit in 1982*** Current Chief Judge

Data is based on information collected through May 7, 2020. To learn more about the federal courts go to www.fjc.gov.

Active Article III Judges

Click below to view a complete list of Article III judges based on race or ethnicity.


African-American

Asian-American
& Pacific Islander

Hispanic/Latino

LGBT

Native American

Presidential
Appointment

Appointments by President

African-American Asian-American & Pacific Islander
 
Native American Hispanic/Latino
 
LGBT

 

President Donald J. Trump

As of October 18, 2017, after about nine months into the Trump administration, it appears that, of the 60 nominees, only five are non-white and only 11 are female. Six of President Trump’s judicial nominees have been confirmed by the Senate, including one justice to the Supreme Court, four judges to the Courts of Appeals and two judges to districts court. All seven judges are men, six of which are white and one of Asian-American descent.

 

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