NAPABA Applauds the Confirmation of Judge Anne Hwang to the U.S. District Court for the Central District of California

For Immediate Release:
Date: December 3, 2024
Contact:
Rahat N. Babar, Deputy Executive Director

WASHINGTON – Yesterday, the United States Senate confirmed Judge Anne Hwang to the U.S. District Court for the Central District of California.

“NAPABA applauds the confirmation of Judge Anne Hwang,” said Thy Bui, President of NAPABA. “An active member of the community, Judge Hwang is a 2019 APABA Los Angeles Trailblazer in the Law awardee. She will serve in a District with nearly one million AANHPI residents.”  

In 2018, former governor Jerry Brown appointed Judge Hwang to the Los Angeles County Superior Court. Prior to her appointment, Judge Hwang served as a Deputy Federal Public Defender in the Office of the Federal Public Defender for the Central District of California from 2006 to 2018, becoming Chief Deputy Federal Public Defender in 2018. Before entering public service, Hwang was an associate at Irell and Manella LLP from 2002 to 2006. Hwang received a Bachelor of Arts from Cornell University and a Juris Doctor from the University of Southern California School of Law.

“Today, 41 AANHPI Article III judges have been confirmed during the Biden Administration, and 71 AANHPI active Article III judges are serving,” said Priya Purandare, Executive Director of NAPABA. “NAPABA thanks President Biden for nominating Judge Anne Hwang and Senator Padilla and Senator Butler for supporting her nomination.”

The National Asian Pacific American Bar Association (NAPABA) represents the interests of over 80,000 Asian Pacific American (APA) legal professionals and nearly 90 national, state, and local APA bar associations. NAPABA is a leader in addressing civil rights issues confronting Asian American, Native Hawaiian, and Pacific Islander communities. Through its national network, NAPABA provides a strong voice for increased diversity of the federal and state judiciaries, advocates for equal opportunity in the workplace, works to eliminate hate crimes and anti-immigrant sentiment, and promotes the professional development of people of all backgrounds in the legal profession.

Appellate Divison, Second Judicial Department Historic Sitting – Tuesday, December 10, 2024

Presiding Justice Hector D. LaSalle takes great pleasure in announcing that on Tuesday, December 10, 2024, oral arguments at the Appellate Division, Second Department will be heard for the first time by a panel of Justices including two Asian-American jurists. Associate Justices Lillian Wan and Phillip Hom will join Justices Mark C. Dillon and Robert J. Miller for this historic session.

Justice Wan was designated as an Associate Justice of the Appellate Division, Second Department, from her seat as a Justice of the Supreme Court, Kings County, by Governor Kathy Hochul on May 25, 2022. Justice Hom was designated as an Associate Justice of the Court from his seat as a Justice of the Supreme Court, Queens County, by Governor Hochul on August 14, 2024.

For those who wish to remotely view the proceedings before the Court on December 10, 2024, they will be live-streamed and may be accessed by clicking on the “Oral Argument Live” link on the Court’s homepage, or by clicking here: https://cmi.nycourts.gov/ad2/ad2.php.