Judge Pan: 1st Female APA to the DC Federal Court

By Jennie L. Ilustre

 

Judge Florence Pan recently made history as the first female Asian American appointed to the D.C. federal court. The 100-member U.S. Senate confirmed her nomination on September 23, in a remarkably bipartisan 63 to 30 vote, a testament to their high regard for her.

Pan, a graduate of the University of Pennsylvania and Stanford Law School, was described by Senate Democrats as “a highly qualified jurist.”

President Biden nominated Judge Pan, the Democrats noted, in keeping with his promise “to bring demographic diversity to the bench.”

“Judge Florence Pan, who has ably served our nation’s capital for over a decade on the Superior Court of the District of Columbia, is now the first Asian American woman to serve on the U.S. District Court,” said NAPABA President A.B. Cruz III. “NAPABA applauds the Senate’s historic bipartisan vote confirming this eminently qualified jurist.”

NAPABA is the nation’s largest Asian Pacific American membership organization. It represents the interests of 60,000 attorneys, judges, law professors, and law students. Pan once served as the secretary of NAPABA’s Judicial Council.

NAPABA is a leader in addressing civil rights issues confronting Asian Pacific American 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.”

 

APA Representation

Speaking for the Asian Pacific American Institute for Congressional Studies (APAICS), President & CEO Madalene Xuan-Trang Mielke congratulated Judge Pan “on becoming the first Asian American woman confirmed to serve on the D.C. district court.”

“Judge Pan is well-regarded for both her knowledge as a fair and level-headed jurist, and for her impressive career and commitment to public service,” she said.

She also noted in an email: ”Of the 871 Federal Article III judges in our country, Judge Pan will now be the 39th Asian American and Pacifc Islander to serve. We applaud the Biden-Harris administration and Congress in nominating and confirming Judge Pan, and also urge them to continue to do so for other qualified AAPIs, to adequately represent our growing community.”

APAICS is a national non-partisan, nonprofit 501(c)(3) organization “dedicated to promoting Asian Pacific American participation and representation at all levels of the political process, from community service to elected office.” It aims to “fill the political pipeline for Asian Pacific Americans to pursue public office at the local, state, and federal levels.”

 

High Esteem

The 100-member U.S. Senate is evenly split into 50 Democrats and 50 Republicans, meaning that several Republicans broke party lines to confirm Judge Pan, a testament to their high regard for her and her track record.

Democrats have a one-vote majority in the Senate. Vice President Kamala Harris, in her capacity as Senate president, has a tiebreaking vote.

Democrats in the Senate Judiciary Committee tweeted on September 23: “Confirmed: Florence Pan to the District Court for DC – a highly qualified jurist with a long record of service, and the latest confirmation to meet @POTUS’s promise to bring demographic diversity to the bench. POTUS is the acronym for the President of the United States.

Judge Pan fills the post vacated by Ketanji Brown Jackson. The vacancy occurred when Senate confirmed Jackson to replace Attorney General Merrick Garland on the U.S. Court of Appeals for D.C. Politico reported that should a vacancy emerge. Jackson, who is black, is a potential nominee to the U.S. Supreme Court.

 

Outstanding Career

In 2009, Judge Pan was nominated by President Obama to the Superior Court of the District of Columbia. She was confirmed by unanimous consent by the Senate. She was the first judicial nominee to be confirmed under the Obama Administration, and became the first APA judge to be appointed to any court in the District of Columbia.

NAPABA noted that Judge Pan has “over a decade of judicial experience serving in the Criminal, Family Court, and Civil Divisions, and has presided over more than 650 trials.” Likewise, Judge Pan has twice sat by designation on the D.C. Court of Appeals.

Previously, Judge Pan served for 10 years as an Assistant U.S. attorney in the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Columbia. These include two years as the deputy chief of the appellate division.

Judge Pan also held positions in the Department of the Treasury and at Main Justice, notably in the Office of the Solicitor General. She taught at Georgetown University Law Center and American University, Washington College of Law.

After completing her law studies, she clerked for Ralph K. Winter, Jr. of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit, as well as for Michael B. Mukasey of the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York.