Jacqueline Nguyen | |
|---|---|
Nguyễn Thị Hồng Ngọc | |
 | |
| Judge of theUnited States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit | |
| Assumed office May 14, 2012 | |
| Appointed by | Barack Obama |
| Preceded by | Seat established |
| Judge of theUnited States District Court for the Central District of California | |
| In office December 4, 2009 – May 14, 2012 | |
| Appointed by | Barack Obama |
| Preceded by | Nora Margaret Manella |
| Succeeded by | Fernando M. Olguin |
| Personal details | |
| Born | Hong-Ngoc Thi Nguyen (1965-05-25)May 25, 1965 (age 60) |
| Spouse | Pio Kim |
| Education | Occidental College (BA) University of California, Los Angeles (JD) |
Jacqueline Hong-Ngoc Nguyen (Vietnamese:Nguyễn Hồng Ngọc; born May 25, 1965) is an American lawyer who serves as aUnited States circuit judge of theUnited States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit. She previously served as a United States district judge of theUnited States District Court for the Central District of California from 2009 to 2012 and as a California superior court judge from 2002 to 2009.
Born Hong-Ngoc Thi Nguyen (Vietnamese:Nguyễn Thị Hồng Ngọc) inDa Lat,Vietnam, her father was aSouth Vietnamese Army major who had worked closely with U.S. intelligence officials during the Vietnam War, she has 6 siblings. Nguyen moved to the United States when she was 10 as a refugee, after theFall of Saigon in 1975.[1] She wasairlifted with her family toCamp Pendleton where they lived in atent city shelter and were provided support for several months before being resettled.[1] They ultimately settled in theLa Crescenta-Montrose area of Los Angeles.[2][3] Her family later opened a doughnut shop inGlendale, California, where Nguyen worked everyday after school and the weekends to help her parents.[4][5][6]
Nguyen earned herBachelor of Arts degree in English in 1987 fromOccidental College.[1][2][7] She then earned aJuris Doctor fromUCLA School of Law in 1991.[7][5]
From 1991 until 1995, Nguyen worked in private law practice, specializing in civil litigation as a litigation associate at the firm Musick, Peeler & Garrett.[1][7] In particular, she focused on commercial disputes, intellectual property and construction-defect cases.[2] From 1995 until August 2002, Nguyen served as anAssistant United States Attorney in theCentral District of California afederal trial court. She joined the U.S. Attorney's office in its Public Corruption and Government Fraud section, overseeingUnited States Department of Defense fraud prosecutions.[1] In her final years in the U.S. Attorney's office, Nguyen also held the role of Deputy Chief of the General Crimes division, and trained new prosecutors in the Central District.[1][7] In August 2002, Nguyen was appointed by then-California Gov.Gray Davis to be aSuperior Court of Los Angeles County judge.[7] Nguyen became the first-ever Vietnamese-American woman appointed to the Los Angeles County Superior Court.[1] She had been based inAlhambra, California.[8][5]
On July 31, 2009, PresidentBarack Obama nominated Nguyen to a seat on theUnited States District Court for the Central District of California,[7] vacated by JudgeNora Margaret Manella, who resigned in 2006 to join theCalifornia Courts of Appeal. SenatorDianne Feinstein had recommended Nguyen's nomination.[8] On September 23, 2009, Nguyen appeared before theSenate Judiciary Committee, which reported her nomination on October 15, 2009.[9] On December 1, 2009, theUnited States Senate confirmed Nguyen by a 97–0 vote.[10][11] She received her commission on December 4, 2009.[5] On May 15, 2012, her service on the District Court terminated due to her elevation to the court of appeals.[5]
On September 22, 2011, President Obama nominated Nguyen to theUnited States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit.[12] The Senate confirmed Nguyen by a 91–3 vote on May 7, 2012.[13] She received her commission on May 14, 2012.[5]She is the first Asian-American female to serve as a federal appellate judge.[14] She is also the first Vietnamese-American federal judge, and the first Asian-Pacific American female federal judge in California.[15] In 2012, she was speculated to be acandidate for the Supreme Court.[16]In February 2016,The New York Times identified her as a potential nominee to replace JusticeAntonin Scalia.[17]
 | Thisbiography of a living personrelies too much onreferences toprimary sources. Please help by addingsecondary or tertiary sources. Contentious material about living persons that is unsourced or poorly sourcedmust be removed immediately, especially if potentiallylibelous or harmful. Find sources: "Jacqueline Nguyen" – news ·newspapers ·books ·scholar ·JSTOR(September 2022) (Learn how and when to remove this message) |
On September 3, 2015, Nguyen granted relief to Edin Avendano-Hernandez, a transgender Mexican, because she showed adequate proof that she would likely face torture if deported back to Mexico. Nguyen was joined byHarry Pregerson andBarrington D. Parker Jr.[18]
On December 29, 2017, Nguyen partially dissented whenStephen Reinhardt andHarry Pregerson blocked an execution due to the mental health of the criminal defendant.[19]
On June 6, 2019, Nguyen ruled against Hyundai and Kia, ruling that they lied about their fuel economy and did not show that the California law would not apply.[20]
On September 23, 2021, Nguyen reversed a ruling by District JudgeDavid O. Carter that would have required Los Angeles to provide housing for the homeless on Skid Row. Nguyen ruled that there was not enough evidence to prove that plaintiffs had suffered racial or other types of discrimination.[21][22]
Nguyen's husband, Pio S. Kim, was also a federal prosecutor.[1][2] She has two children.
{{cite web}}:Missing or empty|title= (help)[dead link]| Legal offices | ||
|---|---|---|
| Preceded by | Judge of theUnited States District Court for the Central District of California 2009–2012 | Succeeded by |
| New seat | Judge of theUnited States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit 2012–present | Incumbent |
| International | |
|---|---|
| National | |
