Kenneth Lee | |
|---|---|
| 이기열 | |
 | |
| Judge of theUnited States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit | |
| Assumed office June 12, 2019 | |
| Appointed by | Donald Trump |
| Preceded by | Stephen Reinhardt |
| Personal details | |
| Born | Lee Kiyul (1975-08-30)August 30, 1975 (age 50) |
| Education | Cornell University (BA) Harvard University (JD) |
| Korean name | |
| Hangul | 이기열 |
| Hanja | 李氣熱 |
| RR | I Giyeol |
| MR | I Kiyŏl |
Kenneth Kiyul Lee (Korean: 이기열;[1] born August 30, 1975)[2] is a South Korean-born American lawyer who serves as aUnited States circuit judge of theUnited States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit.
Lee was born in 1975 inSeoul,South Korea. Lee's family immigrated to the United States when he was four years old, following the1979 military coup in South Korea.[3] Lee grew up in theKoreatown neighborhood ofLos Angeles.[4] His father operated aspray paint equipment repair shop, and his mother was apharmacist andacupuncturist.[4] Neither of Lee’s parents spokeEnglish, but they insisted that he understand the language and did not allow him to attend a Korean church for that reason.[4]
After high school, Lee studiedgovernment atCornell University, where he wrote for the conservative and libertarian campus newspaperThe Cornell Review.[3] He graduated in 1997 with aBachelor of Arts degreesumma cum laude and with membership inPhi Beta Kappa. Lee then attendedHarvard Law School, graduating in 2000 with aJuris Doctormagna cum laude.[5][6][7]
After graduating from law school, Lee served as alaw clerk to JudgeEmilio M. Garza of theU.S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit from 2000 to 2001.[7] Lee then worked as anassociate atNew York City law firmWachtell, Lipton, Rosen & Katz from 2001 to 2006.[4][7] At Wachtell, following theSeptember 11 attacks, Lee served as second chair, deposed witnesses, and wrote briefs as part of the legal team representing real estate mogulLarry Silverstein, whose 99-year lease of theWorld Trade Center provided a $3.5 billion insurance policy for an act ofterrorism. The court ruled that the separate plane crashes in the World Trade Center represented 1.4 occurrences of terrorism.[4]
In 2005, Lee served as aspecial counsel on theUnited States Senate Judiciary Committee. From 2006 to 2009, Lee was Associate Counsel and Special Assistant toPresidentGeorge W. Bush.[7] After Bush left office in 2009, Lee joined theLos Angeles office of the law firmJenner & Block as apartner.[6] From 2010 to 2011, Lee served as anadjunct faculty member atPepperdine University School of Law.[7]
Lee has litigated consumerclass action lawsuits across the U.S. in thefood,technology, andhealth care sectors. He has argued appeals before a number of federal circuit courts. In hispro bono practice, Lee has represented a number ofindigent andincarcerated individuals. He is a member of the Food Law Committee of the Litigation Section of theState Bar of California.[8] In 2018, Lee was named one of the "Most Influential Minority Attorneys" by theLos Angeles Business Journal.[9]
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On October 10, 2018, PresidentDonald Trump announced his intent to nominate Lee to serve as a United States Circuit Judge of theUnited States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit.[6] Both California SenatorsDianne Feinstein andKamala Harris announced their opposition to his nomination.[10] On November 13, 2018, his nomination was sent to the Senate. President Trump nominated Lee to the seat vacated by JudgeStephen Reinhardt, who died on March 29, 2018.[11]
On January 3, 2019, his nomination was returned to the President underRule XXXI, Paragraph 6 of theUnited States Senate.
On January 30, 2019, President Trump indicated that he would renominate Lee to a Ninth Circuit vacancy.[12] On February 6, 2019, his nomination was sent to the Senate.[13] On March 13, 2019, a hearing on his nomination was held before theSenate Judiciary Committee.[14] During the hearing, he was questioned about college writings coveringAIDS,political correctness, and feminism. He apologized for some of the writings, saying he regretted them and was embarrassed by them.[15]The Wall Street Journal editorial board responded to the questioning about Lee's college writings: "...what Mr. Lee wrote in college is of no relevance to how he’d behave as a jurist. ... What liberals really don’t like is that Mr. Lee dissented from progressive doctrines on racial preferences, among other issues."[16]
On April 4, 2019, his nomination was reported out of committee by a 12–10 vote.[17] On May 14, 2019, the Senate invokedcloture on his nomination by a 50–45 vote.[18] On May 15, 2019, his nomination was confirmed by a 52–45 vote.[19] He received his judicial commission on June 12, 2019.[20] Lee is the nation's first Article III judge who was born in the Republic of Korea and the second Korean American to serve on the Ninth Circuit.[21][22]
In August 2020, Lee was part of a three-judge panel who held that California's "large capacity magazine ban" was unconstitutional.[23][24]
Lee is listed as an expert for theFederalist Society and has been a speaker and panelist on the topics of Food & Drug Law,Class Action lawsuits, and the Constitutionality of theAffordable Care Act.[8]
This article incorporates text from this source, which is in thepublic domain. This article incorporates text from this source, which is in thepublic domain.| Legal offices | ||
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| Preceded by | Judge of theUnited States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit 2019–present | Incumbent |