Lucy Koh | |
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| Judge of theUnited States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit | |
| Assumed office December 14, 2021 | |
| Appointed by | Joe Biden |
| Preceded by | Richard Paez |
| Judge of theUnited States District Court for the Northern District of California | |
| In office June 9, 2010 – December 15, 2021 | |
| Appointed by | Barack Obama |
| Preceded by | Ronald Whyte |
| Succeeded by | P. Casey Pitts |
| Personal details | |
| Born | (1968-08-07)August 7, 1968 (age 57) Washington, D.C., U.S. |
| Political party | Democratic[1] |
| Spouse | Mariano-Florentino Cuéllar |
| Children | 2 |
| Education | Harvard University (BA,JD) |
Lucy Haeran Koh (born August 7, 1968) is an American lawyer serving as aUnited States circuit judge of theUnited States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit. Koh previously served as a United States district judge of theUnited States District Court for the Northern District of California from 2010 to 2021. She also served as a California state court judge of theSanta Clara County Superior Court from 2008 to 2010. She is the firstKorean American woman to serve on a federal appellate court in the United States.[2]
Born on August 7, 1968,[3] inWashington, D.C., Koh was the first member of her family to be born in the United States. Her mother, a refugee fromNorth Korea, had escaped the country at the age of ten after walking two weeks toSouth Korea. Her father was a veteran of theKorean War, where he fought Communist forces.[4]
Koh spent most of her childhood inMississippi, where her mother was an academic atAlcorn State University. She also spent parts of her young life inMaryland andOklahoma. In 1986, Koh graduated fromNorman High School in 1986 inNorman, Oklahoma. She attendedHarvard College, where she was awarded aHarry S. Truman Scholarship and graduated in 1990 with aBachelor of Arts,magna cum laude, insocial studies. She then attendedHarvard Law School, where she was a semi-finalist in theAmes Moot Court Competition and graduated in 1993 with aJuris Doctor.[5][6][7][8][9]
From 1993 to 1994, Koh worked for theUnited States Senate Committee on the Judiciary as a Women's Law and Public Policy Fellow. From 1994 to 1997, Koh worked for theUnited States Department of Justice, first as a Special Counsel in the Office of Legislative Affairs (1994–1996) and then as a Special Assistant to theDeputy Attorney General (1996–1997).[1]
From 1997 to 2000, Koh served as anassistant United States attorney in the U.S. Attorney's Office for the Central District of California. From 2000 to 2002, she worked as a senior associate atWilson Sonsini Goodrich & Rosati, aPalo Alto, California law firm. From 2002 to 2008, Koh worked as a litigation partner at theSilicon Valley office of the law firmMcDermott Will & Emery representing technology companies inpatent,trade secret and commercial civil matters.[10]
In January 2008, California GovernorArnold Schwarzenegger appointed Koh a judge on theSanta Clara County Superior Court, a position she held until 2010 when she became a federal judge.[1][8]
On January 20, 2010, PresidentBarack Obama nominated Koh on the recommendation of California SenatorsBarbara Boxer andDianne Feinstein to a seat on theUnited States District Court for the Northern District of California vacated by JudgeRonald M. Whyte, who assumedsenior status in 2009.[7] On February 11, 2010, theSenate Judiciary Committee held a hearing on her nomination.[11] On March 4, 2010, theSenate Judiciary Committee favorably reported her nomination.[12] The Senate confirmed Koh by a 90–0 vote on June 7, 2010.[13][14] She received her commission on June 9, 2010.[8] Her service as the district court judge was terminated on December 15, 2021 when she was elevated to the court of appeals.[8]
As a district judge, Koh presided over litigation includingApple Inc. v. Samsung Electronics Co.,In re High-Tech Employee Antitrust Litigation,FTC v. Qualcomm (finding antitrust liability for conduct in licensingstandard-essential patents, later reversed), and multi-district litigation, including theYahoo andAnthem data breaches and Apple and Google privacy litigation.[15]
In 2020, Koh presided over a case in which a coalition of local governments, activist groups, andAmerican Indian tribes sued theCommerce Department over the Trump administration's intention to end the2020 Census early. She issued a ruling that ultimately resulted in extending the once-a-decade count from September 30 to October 15.[16][17]
Koh presided overTandon v. Newsom, a challenge brought by plaintiffs' challengingCalifornia restrictions on gatherings during theCOVID-19 pandemic.[18] Koh denied a plaintiffs' request for an injunction seeking to block the restrictions "insofar as they (1) ban indoor religious gatherings at their homes, including Bible studies, theological discussions, collective prayer, and musical prayer; and (2) limit outdoor religious gatherings at their homes to three households"; Koh ruled in February 2021 that the restrictions did not violate theFree Exercise Clause because "the State's private gatherings restrictions treat religious and secular gatherings alike and make no reference to religion."[18][19] The Ninth Circuit affirmed Koh's decision, but the Ninth Circuit's ruling was overturned by the U.S. Supreme Court, which issued an order, on a 5–4 vote, determining that the restriction on religious gatherings in private homes was unconstitutional.[20][21][22]
On February 25, 2016, President Obama nominated Koh to serve as aUnited States circuit judge for theNinth Circuit, to the seat vacated by JudgeHarry Pregerson, who assumedsenior status on December 11, 2015.[23][24] On July 13, 2016, a hearing on her nomination was held before the Senate Judiciary Committee.[25] On September 15, 2016, her nomination was reported out of committee by a 13–7 vote,[26] but the Senate did not act upon her nomination, and it expired on January 3, 2017, at the end of the114th Congress.[8] PresidentDonald Trump nominatedDaniel P. Collins to that seat on February 6, 2019 and was confirmed on May 21, 2019.
On September 8, 2021, PresidentJoe Biden announced his intention to renominate Koh to serve as a United States circuit judge for the Ninth Circuit.[27] On September 20, 2021, her nomination was sent to the Senate. President Biden nominated Koh to the seat to be vacated by JudgeRichard Paez, who had announced his intent to assumesenior status upon confirmation of a successor.[28] Koh was unanimously rated "well qualified" for the circuit judgeship by theAmerican Bar Association'sStanding Committee on the Federal Judiciary.[29]
On October 6, 2021, theSenate Judiciary Committee held a confirmation hearing on her nomination.[30] During her hearing, Republican senators criticized Koh for her ruling in theTandon case.[31][32] At least one Republican senator accused her of being hostile to people of faith; Koh noted that she is herself a person of faith.[32] Another Republican senator,Tom Cotton, suggested that Koh should have disregarded circuit precedent in theTandon case; Koh responded by noting that she was bound to follow the precedents of higher courts.[33] Democrats defended Koh, and her nomination was also supported by former California GovernorArnold Schwarzenegger, a Republican who had appointed Koh to the state court earlier in her career.[33] California SenatorAlex Padilla criticized Republicans over attacks on Koh and other Biden judicial nominees, suggesting that Republicans had singled out nonwhite judicial nominees for disparaging treatment.[34] On October 28, 2021, Koh's nomination was favorably reported by the committee by a 13–9 vote.[35][36]
On December 7, 2021, Majority LeaderChuck Schumer filedcloture on Koh's nomination.[37] On December 9, 2021, the Senate invoked cloture on her nomination by a 51–38 vote.[38] On December 13, 2021, Koh was confirmed by a 50–45 vote.[39][40] She received her judicial commission on December 14, 2021.[8] Koh is the firstKorean-American woman to serve as a federal appellate judge and the secondAsian Pacific American woman to serve on the Ninth Circuit from California, afterJacqueline Nguyen.[41]
On November 13, 2023, Koh was in a 7-4 majority that temporarily blocked Idaho's abortion ban due to its lack of exceptions for medical emergencies.[42] On January 5, 2024, the Supreme Court said it would take up the case and dissolved the 9th Circuit's temporary injunction.[43] On June 27, 2024, the Supreme Court dissolved the stay inMoyle v. United States, reinstating the 9th circuit's injunction against the ban.
On January 11, 2024, Koh struck down a San Francisco ordinance that prohibited homeless people from "sleeping, lodging or camping on public property."[44][45]
On May 14, 2025, Koh upheld a federal district court's order blocking Trump from cutting legal aid funding for migrants.[46][47]
Koh is married toMariano-Florentino Cuéllar, the president of theCarnegie Endowment for International Peace and a former justice of theCalifornia Supreme Court and professor atStanford Law School.[48] They have two children.[49]
| Legal offices | ||
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| Preceded by | Judge of theUnited States District Court for the Northern District of California 2010–2021 | Succeeded by |
| Preceded by | Judge of theUnited States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit 2021–present | Incumbent |
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| National | |
| Other | |
