John H. Chun
Judge John H. Chun
Judge of the United States District Court for the Western District of Washington
Assumed office
March 30, 2022
Appointed byJoe Biden
Preceded byJames Robart
Judge of the Washington State Court of Appeals, Division One
In office
September 1, 2018 – March 30, 2022
Appointed byJay Inslee
Judge of the King County Superior Court
In office
February 21, 2014 – September 1, 2018
Appointed byJay Inslee
Personal details
Born
John Hyung-Seung Chun[1]

1970 (age 53–54)
Portland, Oregon, U.S.
EducationColumbia University (BA)
Cornell University (JD)

John Hyungseung Chun (born 1970)[2] is an American lawyer from Washington who serves as a United States district judge of the United States District Court for the Western District of Washington. He served as a judge of the Washington State Court of Appeals, Division One from 2018 to 2022.

Early life and education

The child of South Korean immigrants, Chun was raised in the Pacific Northwest and graduated from the Catlin Gabel School in Portland, Oregon. He received his Bachelor of Arts from Columbia University in 1991 and his Juris Doctor from Cornell Law School in 1994.[3][4] He served as an associate editor and a note editor on the Cornell Law Review.

Chun served as a law clerk for Judge Eugene Allen Wright of the United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit from 1994 to 1995. He worked at the firm of Mundt MacGregor LLP from 1995 to 2005, becoming a partner in 2002. In 2005, he became a partner at Preston, Gates & Ellis LLP (now K&L Gates), and in 2006, became a member with the Summit Law Group P.L.L.C. He remained at Summit until 2013, where his practice focused on complex commercial and employment litigation. He also served as a member of the American Arbitration Association's Commercial and Employment panels from 2004 to 2014.[5]

Judicial service

State judicial service

In December 2013, Chun was appointed by Governor Jay Inslee to serve as a Judge of the King County Superior Court. He took office the following February, and served as a trial judge for civil, criminal, and family law cases until 2018.[3]

In 2018, Governor Inslee appointed Chun to serve as a Judge on the Washington State Court of Appeals, Division One.[6] He ran unopposed to retain his seat in November 2019.[7] His state court service terminated when he was commissioned as a federal judge.

Federal judicial service

Chun testifying before the Senate Judiciary Committee

On September 30, 2021, President Joe Biden announced his intent to nominate Chun to serve as a United States district judge of the United States District Court for the Western District of Washington. President Biden nominated Chun to the seat vacated by Judge James Robart, who assumed senior status on June 28, 2016.[8] On November 17, 2021, a hearing on his nomination was held before the Senate Judiciary Committee.[9] During his confirmation hearing, Chun was questioned about his stance on Grutter v. Bollinger. Chun had submitted an amicus brief in the lawsuit supporting the ability of universities to have race-sensitive admissions processes.[10][11] On December 16, 2021, his nomination was reported out of committee.[12] On January 3, 2022, his nomination was returned to the President under Rule XXXI, Paragraph 6 of the United States Senate;[12] he was later renominated the same day.[13] On January 20, 2022, his nomination was reported out of committee by a 12–10 vote.[14] On March 16, 2022, the Senate invoked cloture on his nomination by a 50–45 vote.[15] On March 23, 2022, his nomination was confirmed by a 49–47 vote.[16] He received his judicial commission on March 30, 2022.[17] He was sworn into office by Chief Judge Ricardo S. Martinez on April 11, 2022.[18] Chun is the first Asian American man to serve as a judge of the court and the second Asian American (with District Judge Tana Lin being the first).[5][19]

See also

References

  1. ↑ "Weddings; Lauren Kares, John Chun". New York Times. 1998-04-19.
  2. ↑ "Questionnaire for Judicial Nominees" (PDF). United States Senate Committee on the Judiciary. Retrieved November 15, 2021.
  3. 1 2 "President Biden Names Eighth Round of Judicial Nominees", White House, September 30, 2021 Public Domain This article incorporates text from this source, which is in the public domain.
  4. ↑ "Alumni Go to Washington". Columbia Magazine. Retrieved 2022-06-14.
  5. 1 2 "Judge John H. Chun", Washington State Courts Public Domain This article incorporates text from this source, which is in the public domain.
  6. ↑ "Inslee announces appointment to Washington State Court of Appeals, Division 1 | Governor Jay Inslee". www.governor.wa.gov. Retrieved 2021-12-15.
  7. ↑ "Washington State Courts - Members of the Court of Appeals - Div I Bio - Judge John H. Chun". www.courts.wa.gov. Retrieved 2021-12-15.
  8. ↑ "Nominations Sent to the Senate" (Press release). Washington, D.C.: The White House. September 30, 2021. Public Domain This article incorporates text from this source, which is in the public domain.
  9. ↑ "Nominations". Washington, D.C.: United States Senate Committee on the Judiciary. November 17, 2021.
  10. ↑ "Judge John Chun – Nominee to the U.S. District Court for the Western District of Washington". November 4, 2021.
  11. ↑ Wagner, Rose (November 17, 2021). "Record-setting judicial nominees weather GOP bluster". Courthouse News. Retrieved June 13, 2023.
  12. 1 2 "PN1207 - Nomination of John H. Chun for The Judiciary, 117th Congress (2021–2022)". www.congress.gov. December 16, 2021. Retrieved December 20, 2021.
  13. ↑ "Nominations Sent to the Senate" (Press release). Washington, D.C.: The White House. January 3, 2022. Public Domain This article incorporates text from this source, which is in the public domain.
  14. ↑ "Results of Executive Business Meeting – January 20, 2022" (PDF). United States Senate Committee on the Judiciary. Retrieved January 20, 2022.
  15. ↑ "On the Cloture Motion (Motion to Invoke Cloture: John H. Chun to be U.S. District Judge for the Western District of Washington)". United States Senate. March 16, 2022. Retrieved March 17, 2022.
  16. ↑ "On the Nomination (Confirmation: John H. Chun, of Washington, to be U.S. District Judge for the Western District of Washington)". United States Senate. March 23, 2022. Retrieved March 23, 2022.
  17. ↑ John H. Chun at the Biographical Directory of Federal Judges, a publication of the Federal Judicial Center.
  18. ↑ "THE WESTERN DISTRICT OF WASHINGTON WELCOMES DISTRICT JUDGE JOHN H. CHUN" (PDF) (Press release). United States District Court for the Western District of Washington. April 11, 2022. Retrieved May 3, 2022.
  19. ↑ Johnson, Gene (September 30, 2021). "Biden picks state judge Chun for federal bench in Seattle". apnews.com. Retrieved July 11, 2023.
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