Support Ed Chen For The Federal Bench

Would Be First Asian Pacific American Article III Judge In San Francisco

BE A PART OF HISTORY!  Please send a letter in support of NAPABA Trailblazer Recipient Magistrate Judge Edward M. Chen, who has been nominated by President Obama to serve as a federal district court judge for the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California.

It just takes 15 seconds to send Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid a letter in support of Judge Chen through an online form at http://fairjudges.net.  This website is sponsored by the Asian Pacific Bar of California (ABC), and is a joint collaboration between ABC, NAPABA, and the Asian American Justice Center (AAJC).

Judge Chen was nominated by President Obama on August 6, 2009.  Although Judge Chen’s nine-year judicial record has been uniformly praised by bar associations, law enforcement, defense attorneys, Republicans and Democrats, Judge Chen has been unfairly criticized based on out-of-context statements.  Judge Chen was approved by the Senate Judiciary Committee in October 2009, but he did not receive a full Senate vote before the end of 2009.  Thus, his nomination was returned to the President on December 24, 2009.  President Obama renominated Judge Chen on January 20, 2009.

NAPABA’s Judiciary Committee has been working closely with leaders in both the Democratic and Republican Parties, along with AAJC and NAPABA’s Bay Area affiliates, to ensure that Judge Chen receives a prompt up-or-down vote in the Senate. 

If confirmed, Judge Chen would be the first Asian Pacific American to serve as an Article III judge in the 160-year history of the San Francisco federal district court – a shocking statistic given the demographics of the Bay Area.  You can help make that happen by sending a letter to Majority Leader Reid by completing the short online form at http://fairjudges.net.  Your letter will be sent at no expense to you.