Cindy K. Chung

Cindy Kyounga Chung (born 1975)[1] is an American lawyer serving as a United States circuit judge of the United States Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit. She previously served as United States attorney for the Western District of Pennsylvania from 2021 to 2023.[2]

Cindy Chung
Judge of the United States Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit
Assumed office
February 21, 2023
Appointed byJoe Biden
Preceded byD. Brooks Smith
United States Attorney for the Western District of Pennsylvania
In office
November 23, 2021 – February 17, 2023
Appointed byJoe Biden
Preceded byScott Brady
Succeeded byEric G. Olshan
Personal details
Born
Cindy Kyounga Chung

1975 (age 47–48)
Omaha, Nebraska, U.S.
EducationYale University (BA)
Columbia University (JD)

Early life and education

Chung was born in 1975 in Omaha, Nebraska.[3] She is Korean American.[4][5] She earned a Bachelor of Arts from Yale University in 1997 and a Juris Doctor from Columbia Law School in 2002.[6]

Career

From 2002 to 2003, Chung served as a law clerk for Judge Myron H. Thompson of the United States District Court for the Middle District of Alabama. She then joined the Manhattan District Attorney's office in 2003, serving as an assistant district attorney until 2007 and as investigation counsel in the Official Corruption Unit from 2007 to 2009. From 2009 to 2014, Chung served as a trial attorney in the United States Department of Justice Civil Rights Division.

From 2014 to 2021, she served as assistant United States attorney for the Western District of Pennsylvania, ultimately serving as deputy chief of the Major Crimes Division.[7][8]

Notable cases

In 2007, Chung prosecuted rapper Foxy Brown for violating probation after assaulting two manicurists.[9][10][11]

In 2011, Chung was involved in prosecuting Frankie Maybee and Sean Popejoy, the first defendants to be sentenced under the Shepherd-Byrd Hate Crimes Prevention Act.[12][13]

United States attorney

On October 27, 2021, President Joe Biden nominated Chung to be the United States attorney for the Western District of Pennsylvania.[14] On November 19, 2021, her nomination was confirmed in the United States Senate by voice vote.[2] She was sworn into office on November 23, 2021, by Chief Judge Mark R. Hornak.[15] She resigned on February 17, 2023, to become a circuit judge of the Third Circuit.[16]

Federal judicial service

On July 12, 2022, President Joe Biden nominated Chung to serve as a United States circuit judge for the Third Circuit. President Biden nominated Chung to the seat vacated by Judge D. Brooks Smith, who assumed senior status on December 4, 2021.[17] Chung was unanimously rated "well qualified" for the circuit judgeship by the American Bar Association's Standing Committee on the Federal Judiciary.[18]

On September 7, 2022, a hearing on her nomination was held before the Senate Judiciary Committee.[19] During her confirmation hearing, she was questioned by Senator Chuck Grassley about her judicial philosophy. A debate ensued between Senators Sheldon Whitehouse, Mazie Hirono, and Mike Lee about the term "originalism".[20] On September 28, 2022, her nomination was favorably reported by the committee by a 12–10 vote.[21] On January 3, 2023, her nomination was returned to the president under Rule XXXI, Paragraph 6 of the United States Senate; she was renominated later the same day.[22] On February 2, 2023, her nomination was favorably reported by the committee by an 11–9 vote.[23] On February 7, 2023, Majority Leader Chuck Schumer filed cloture on her nomination.[24] On February 9, 2023, the Senate invoked cloture on her nomination by a 52–46 vote.[25] On February 13, 2023, her nomination was confirmed by a 50–44 vote.[26] She received her judicial commission on February 21, 2023.[27] She is the first Asian-American to ever serve on the Third Circuit.[28][29]

References
  1. "Questionnaire for Non-Judicial Nominees" (PDF). United States Senate Committee on the Judiciary. Retrieved November 24, 2021.
  2. "PN1299 - Nomination of Cindy K. Chung for Department of Justice, 117th Congress (2021-2022)". www.congress.gov. November 19, 2021. Retrieved November 24, 2021.
  3. Voruganti, Harsh (August 15, 2022). "Cindy Chung – Nominee to the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit". The Vetting Room. Retrieved September 30, 2022.
  4. Biden nominates Korean-American to work as US attorney in Pennsylvania, Yonhap News Agency (October 28, 2021).
  5. Madison Alder, First Asian American Confirmed to Third Circuit Appeals Court, Bloomberg News (February 13, 2023).
  6. "President Biden Announces Four New Nominees to Serve as U.S. Attorneys". The White House. October 27, 2021. Retrieved October 27, 2021.
  7. "Judge Sentences Pittsburgh Crack Conspirator to 10+ Years in Federal Prison". www.justice.gov. May 29, 2019. Retrieved October 27, 2021.
  8. Ward, Paula Reed (October 27, 2021). "Federal prosecutor nominated to become U.S. Attorney in Pittsburgh". TribLIVE.com. Retrieved October 27, 2021.
  9. "Rapper Foxy Brown sentenced to 3 years' probation". Reuters. January 19, 2007.
  10. "Jailed rapper Foxy Brown sent to isolation after prison scuffle". CBC News. October 24, 2007. Archived from the original on February 7, 2023.
  11. "Cindy Chung – Nominee to the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit". August 15, 2022.
  12. "Arkansas Men Sentenced for Federal Hate Crimes Related to the Assault of Five Hispanic Men".
  13. "Western Pa. U.S. Attorney Cindy Chung nominated to 3rd Circuit bench". July 12, 2022.
  14. "Nominations Sent to the Senate" (Press release). Washington, D.C.: The White House. October 27, 2021.
  15. "Cindy K. Chung Sworn In as U.S. Attorney for the Western District of Pennsylvania" (Press release). U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Western District of Pennsylvania. November 23, 2021. Retrieved November 24, 2021.
  16. "Troy Rivetti to Serve as Acting United States Attorney for the Western District of Pennsylvania" (Press release). Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania: U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Western District of Pennsylvania. February 17, 2023. Retrieved February 19, 2023.
  17. "Nominations Sent to the Senate" (Press release). Washington, D.C.: The White House. July 12, 2022.
  18. Ratings of Article III and Article IV Judicial Nominees: 117th Congress, American Bar Association's Standing Committee on the Federal Judiciary (last updated December 12, 2022).
  19. "Nominations". Washington, D.C.: United States Senate Committee on the Judiciary. August 31, 2022.
  20. Kutner, Brad. "Debate Over Originalism Swamps Senate Judiciary Hearing".
  21. "Results of Executive Business Meeting – September 29, 2022" (PDF). United States Senate Committee on the Judiciary. Retrieved September 29, 2022.
  22. "Nominations Sent to the Senate" (Press release). Washington, D.C.: The White House. January 3, 2023.
  23. "Results of Executive Business Meeting – February 2, 2023" (PDF). United States Senate Committee on the Judiciary. Retrieved February 2, 2023.
  24. "PN92 — Cindy K. Chung — The Judiciary". Congress.gov. Retrieved July 7, 2023.
  25. "On the Cloture Motion (Motion to Invoke Cloture: Cindy K. Chung to be U.S. Circuit Judge for the Third Circuit)". United States Senate. February 9, 2023. Retrieved February 9, 2023.
  26. "On the Nomination (Confirmation: Cindy K. Chung. of Pennsylvania, to be United States Circuit Judge for the Third Circuit.)". United States Senate. February 13, 2023. Retrieved February 13, 2023.
  27. Cindy K. Chung at the Biographical Directory of Federal Judges, a public domain publication of the Federal Judicial Center.
  28. "Senate confirms first Asian American judge on 3rd Circuit Court of Appeals". NBC News. February 14, 2023.
  29. "The Senate confirmed Cindy Chung for Pa. federal appeals court. She'll be the first Asian American judge to hold the job".


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