President Obama Nominates Jacqueline H. Nguyen to Serve on the District Court Bench

If Jacqueline Nguyen confirm by U.S. Senate, she will be the first female Vietnamese-American federal judge. The first Vietnamese-American federal judge is Judge Tu M. Pham.

Excerpt from White House Press Office:

Judge Jacqueline H. Nguyen: Nominee for the Central District of California

Judge Jacqueline Nguyen is currently a Superior Court Judge for the County of Los Angeles, a position to which she was appointed in August 2002. Judge Nguyen received her undergraduate degree from Occidental College in 1987 and her law degree from the University of California at Los Angeles in 1991. From 1991 to 1995, Nguyen worked in private practice where she specialized in civil litigation. From 1995 until August 2002, Nguyen was an Assistant U.S. Attorney in the Central District of California. During her tenure in that office, she served as Deputy Chief of the General Crimes Section. Judge Nguyen is being nominated to the United States District Court for the Central District of California and was rated well-qualified by the ABA.

Excerpt from "NAPABA and AAJC Applaud Nomination of Judge Jacqueline Nguyen as Federal District Court Judge for the Central District of California":

Judge Nguyen's courageous life story epitomizes the American Dream. For the past seven years, Judge Nguyen has served as a Judge on the Los Angeles Superior Court. Prior to her appointment to the bench, Judge Nguyen served for six years as an Assistant United States Attorney with the Criminal Division, and ultimately as the Deputy Chief of the General Crimes Section. As a child, she escaped the fall of South Vietnam with her family through a harrowing trip, starting with a plane ride temporarily separating her from her father, through chaotic Saigon, to the Philippines, to Guam, and eventually, to Camp Pendleton, California. Judge Nguyen embraced her new life in America with grace, fortitude, determination, and cheerful modesty, assisting her mother in cleaning dental offices while growing up. She eventually earned a scholarship to Occidental College before attending the University of California at Los Angeles School of Law, continuing all the while to help her mother in the family donut shop on the weekends.

Other related articles found on the internet:

• Daily Journal profiles Hon. Jacqueline Nguyen
• First Vietnamese American and Korean American Women Seated on State Judiciary
• The Honorable Tu M. Pham, U.S. Magistrate Judge, Western District of Tennessee