Harold Hongju Koh

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This article is about the Legal Adviser of the Department of State. For the United States Assistant Secretary for Health, see Howard Koh.
Harold Hongju Koh

Born December 8, 1954 (1954-12-08) (age 55)
Boston, Massachusetts
Nationality United States
Ethnicity Korean American
Fields Constitutional law
Civil Procedure
Institutions Yale Law School
Alma mater Harvard Law School
Magdalen College, Oxford
Harvard University
Harold Hongju Koh
Hangul 고홍주
Hanja 高洪柱
Revised Romanization Go Hong-ju
McCune–Reischauer Ko Hongju

Harold Hongju Koh (Hangul: 고홍주, Hanja: 高洪柱 ; born December 8, 1954, Boston, Massachusetts, United States) is an American lawyer and legal scholar. He currently serves as the Legal Adviser of the Department of State.

Koh previously served in the United States Department of State during the Clinton administration as Assistant Secretary of State for Democracy, Human Rights, and Labor. He was nominated to his current position by President Barack Obama on March 23, 2009[1][2] and confirmed by the Senate on June 25, 2009.[3]

Contents

[edit] Early life and education

Koh's parents grew up in Korea under Japanese rule. He describes his family as being:

...forbidden to speak Korean or even to use their Korean names. When their country was divided after World War II, my mother and her family were trapped in North Korea. In desperation, they hiked for days to the border to be picked up and were brought back to Seoul. But even there, they lived under dictatorship. For less than a year in the 1960s, (South) Korea enjoyed democracy. My father joined the diplomatic corps. But one day, tanks rolled and a coup d'etat toppled the government, leaving us to grow up in America.[4]

After the coup, Koh's father, legal scholar and diplomat Kwang Lim Koh, was granted asylum in the United States.[5] He moved to New Haven, Connecticut with his family and took a teaching position at Yale.[5] His wife, Hesung Chun Koh (Harold Koh's mother), had a Ph.D. in sociology and taught at Yale as well—they were the first Asian Americans to teach there.[6][7]

One of six siblings, Harold was struck by polio at age six; he went through "two operations, leg braces, and endless rehabilitation" and as a result still walks with a limp.[5][8]

Koh graduated in 1971 from the Hopkins School in New Haven; graduated summa cum laude and Phi Beta Kappa from Harvard in 1975 with a degree in Government; received a Marshall Scholarship to study at Magdalen College, Oxford University; and graduated cum laude from Harvard Law School in 1980.[9][10]

One of Koh's siblings, Howard Kyongju Koh, a Harvard University public health professor and former Massachusetts Public Health Commissioner, currently serves as the United States Assistant Secretary for Health in the Obama administration.[11] Another sibling, Jean Koh Peters, also teaches at Yale Law School.[7][12]

Koh's wife, Mary-Christy Fisher, is an attorney employed by the New Haven Legal Assistance Association; they have two children.[7][13]

[edit] Career and Scholarship

Koh clerked for Associate Justice Harry Blackmun on the U.S. Supreme Court during the 1981 term (that is, from October 1981 through September 1982).[9] In 1982 and 1983, he worked as an associate at Covington & Burling.[9].

From 1983 to 1985, Koh worked as an attorney-adviser to the Office of Legal Counsel (OLC) in the United States Department of Justice under Reagan.[9]

He joined the Yale Law School faculty in 1985.[9] Since 1993 he has been the Gerard C. and Bernice Latrobe Smith Professor of International Law; he became the law school's fifteenth dean in 2004.[9][14]

He was nominated by President Clinton to become Assistant Secretary of State for Democracy, Human Rights, and Labor on September 10, 1998 and confirmed unanimously by the Senate on October 21, 1998.[2] He assumed the job on November 13, 1998 and remained in office until the end of the Clinton presidency on January 20, 2001.[15]

Koh is the author of several books, including The National Security Constitution: Sharing Power after the Iran-Contra Affair (Yale University Press,1990); Transnational Legal Problems (with Harry Steiner and Detlev Vagts, Foundation Press, 1994); Deliberative Democracy and Human Rights (with Ronald C. Slye, Yale University Press, 1999); and Transnational Litigation in United States Courts (Foundation Press 2008). He has also written over 175 law review articles and legal editorials.[16]

Koh is a prominent advocate of human rights and civil rights; he has argued and written briefs on a wide number of cases before U.S. appellate courts, and has testified before the U.S. Congress more than a dozen times.[9] He has received numerous awards, medals, and honorary degrees.[9]

Former federal prosecutor David Lat (editor of abovethelaw.com) and George Mason professor David Bernstein (contributing to the Volokh Conspiracy), have described Koh as a "highly partisan Democrat" and claim that he has politically polarized Yale Law School during his tenure as dean.[17][18] Other observers have countered that during his tenure prominent conservatives have been appointed to the Yale law faculty, and note that Koh has served in both Republican (Reagan) and Democratic (Clinton) administrations. A group of five "Yale Conservative Law Students" offered a vigorous defense of Dean Koh, noting that "Dean Koh has been very supportive of conservative students and conservative student organizations. "[19] They conclude, "Dean Koh is one of the brightest legal minds of his generation, a credit to the profession we look forward to joining, and an able and effective public servant."[20]

[edit] State Department nomination

On March 23, 2009, the White House announced Koh's nomination as Legal Advisor to the State Department in the Obama administration, the senior legal advisor to Secretary of State Hillary Clinton. His nomination has been generally supported in the Senate and among legal colleagues. The nomination drew criticism from some conservative commentators for his views on international law and its use in American legal analysis and jurisprudence,[21] while drawing support from other conservatives such as Ted Olsen and Kenneth Starr and from typically conservative publications such as Forbes.[22][23][24][25][26]

Koh has written in support of the practice of using tenets of international law and foreign legal precedent to inform the deliberative process of judicial decision making in the United States, and has described what he has called "transnational jurisprudence" as essential to maintaining a well ordered international legal system. Arguing that "concepts like liberty, equality and privacy are not exclusively American constitutional ideas but, rather, part and parcel of the global human rights movement"[27] Koh has traced the influence of decisions from foreign courts throughout the history of United States Supreme Court and the American court system.[28] Critics of this approach, including Supreme Court justices Antonin Scalia and Clarence Thomas, argue that citing foreign decisions as legal precedents threatens American sovereignty and "lends itself to manipulation." "[29] Other commentators have observed that the “use of such nonbinding sources to bolster legal arguments is a central and uncontroversial tenet of the American judicial process."[30][31]

Conservative television and radio commentator Glenn Beck, speaking on his Fox News show, said, "Once we sign our rights over to international law, the Constitution is officially dead."[21]Law professors Duncan Hollis and Chris Borgen refute Beck's assertion: "Neither Koh nor any serious American lawyer disputes the Constitution's supremacy within the U.S. legal system. What Koh has advocated - along with many others - is the educational value of other countries' experiences in interpreting our Constitution and statutes."[32]

On May 12, 2009, the Senate Committee on Foreign Relations voted 12-5 in favor of Harold Koh. [33] After a hold was placed on his nomination, Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid announced on June 22, 2009 that he would invoke cloture on the nomination. On June 24, 2009, the Senate voted 65-31 to end debate on the nomination, paving the way for a full Senate vote the following day.[34] On June 25, 2009, Koh was confirmed by the Senate in a 62-35 vote.[35] While working in government, Koh will take a leave of absence from Yale Law School.

[edit] See also

[edit] References

  1. ^ Derek Tam, "Koh named for State post," Yale Daily News, March 23, 2009.
  2. ^ a b Presidential Nominations database, via THOMAS (accessed April 16, 2009).
  3. ^ Derek Tam, "SENATE APPROVES KOH NOMINATION," Yale Daily News, June 25, 2009.
  4. ^ Harold Hongju Koh, "The Bright Lights of Freedom," a "This I Believe" segment from Morning Edition, National Public Radio, February 13, 2006.
  5. ^ a b c Brandt Goldstein, Storming the Court, Scribner, 2005, p. 31. ISBN 0743230019
  6. ^ "Harold Hongju Koh," Notable Asian Americans, Gale Research, 1995. Reproduced online in Biography Resource Center. Farmington Hills, Mich.: Gale, 2009.
  7. ^ a b c Jesse Londin, "Harold Hongju Koh, Yale Law School, Dean-Designate," Lawcrossing, circa 2004.
  8. ^ Brandt Goldstein, Storming the Court, Scribner, 2005, pp. 4 and 85. ISBN 0743230019
  9. ^ a b c d e f g h Harold Koh, "Curriculum Vitae," online at Yale.edu, undated (accessed April 16, 2009).
  10. ^ Press release "Koh Speaks to the Hopkins Parent Council," online at Hopkins.edu, October 28, 2004 (accessed April 16, 2009).
  11. ^ "HHS Secretary Sebelius Announces Senate Confirmation of Assistant Secretary for Health Dr. Howard Koh". http://www.hhs.gov/news/press/2009pres/06/20090619g.html. Retrieved 2009-08-25. 
  12. ^ "Koh Peters," online at Yale.edu, undated (accessed April 16, 2009).
  13. ^ "Interest Auction," undated, circa 2009 (accessed April 16, 2009).
  14. ^ "Deans of the Law School," online at Yale.edu, undated (accessed April 16, 2009).
  15. ^ "Assistant Secretaries of State for Democracy, Human Rights, and Labor," online at State.gov, undated (accessed April 16, 2009).
  16. ^ Dahlia Lithwick, "And Then They Came for Koh ...," Slate, April 3, 2009.
  17. ^ David Lat, "Attention, Concerned Alumni of Yale: Justice Alito Gets (Green)housed," Above the Law, December 7, 2006 (accessed April 16, 2009).
  18. ^ David Bernstein, "Profile of Yale Law Dean Harold Koh," The Volokh Conspiracy, April 4, 2007 (accessed April 16, 2009).
  19. ^ Elie Mystal, "Yale Law School Conservatives Defend Harold Koh," Above the Law, April 6, 2009 (accessed April 21, 2009).
  20. ^ Elie Mystal, "Yale Law School Conservatives Defend Harold Koh," Above the Law, April 6, 2009 (accessed April 21, 2009).
  21. ^ a b Eric Lichtblau (April 2, 2009). "After Attacks, Supporters Rally Around Choice for Top Administration Legal Job". New York Times. http://www.nytimes.com/2009/04/02/us/politics/02koh.html. 
  22. ^ Ronan Farrow, "Confirm Harold Koh," Forbes, April 28, 2009.
  23. ^ http://theplumline.whorunsgov.com/political-media/gop-legal-heavy-ted-olson-dismisses-right-wing-assault-on-obama-nominee/
  24. ^ http://www.law.seattleu.edu/Documents/faculty/KenStarrLetterforKoh.pdf
  25. ^ http://legaltimes.typepad.com/blt/2009/04/exbush-official-john-bellinger-joins-arnold-porter.html
  26. ^ http://www.yaledailynews.com/articles/view/28668
  27. ^ Harold Hongju Koh (January 2004). International Law as Part of Our Law. 98. The American Journal of International Law. pp. 55. 
  28. ^ Harold Hongju Koh (January 2004). International Law as Part of Our Law. 98. The American Journal of International Law. pp. 43–57. 
  29. ^ http://connection.ebscohost.com/content/article/1038298023.html%3Bjsessionid=DDEB20BFB09B41C5454679E3BD977933.ehctc1
  30. ^ http://www.forbes.com/2009/04/28/state-department-sharia-law-opinions-contributors-harold-koh.html
  31. ^ http://www.aei.org/publications/filter.all,pubID.29692/pub_detail.asp
  32. ^ http://www.philly.com/inquirer/opinion/20090427_Sovereign__yet_listening_to_foreign_law.html
  33. ^ http://washingtonindependent.com/42531/harold-kohs-nomination-goes-to-the-full-senate
  34. ^ http://www.senate.gov/legislative/LIS/roll_call_lists/roll_call_vote_cfm.cfm?congress=111&session=1&vote=00212
  35. ^ http://www.senate.gov/legislative/LIS/roll_call_lists/roll_call_vote_cfm.cfm?congress=111&session=1&vote=00213

[edit] External links

Academic offices
Preceded by
Anthony T. Kronman		 Dean of Yale Law School
2004 – 2009		 Succeeded by
Kate Stith (Acting)
Retrieved from "http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Harold_Hongju_Koh"
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