Kenneth K. Lee
Kenneth K. Lee | |
---|---|
![]() Lee at his confirmation hearing on March 13, 2019. | |
Judge of the United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit | |
Assumed office June 12, 2019 | |
Appointed by | Donald Trump |
Preceded by | Stephen Reinhardt |
Personal details | |
Born | Lee Kiyul August 30, 1975 Seoul, South Korea |
Education | Cornell University (AB) Harvard Law School (JD) |
Korean name | |
Hangul | |
Hanja | |
Revised Romanization | I Gi Yeol |
McCune–Reischauer | I Ki Yŏl |
Kenneth Kiyul Lee (Korean: 이기열;[1] born August 30, 1975)[2] is a United States Circuit Judge of the United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit.
Early life and education
Born in Seoul, South Korea, Lee came to the U.S. with his parents and three sisters at age four following the 1979 military coup in South Korea.[3] Lee grew up in the Koreatown neighborhood of Los Angeles.[4] His father operated a spray paint equipment repair shops, and his mother was a pharmacist and acupuncturist; neither spoke English, so they insisted that he understand the language and did not allow him to attend a Korean church.[4]
Lee earned his Bachelor of Arts summa cum laude from Cornell University in 1997, and his Juris Doctor magna cum laude from Harvard Law School in 2000.[5][6] While attending Cornell, Lee wrote for the conservative and libertarian campus newspaper The Cornell Review.[3]
Early legal career
After graduating from law school, Lee served as a law clerk to Judge Emilio M. Garza of the United States Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit from 2000 to 2001.[6] Lee then worked as an associate at New York City law firm Wachtell, Lipton, Rosen & Katz from 2001 to 2006.[4][6] At Wachtell, following the September 11 attacks, Lee served as second chair, deposed witnesses, and wrote briefs as part of the legal team representing real estate mogul Larry Silverstein, whose 99-year lease of the World Trade Center provided a $3.5 billion insurance policy for an act of terrorism. The court ruled that the separate plane crashes in the World Trade Center represented 1.4 occurrences of terrorism.[4]
In 2005, Lee served as a special counsel on the United States Senate Judiciary Committee. From 2006 to 2009, Lee was associate counsel and special assistant to President George W. Bush.[6] After Bush left office in 2009, Lee joined the Los Angeles office of the law firm Jenner & Block as a partner.[5] From 2010 to 2011, Lee served as an adjunct faculty member at Pepperdine University School of Law.[6]
Lee has litigated consumer class action lawsuits across the U.S. in the food, technology, and healthcare sectors. He has argued appeals before a number of federal circuit courts. In his pro bono practice, Lee has represented a number of indigent and incarcerated individuals. He is a member of the Food Law Committee of the Litigation Section of the State Bar of California.[7] In 2018, Lee was named one of the "Most Influential Minority Attorneys" by the Los Angeles Business Journal.[8]
Federal judicial service
On October 10, 2018, President Trump announced his intent to nominate Lee to serve as a United States Circuit Judge of the United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit.[5] Both California Senators Dianne Feinstein and Kamala Harris announced their opposition to his nomination.[9] On November 13, 2018, his nomination was sent to the Senate. President Trump nominated Lee to the seat vacated by Judge Stephen Reinhardt, who died on March 29, 2018.[10]
On January 3, 2019, his nomination was returned to the President under Rule XXXI, Paragraph 6 of the United States Senate.
On January 30, 2019, President Trump indicated that he would renominate Lee to a Ninth Circuit vacancy.[11] On February 6, 2019, his nomination was sent to the Senate.[12] On March 13, 2019, a hearing on his nomination was held before the Senate Judiciary Committee.[13] During the hearing, he was questioned about college writings covering AIDS, political correctness, and feminism. He apologized for the writings, saying he regretted them and was embarrassed by them.[14] On April 4, 2019, his nomination was reported out of committee by a 12–10 party line vote.[15] The Wall Street Journal editorial board responded to the questioning about Lee's college writings: "...what Mr. Lee wrote in college is of no relevance to how he’d behave as a jurist. ... What liberals really don’t like is that Mr. Lee dissented from progressive doctrines on racial preferences, among other issues."[16]
On May 14, 2019, the Senate invoked cloture on his nomination by a vote of 50–45.[17] On May 15, 2019, the Senate confirmed his nomination by a vote of 52–45.[18] He received his judicial commission on June 12, 2019. Lee is the nation's first Article III judge who was born in the Republic of Korea and the second Korean American to serve on the Ninth Circuit.[19][20]
Memberships
Lee is listed as an expert for The Federalist Society and has been a Federalist Society speaker and panelist on the topics of Food & Drug Law, Class Actions, and the Constitutionality of the Affordable Care Act.[7]
References
- ^ "美 연방항소법원에 또 한인판사". Korea Times (in Korean). May 17, 2019. Retrieved May 26, 2020.
- ^ Voruganti, Harsh (May 15, 2019). "Kenneth Lee – Nominee to the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit". The Vetting Room. Retrieved October 18, 2019.
- ^ a b Severino, Carrie Campbell (March 4, 2019). "Smears Against Judicial Nominees Continue". National Review. Retrieved May 26, 2020.
- ^ a b c d Mullich, Joe (2015). "A quintessential American story" (PDF). Super Lawyers Magazine. Retrieved May 27, 2020 – via Jenner & Block.
- ^ a b c "President Donald J. Trump Announces Eighteenth Wave of Judicial Nominees, Eighteenth Wave of United States Attorney Nominees, and Thirteenth Wave of United States Marshal Nominees". The White House. October 10, 2018. Retrieved October 10, 2018.
This article incorporates text from this source, which is in the public domain.
- ^ a b c d e "Lee, Kenneth Kiyul". Federal Judicial Center. Retrieved May 27, 2020.
This article incorporates text from this source, which is in the public domain.
- ^ a b Severino, Carrie Campbell (October 10, 2018). "Who is Ken Lee?". National Review. Retrieved February 18, 2019.
- ^ "Most Influential Minority Attorneys: Kenneth K. Lee". Los Angeles Business Journal. Retrieved February 18, 2019.
- ^ Wire, Sarah D. (October 11, 2018). "California senators will try to block White House judicial nominees for the 9th Circuit - Los Angeles Times". latimes.com. Retrieved October 16, 2018.
- ^ "Twenty Six Nominations Sent to the Senate", White House, November 13, 2018
- ^ "President Donald J. Trump Announces Intent to Nominate Judicial Nominees". The White House. January 30, 2019. Retrieved January 31, 2019.
- ^ "Twelve Nominations Sent to the Senate", The White House, February 6, 2019
- ^ United States Senate Committee on the Judiciary: Nominations for March 13, 2019
- ^ Levine, Marianne (March 13, 2019). "Trump judicial pick expresses regret for college writings". Politico. Retrieved March 15, 2019.
- ^ Results of Executive Business Meeting – April 4, 2019, Senate Judiciary Committee
- ^ "Kenneth Kiyul Lee's White Privilege". The Wall Street Journal. March 4, 2019. Archived from the original on January 1, 2020. Retrieved May 27, 2020.
- ^ Roll Call Vote 116th Congress - 1st Session United States Senate Vote Summary: Vote Number 109, United States Senate, May 14, 2019
- ^ Roll Call Vote 116th Congress - 1st Session United States Senate Vote Summary: Vote Number 110, United States Senate, May 15, 2019
- ^ Tae-hee, Lee (December 11, 2018). "Korean-American judges gaining presence in US". The Korea Herald. Retrieved February 18, 2019.
- ^ "Senate Confirms L.A. Attorney Kenneth Kiyul Lee to Seat on Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals", United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit, May 15, 2019
External links
- Kenneth K. Lee at the Biographical Directory of Federal Judges, a publication of the Federal Judicial Center.
- 1975 births
- Living people
- 21st-century American lawyers
- 21st-century American judges
- American academics of Korean descent
- American jurists of Korean descent
- Lawyers from Los Angeles
- California Republicans
- Federalist Society members
- George W. Bush administration personnel
- Cornell University alumni
- Harvard Law School alumni
- Judges of the United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit
- People from Seoul
- United States court of appeals judges appointed by Donald Trump
- People associated with Jenner & Block
- South Korean emigrants to the United States
- Lawyers from New York City