APA Judges Search Committee

One of ABAW’s main goals since its inception has been to encourage Asian Pacific American (APA) lawyers to seek and achieve judicial office. The judiciary should be comprised of qualified individuals reflective of our diverse communities because it helps cultivate public trust and confidence in our system of justice. To date, according to the Administrative Office of the U.S. Courts, at the federal level, out of 875 authorized appointments, only six active federal judges are Asian Pacific Americans—four in California, one in Hawaii, and one in New York. No APA has ever been appointed in the State of Washington where APAs now account for about 17% of the population in the greater Puget Sound area.

This year, the ABAW has created a new committee, the ABAW Judiciary Committee, to refocus its efforts on diversifying the judiciary. Co-Chaired by Judge Linda Lee and Benes Aldana, the Committee’s primary aim is to assist APAs who are interested in becoming judges.

The Committee also works to identify and encourage potential candidates for state and federal judicial positions, and coordinates with NAPABA to support and endorse APA candidates for the federal bench. The Committee is creating a Judiciary Resource Page on the ABAW website to collect and publicize information regarding judicial opportunities, as well as highlight issues affecting state judicial campaigns.

On a related note, in an effort to achieve greater diversity in the judiciary, the Judicial Division of the American Bar Association has recently launched the Judicial Mentor Program which will pair minority lawyers with judges in the area of the judiciary to which they aspire. The Mentor Program is open to all attorneys and judges regardless of ABA membership. The program will match people according to their judicial preference, race, ethnicity, gender, etc. to the extent possible and requested. For more information and to register, visit: http://www.abanet.org/jd