[Congressional Record Volume 170, Number 49 (Wednesday, March 20, 2024)]
[Senate]
[Page S2460]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]


                       Nomination of Eumi K. Lee

  Mr. DURBIN. Madam President, today, the Senate will vote to confirm 
Eumi K. Lee to the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of 
California.
  Judge Lee received her B.A. from Pomona College and her J.D., cum 
laude, from the Georgetown University Law Center. After law school, she 
clerked for Judge Jerome Turner on the U.S. District Court for the 
Western District of Tennessee, and she later clerked for Judge Warren 
J. Ferguson on the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit. During 
her time in private practice in San Francisco, Judge Lee worked on 
complex civil litigation, white-collar criminal defense, and appellate 
matters, and she tried approximately 21 cases to final decision.
  She later served on the faculty of the University of California 
College of the Law, San Francisco, where she taught primarily within 
the clinical programs and wrote about criminal justice issues. In 2018, 
Judge Lee was appointed to the Superior Court of California in Alameda 
County by then-Governor Jerry Brown. She won election to a 6-year term 
in 2020. During her time on the bench, Judge Lee has handled a wide 
range of civil and criminal cases at both the trial and appellate 
levels, and she has presided over 70 trials since joining the bench.
  The American Bar Association rated Judge Lee ``well qualified'' to 
serve on the Northern District of California. She has strong ties to 
the district, and she is strongly supported by both of her home State 
Senators, Mr. Padilla and Ms. Butler. Her litigation background, her 
academic career, and her invaluable experience as a State court judge 
will serve her well on the Federal bench.
  Judge Lee was the final judicial nominee from California who had the 
honor of being introduced at her hearing by my late friend and 
colleague Senator Feinstein. When Senator Feinstein introduced Judge 
Lee, she noted Judge Lee's ``multitude of experience,'' and Senator 
Padilla praised Judge Lee's ``wealth of legal expertise.'' Those 
remarks highlight what Judge Lee will bring to the district court. I 
strongly support this nominee, and I urge my colleagues to join me.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. The Senator from California.
  Mr. PADILLA. Madam President, the Senate will soon consider the 
nomination of Judge Eumi Lee to serve on the U.S. District Court for 
the Northern District of California.
  I rise today to share, briefly, more about this dedicated public 
servant and to encourage my colleagues to join me in supporting her 
nomination.
  The proud daughter of parents who survived the Korean war before 
emigrating to the United States, Judge Eumi Lee was born in Wisconsin 
and raised in Tennessee. She earned her bachelor's degree from Pomona 
College and her law degree from the Georgetown University Law Center.
  After law school, Judge Lee clerked for several judges on the Federal 
bench--first, for the Western District of Tennessee, then in the San 
Francisco Bay area clerking on the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals.
  Now, those early days also included time working on complex 
litigation and white-collar defense matters in private practice, as 
well as developing a strong pro bono practice.
  After a number of years of developing core litigation skills, she 
began teaching as a professor at UC Hastings College of law, 
supervising clinical students in direct representation and appearing 
alongside her students in State court.
  It is there that Judge Lee also cofounded the Hastings Institute for 
Criminal Justice. Recognizing her remarkable record and diverse 
experience practicing law, in 2018, then-California Governor Jerry 
Brown appointed Judge Lee to the Alameda County Superior Court, where 
she became the first Korean American ever appointed to serve on that 
bench.
  In the more than two decades that she has spent learning, teaching, 
and practicing law, Judge Lee has not only gained a wealth of legal 
expertise, but she has constantly reached out to support others on 
their path as well.
  She has consistently worked to mentor women, people of color, and 
those typically underrepresented in the legal profession, because Judge 
Lee knows that public service doesn't stop at the courthouse doors.
  In private practice, in the classroom, and in the courtroom, she has 
demonstrated the intellect and independent mind needed to serve on the 
Northern District with distinction. And I urge my colleagues to join me 
in supporting her confirmation.
  Madam President, I yield the floor.