[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 158 (2012), Part 5]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page 6480]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




                 RECOGNIZING JUDGE JACQUELINE H. NGUYEN

                                 ______
                                 

                         HON. LAURA RICHARDSON

                             of california

                    in the house of representatives

                         Wednesday, May 9, 2012

  Ms. RICHARDSON. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to recognize the Honorable 
Jacqueline H. Nguyen of California, whom the Senate confirmed yesterday 
to the United States Court of Appeals for The Ninth Circuit by a vote 
of 91-3. Judge Nguyen becomes the first woman of Asian descent to serve 
on the federal bench. What a wonderful way to begin Asian Pacific 
Islander Heritage Month!
  Mr. Speaker, Judge Nguyen is a testament to this truly being the land 
of opportunity. She was born in Dalat, Vietnam and at the age of nine, 
she fled Vietnam with her family during the fall of Saigon. Upon 
arriving in the United States, her family lived for a time in a refugee 
tent city at Camp Pendleton before settling in the Los Angeles area. 
She helped her family operate a doughnut shop in North Hollywood, where 
she studied between helping customers. At a very young age she was put 
in a difficult situation but her circumstances did not deter her from 
her dreams.
  Judge Nguyen received her A.B. from Occidental College in 1987, and 
her J.D. from UCLA School of Law in 1991. From 1995 to 2002, she worked 
in the United States Attorney's Office in the Central District of 
California. Serving in the criminal division as an Assistant United 
States Attorney, she worked as a federal prosecutor in the General 
Crimes section from 1995-1996 and in the Public Corruption and 
Government Fraud section from 1996-1999. She took on the role of the 
General Crimes section's Deputy Chief from 2000-2002.
  In 2002, she was appointed to serve on the state bench as a Judge of 
the Superior Court of the County of Los Angeles, becoming the first 
female Vietnamese-American judge in California's history. In July 2009, 
President Obama nominated Judge Nguyen for a seat on the bench of the 
United States District Court for the Central District of California. 
After being confirmed 97-0 she became the first Vietnamese-American to 
serve on the federal bench. Judge Nguyen brought to the federal bench 
substantial civil and criminal experience both as a lawyer and as a 
judge.
  Like many other great Americans, she has followed in the American 
tradition of giving back. She is a founding member of the Asian Pacific 
American Bar Association. She is the recipient of numerous awards from 
legal associations, including the Women's Leadership Award, National 
Asian Pacific American Bar Association (2010), and the Trailblazer 
Award from both the National Conference of Vietnamese American 
Attorneys (2009) and the National Asian Pacific American Bar 
Association (2006).
  I congratulate Judge Nguyen on her appointment and looking forward to 
having this exceptional jurist serve with distinction for many years to 
come.

                          ____________________