Florence Y. Pan
Judge Pan in 2021
Judge of the United States Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit
Assumed office
September 26, 2022
Appointed byJoe Biden
Preceded byKetanji Brown Jackson
Judge of the United States District Court for the District of Columbia
In office
September 23, 2021 – September 28, 2022
Appointed byJoe Biden
Preceded byKetanji Brown Jackson
Succeeded byvacant
Associate Judge of the Superior Court of the District of Columbia
In office
June 8, 2009 – September 23, 2021
Appointed byBarack Obama
Preceded byLinda Turner Hamilton
Succeeded byCarl Ezekiel Ross
Personal details
Born (1966-11-16) November 16, 1966 (age 57)[1]
New York City, New York, U.S.
Spouse
​
(m. 2004)​
EducationUniversity of Pennsylvania (BA, BS)
Stanford University (JD)
Florence Y. Pan
Chinese潘愉

Florence Yu Pan (born November 16, 1966) is an American lawyer who serves as a United States circuit judge of the United States Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit.[2] She was a United States district judge of the United States District Court for the District of Columbia from 2021 to 2022 and a judge of the Superior Court of the District of Columbia from 2009 to 2021.

Early life and education

Pan was born in 1966 in New York City to parents who had immigrated to the United States from Taiwan in 1961. She was raised in Tenafly, New Jersey.[3]

Pan graduated from the University of Pennsylvania in 1988 with a double Bachelor of Arts and Bachelor of Science, summa cum laude, from the Wharton School. From 1988 to 1990, Pan worked for Goldman Sachs as a financial analyst. She then attended Stanford Law School, where she was an editor of the Stanford Law Review and the Stanford Law and Policy Review and was a finalist in the school's moot court competition. She graduated in 1993 with a Juris Doctor with distinction.[4][5]

Career

After graduating from law school, Pan was a law clerk for Judge Michael Mukasey of the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York from 1993 to 1994[4] and for Judge Ralph K. Winter Jr. of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit from 1994 to 1995.[4]

Pan worked for the United States Department of Justice as a Bristow Fellow in the Office of the Solicitor General from 1995 to 1996 and then as an attorney in the Appellate Section of the Criminal Division from 1996 to 1998.[3] She next worked at the United States Department of Treasury, first as a senior advisor to the assistant secretary for financial markets in 1998 and subsequently as a senior advisor to the undersecretary for domestic finance in 1999.[3]

From 1999 to 2009, she served as an assistant United States attorney in the United States Attorney's Office for the District of Columbia, where she also served as deputy chief of the Appellate Section from 2007 to 2009.[6]

From 2007 to 2008, she was an adjunct professor at American University Washington College of Law and since 2012, she has been an adjunct professor at Georgetown University Law Center.[5][7]

Judicial service

Superior Court of the District of Columbia service

On March 24, 2009, President Barack Obama nominated Pan to serve as an associate judge on the Superior Court of the District of Columbia.[8] Pan was confirmed by voice vote on May 21, 2009.[9] She remained on the court until her confirmation to the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia in 2021.[10][7]

Expired nomination to U.S. district court under Obama

Chief Judge Sri Srinivasan administers the oath of office to Judge Pan at her ceremonial investiture for the United States District Court for the District of Columbia

On April 28, 2016, President Barack Obama nominated Pan to serve as a United States district judge for the District of Columbia, to the seat vacated by Judge Reggie Walton, who assumed senior status on December 31, 2015.[11] On July 13, 2016, a hearing on her nomination was held before the Senate Judiciary Committee.[12] On September 15, 2016, her nomination was favorably reported by the committee by voice vote.[13] Her nomination expired on January 3, 2017, with the end of the 114th Congress.

Renomination to U.S. district court under Biden

On March 30, 2021, President Joe Biden announced his intent to nominate Pan to serve as a United States district judge for the District of Columbia.[14] On June 15, 2021, her nomination was sent to the Senate. President Biden nominated Pan to the seat vacated by Judge Ketanji Brown Jackson, who was nominated to serve as a circuit judge for the United States Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit.[15] On July 14, 2021, a hearing on her nomination was held before the Senate Judiciary Committee.[16] On August 5, 2021, her nomination was favorably reported by the committee by a 18–4 vote.[17] On September 20, 2021, Majority Leader Chuck Schumer filed cloture on her nomination.[18] On September 22, 2021, the United States Senate invoked cloture on her nomination by a 66–27 vote.[19] On September 23, 2021, her nomination was confirmed by a 68–30 vote.[20] She received her judicial commission the same day.[7] She is the first Asian American woman to serve on the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia.[21] Her service as a district judge was terminated on September 28, 2022, when she was elevated to the court of appeals.[7]

Court of appeals service

On September 28, 2022, Chief Judge Sri Srinivasan of the United States Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit administers the oath of office to Pan at her swearing-in ceremony for the United States Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit.

On May 25, 2022, President Joe Biden nominated Pan to serve as a United States circuit judge for the District of Columbia Circuit.[22] She was nominated to the seat being vacated by Judge Ketanji Brown Jackson, who was elevated to the Supreme Court of the United States.[23] A hearing on her nomination was held before the Senate Judiciary Committee on June 22, 2022.[24] On July 21, 2022, her nomination was favorably reported by the committee by a 13–9 vote.[25] On September 15, 2022, Majority Leader Chuck Schumer filed cloture on her nomination.[26] On September 19, 2022, the Senate invoked cloture on her nomination by a 52–38 vote.[27] On September 20, 2022, her nomination was confirmed by a 52–42 vote.[28] She received her judicial commission on September 26, 2022.[7] She is the first Taiwanese American to serve on the United States Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit.[29]

Personal life

In 2004, Pan married attorney Max Stier, whom she met at Stanford Law School and who serves as the president and CEO of the Partnership for Public Service, at the Embassy of New Zealand in Washington, D.C.[30]

See also

References

  1. ^ "Questionnaire for Nominees to the District of Columbia Courts" (PDF). Washington, D.C.: Committee on Governmental Affairs. May 13, 2009. p. 173. Retrieved June 14, 2021.
  2. ^ Hulse, Carl; Shear, Michael D. (March 30, 2021). "Biden Names Diverse Nominees for the Federal Bench". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved March 30, 2021.
  3. ^ a b c Albarazi, Hannah (May 25, 2022). "Getting To Know Biden's DC Circuit Nominee Florence Pan". Law360. Retrieved June 9, 2022.
  4. ^ a b c Voruganti, Harsh (April 2, 2021). "Judge Florence Pan – Nominee to the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia". The Vetting Room. Retrieved June 9, 2022.
  5. ^ a b "Questionnaire for Judicial Nominees" (PDF).
  6. ^ Weiner, Rachel (May 25, 2022). "Judge Florence Pan nominated to Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit". The Washington Post. Retrieved June 9, 2022.
  7. ^ a b c d e Florence Y. Pan at the Biographical Directory of Federal Judges, a publication of the Federal Judicial Center.
  8. ^ "President Obama Announces Marisa J Demeo and Florence Y Pan for DC Superior Court". The Obama White House. Washington, D.C.: White House. Retrieved May 22, 2022.
  9. ^ "PN229 - Nomination of Florence Y. Pan for The Judiciary, 111th Congress (2009–2010)". United States Congress. May 21, 2009. Retrieved May 22, 2022.
  10. ^ "Biden pick Florence Pan confirmed as first Asian American woman on D.C. federal court". NBC News. Reuters. September 24, 2021. Retrieved January 10, 2022.
  11. ^ "Presidential Nominations Sent to the Senate". The Obama White House (Press release). Washington, D.C.: White House. April 28, 2016.
  12. ^ "United States Senate Committee on the Judiciary: Nominations for July 13, 2016" (Press release). Washington, D.C.: United States Senate Judiciary Committee. July 13, 2016.
  13. ^ "Congressional Record Senate Articles". United States Congress. Retrieved May 22, 2022.
  14. ^ "President Biden Announces Intent to Nominate 11 Judicial Candidates". The White House (Press release). Washington, D.C.: White House. March 30, 2021. Retrieved March 30, 2021.Public Domain This article incorporates text from this source, which is in the public domain.
  15. ^ "Nominations Sent to the Senate" (Press release). Washington, D.C.: White House. June 15, 2021.
  16. ^ "United States Senate Committee on the Judiciary: Nominations for July 14, 2021". United States Senate Judiciary Committee. July 14, 2021.
  17. ^ "Results of Executive Business Meeting – August 5, 2021" (PDF). United States Senate Judiciary Committee. August 5, 2021.
  18. ^ "PN642 — Florence Y. Pan — The Judiciary". Congress.gov. Retrieved July 7, 2023.
  19. ^ "On the Cloture Motion (Motion to Invoke Cloture: Florence Y. Pan to be U.S. District Judge for the District of Columbia)". United States Senate. September 23, 2021. Retrieved September 23, 2021.
  20. ^ "On the Nomination (Confirmation: Florence Y. Pan, of the District of Columbia, to be U.S. District Judge for the District of Columbia". United States Senate. September 23, 2021. Retrieved September 23, 2021.
  21. ^ "Biden Names 'Trailblazing' Slate of Judicial Nominees With Diverse Backgrounds". NBC10 Philadelphia. March 30, 2021. Retrieved March 30, 2021.
  22. ^ "President Biden Names Eighteenth Round of Judicial Nominees" (Press release). Washington, D.C.: The White House. May 25, 2022. Retrieved May 25, 2022. Public Domain This article incorporates text from this source, which is in the public domain.
  23. ^ "Nominations Sent to the Senate". The White House (Press release). Washington, D.C.: White House. May 25, 2022. Retrieved May 25, 2022.Public Domain This article incorporates text from this source, which is in the public domain.
  24. ^ "Nominations". Washington, D.C.: United States Senate Judiciary Committee. June 22, 2022. Retrieved June 22, 2022.
  25. ^ "Results of Executive Business Meeting – July 21, 2022" (PDF). United States Senate Committee on the Judiciary. Retrieved July 21, 2022.
  26. ^ "PN2193 — Florence Y. Pan — The Judiciary". Congress.gov. Retrieved July 7, 2023.
  27. ^ "On the Cloture Motion (Motion to Invoke Cloture: Florence Y. Pan to be U.S. Circuit Judge for the District of Columbia Circuit)". United States Senate. September 19, 2022. Retrieved September 19, 2022.
  28. ^ "On the Nomination (Confirmation: Florence Y. Pan, of the District of Columbia, to be U.S. Circuit Judge for the District of Columbia Circuit)". United States Senate. September 20, 2022. Retrieved September 20, 2022.
  29. ^ John Wagner; Azi Paybarah (September 20, 2022). "Post Politics Now: 'Dark money erodes public trust,' Biden says as he pushes disclosure legislation". The Washington Post. Washington, D.C. ISSN 0190-8286. OCLC 1330888409.
  30. ^ "WEDDINGS/CELEBRATIONS; Florence Pan, Max Stier". The New York Times. May 23, 2004. Florence Yu Pan and Max Ian Stier were married yesterday at the New Zealand Embassy in Washington. Rabbi M. Bruce Lustig performed the ceremony, which was followed by a Chinese wedding banquet.

External links

Legal offices Preceded byLinda Turner Hamilton Judge of the Superior Court of the District of Columbia 2009–2021 Succeeded byCarl Ezekiel Ross Preceded byKetanji Brown Jackson Judge of the United States District Court for the District of Columbia 2021–2022 Vacant Judge of the United States Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit 2022–present Incumbent
Judges of the United States courts of appeals
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