Judge Jacqueline Nguyen
U.S. Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals
Jacqueline Hong-Ngoc Nguyen was born in May 1965 in Da Lai, Vietnam. She moved to the U.S. at age 10 after the fall of Vietnam in 1975. She earned an undergraduate degree in English from Occidental College and was awarded a Juris Doctor from the UCLA School of Law. She worked in private practice, specializing in civil litigation.
For a period, she served as an Assistant United States Attorney in the Central District of California, then joined the U.S. Attorney’s office in the Public Corruption and Government Fraud section, overseeing U.S. Department of Defense fraud prosecutions. She was appointed by California Governor Gray Davis to be a judge on the Superior Court of Los Angeles County.
President Barack Obama nominated Nguyen to a seat on the U.S. District Court for the Central District of California. She was confirmed by the Senate 97-0 and assumed her position in December 2009. Two years later, President Obama nominated Nguyen to the United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit. She was confirmed by the Senate and received her commission in May 2012.
She is married to Pio S. Kim.
In the News…
The Ninth Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals issued a 2-1 ruling denying the request for a temporary restraining order against California Governor Gavin Newsom’s in-church service ban filed by a church in Chula Vista.
The ruling was issued on the same day President Trump demanded governors nationwide allow churches, synagogues, mosques, and other places of worship to reopen immediately.
In their ruling, the federal appellate judges who sided with Newsom found the state’s action of shuttering houses of worship due to a health emergency does not “infringe upon or restrict parties because of their religious motivation” and does not “in a selection manner impose burdens only on conduct motivated by religious beliefs.”
Judge Jacqueline Nguyen and Judge Barry Silverman wrote their ruling denying the restraining order. They said, “We’re dealing here with a highly contagious and often fatal disease for which there presently is no known cure.”
While attorneys representing the church called it “religious discrimination,” San Diego County Health Department has since issued an order allowing worship services at either 25% of building capacity or a maximum of 100 people, with social distancing.
Contact this Leader…
Did you pray for Judge Nguyen today? You can let her know at:
The Honorable Jacqueline Nguyen
U.S. Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals
The Richard H. Chambers Courthouse
125 South Grand Avenue
Pasadena, CA 91105
