Judge Edward Chen
Northern California U.S. District Court
Edward Milton Chen was born in January 1953 in Oakland, California. He earned his undergraduate degree from the University of California, Berkeley, and his Juris Doctor from the UC Berkeley School of Law. He clerked for a Northern California U.S. District Court judge and a Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals judge.
Chen was an associate at a law firm in San Francisco before becoming an ACLU staffing attorney. He was chosen as a U.S. magistrate judge by the Northern California U.S. District Court for an eight-year term.
President Barack Obama nominated him for district judge in August 2009. The Senate returned the nomination to the president multiple times. President Obama renominated Chen each time. The Senate confirmed him, and he received his judicial commission in May 2011.
In the News…
U.S. District Judge Edward Chen ruled that the Environmental Protection Agency must review the risks of adding fluoride to the water supply. Plaintiffs have petitioned the EPA for years to stop the mineral from being added by local water utilities.
Judge Chen ruled that the evidence of the possible risks of fluoride is enough for the EPA to take action, though his decision “does not conclude with certainty that fluoridated water is injurious to public health.”
Judge Chen wrote, “In all, there is substantial and scientifically credible evidence establishing that fluoride poses a risk to human health; it is associated with a reduction in the IQ of children and is hazardous at dosages that are far too close to fluoride levels in the drinking water of the United States.”
The National Institutes of Health recently finalized a toxicology program, concluding that lower IQs in children may be connected to higher levels of fluoride. The judge noted, “Not only is there an insufficient margin between the hazard level and these exposure levels, for many, the exposure levels exceed the hazard level.” He stated that the EPA cannot “ignore that risk.“
Contact this Leader…
Did you pray for Judge Chen today? You can let him know at:
The Honorable Edward Chen
Northern California U.S. District Court
Phillip Burton Federal Building and U.S. Courthouse
450 Golden Gate Avenue
San Francisco, CA 94102
