Associate Justice Ming W. Chin
On March 1, 1996, Justice Ming W. Chin became an Associate
Justice of the Supreme Court of California. Governor Pete Wilson
appointed him to that position on January 25, 1996. On March 1, he
was confirmed by the Commission on Judicial Appointments and sworn
in by the Governor. Justice Chin previously served as the Presiding
Justice of the First District Court of Appeal, Division Three, in
San Francisco beginning January 2, 1995. He was appointed to that
position by Governor Pete Wilson on August 17, 1994, and in November
1994 was elected to a 12-year term. Previously he was an associate
justice of that court, having been appointed to that position by
former Governor George Deukmejian. Prior to that appointment, he
served as a judge of the Alameda County Superior Court. Before his
appointment to the bench, Justice Chin was a partner in an Oakland
law firm, where he specialized in business and commercial
litigation.
Justice Chin obtained his Bachelor of Arts degree in political
science as well as a Doctorate of Jurisprudence from the University
of San Francisco and was admitted to the California State Bar in
1970; he also has been admitted to practice before the federal
courts, as well as the United States Tax Court. After he graduated
from law school, Justice Chin served two years as a Captain in the
United States Army, including a year in Vietnam, where he was
awarded the Army Commendation Medal and the Bronze Star. He then
served three years as a deputy district attorney for Alameda County,
where he tried numerous felony and misdemeanor jury trials and
progressed to the position of felony trial deputy.
In 1973, Justice Chin was recruited by the Oakland law firm of
Aiken, Kramer & Cummings, Incorporated, to head its trial
department. He became a principal of the firm in 1976. His
successful trials include two judgments in excess of one million
dollars. The first was a $1.3 million judgment in an unfair
competition/ wrongful termination case in the Alameda County
Superior Court, and the second was a $1.2 million award in an
arbitration of a construction dispute in Los Angeles.
Justice Chin has served on many committees of the state and local
bar associations and was the first Asian-American to serve as
President of the Alameda County Bar Association in its more than
100-year history. He was a member of the Judicial Council Appellate
Advisory Committee and the Advisory Committee on Racial and Ethnic
Bias. He served as a member of the Board of Trustees of the
University of San Francisco, where he was a member of the Executive
Committee and chaired the Academic Affairs Committee. He was also a
member of the USF Law School Board of Counselors and an Adjunct
Professor of Law. The USF Alumni Association presented him a
distinguished service award in 1985 for his work as a past president
of that organization. In 1988, he was selected as the USF Alumnus of
the Year; in 1993, he was named USF Law School Alumnus of the Year;
and in 1996 USF Law School presented him with the St. Thomas More
Award. Justice Chin was selected as the Outstanding Judge of the
Year in 1989 by the Southern Alameda County Bar Association. The San
Francisco Bay Chapter of the American Jewish Committee named him
recipient of the 1997 Learned Hand Award. In 1998 he served as
President of the Commonwealth Club of California.
Justice Chin has authored landmark decisions in areas such as
DNA, toxic tort insurance coverage, surrogate parents, and hate
crimes. He has frequently lectured on DNA, genetics, and the courts,
to groups including the American Bar Association's Judicial
Division, the State of California's Center for Judicial Education
and Research (CJER), the National College of Probate Judges, the
Wisconsin Supreme Court Judicial Education Committee, and the
Chulabhorn International Science Congress, Bangkok, Thailand. He is
a frequent lecturer in judicial education and gave the Traynor
Lecture at the Witkin Judicial College in June 2007. He also spoke
on behalf of the California Supreme Court in December 1996 at its
memorial session honoring the late Bernard E. Witkin. He is an
author of California Practice Guide: Employment Litigation (The
Rutter Group 2006).
EDUCATION
Bellarmine College Preparatory, 1960
San Jose, California
University of San Francisco
B.A., Political Science, 1964
University of San Francisco, School of Law
Juris Doctorate,
Law, 1967
CURRENT EMPLOYMENT
Supreme Court of California
Associate Justice appointed
by Governor Pete Wilson, January 25, 1996
Confirmed by the
Commission on Judicial Appointments, March 1, 1996
Oath of
Office, March 1, 1996
Elected, 12-year term, November 1998
PAST EMPLOYMENT
Court of Appeal, First District, Division Three, Presiding
Justice
Appointed by Governor Pete Wilson, August 17,
1994
Confirmed by the Commission on Judicial Appointments, August
29, 1994
Oath of Office, December 2, 1994
Elected, 12-year
term, November 1994
Court of Appeal, First District, Division Three, Associate
Justice
Appointed by Governor George Deukmejian, August 7,
1990
Confirmed by the Commission on Judicial Appointments, August
20, 1990
Oath of Office, August 20, 1990
Elected, 12-year
term, November 1990
Alameda County Superior Court, Judge
Appointed by
Governor George Deukmejian, January 6,1988
Oath of Office,
January 8, 1988
Elected, 6-year term, November 1990
United States Army, Captain (1967 - 1969)
- Fort Lewis, Washington
Chief of the Transfer
Station
U.S. Army Personnel Center
Fort Carson, Colorado
Chief Personnel Officer
1st Brigade
of the 5th Division
Long Binh, Vietnam
Procurement Officer
U.S. Army
Headquarters, Vietnam
United States Army Reserves, Captain (1969 - 1971)
- 91st Division, Headquarters
Fort Baker
Sausalito,
California
Alameda County, California
Deputy District Attorney,
1970 - 1972
Aiken, Kramer & Cummings, Inc.
Associate, 1973 -
1976
Partner, 1976 - 1988
(Specialized in business litigation
and employment law counseling and litigation)
PROFESSIONAL ORGANIZATIONS
California Judges Association
Member, 1988 -
present
Member, Public Information and Education
Committee
Graduate, California Judges College, 1988
Judicial Council of California
Chair, Court Technology
Advisory Committee, 2002 - Present
Chair, Science and the Law
Steering Committee, 2005 - present
Member, Advisory Committee on
Racial and Ethnic Bias, 1990 - 1997
Member, Appellate Advisory
Committee, 1993 - 1996
State Bar of California
Delegate, Conference of
Delegates, 1983 - 1986
Referee, State Bar Court, 1978,
1979
Member, Executive Committee of the State Bar Court, 1993 -
1994
Alameda County Bar Association
Member, Board of
Directors, 1983 - 1988
Vice-President, 1986
President,
1987
San Francisco District Attorney's Commission on Hate
Crimes
Member, 1990 - 1992
COMMUNITY SERVICE
University of San Francisco
Member, Alpha Sigma Nu,
National Jesuit Honor Society
Editor, USF Yearbook, 1964 (The
Don)
Member, USF Alumni Board of Governors, 1978 -
1984
President, USF Alumni Association, 1983 - 1984
Member,
Board of Counselors, USF School of Law, 1980 to
present
Commencement Speaker, College of Professional Studies,
May 1985
Member, USF Board of Trustees, 1985 - 1997
Member,
Personnel Committee, 1985 - 1988
Member, Executive Committee,
1986 - 1988, 1993 - 1998
Member, Academic Affairs Committee, 1988
- 1998; Chairman of the Committee, 1993 - 1998
Adjunct Professor
of Law, 1989 - 1993
Commonwealth Club of California
Member since
1978
Member, Program Committee, 1992 - present
Chairman of the
Committee, 1995
Member, Board of Governors, 1993 -
present
Chairman of the Executive Committee,
1996
President-elect, 1997
President, 1998
First District Agricultural Association
Member, Board
of Directors, 1985 - 1988
AWARDS AND HONORS
McQuade Award for Journalism, USF, 1964
U.S. Army Commendation Medal, Quang Tri, Vietnam, 1969
The Bronze Star (U.S. Army), Long Binh, Vietnam, 1969
Distinguished Service Award, USF Alumni Association, April
1985
Alumnus of the Year, USF, 1988
Appointed by California Governor George Deukmejian as a Member of
the Board of Directors, First District Agricultural Association,
1985-1988
Outstanding Judge of the Year, 1989, Southern Alameda County Bar
Association
Alumnus of the Year, USF School of Law, 1993
St. Thomas More Award, USF School of Law, 1996
Honorary Doctor of Laws, Southwestern University School of Law,
1996
Honorary Doctor of Laws, Golden Gate University School of Law,
1997
Learned Hand Award, American Jewish Committee, SF Bay Chapter,
1997
Honoree for Service in the Field of Law, Chinese Consolidated
Benevolent Association & Chinese Women's Association of America,
1997
Legal Impact Award, Asian Pacific American Legal Center of
Southern California, 1997
Honorary Doctor of Laws, University of San Diego School of Law,
1998
Honorary Doctor of Laws, Western State University School of Law,
1998
Citizen of the Year Award, Chinese Americans United for Self
Empowerment, 1998
Public Service & Government Leadership Award, Asian Business
Association, 1998
Trailblazer Award, National Asian Pacific American Bar
Association, 1999
Grand Marshall, San Gabriel Valley Lunar New Year Parade,
2000
Honorary Doctor of Laws, California Western School of Law,
2001
Honorary Doctor of Laws, Pepperdine University School of Law,
2002
United States Attorney's Asian Pacific American Heritage Month
Award, 2004
Distinguished Faculty Service, Judicial Council of California
Education Division, 2005
Promoting Diversity Through Judicial Excellence, California
Minority Counsel Program, 2006
Commitment to Community Award, Asian Pacific Bar Association of
Silicon Valley, 2006
Legal Impact Award, Asian Law Alliance, 2007
PUBLICATIONS
Keynote Address: "Fairness or Bias?: A Symposium on Racial
and Ethnic Composition and Attitudes in the Judiciary" (May
1997) 4 Asian Law Journal (Boalt Hall School of Law, U.C. Berkeley)
181
California Practice Guide: Employment Litigation (The Rutter
Group, 2006)
Healthcare and Other Social Aspects of Genetics: a Judicial
Perspective (2007) Vol. 8, No. 5, Int. J. Healthcare Technology
and Management, 549.
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