WASHINGTON — The Senate voted March 28 to confirm Miranda Mai Du to serve on the U.S. District Court for the District of Nevada.
Du is the first-ever Asian Pacific American to serve as an Article III judge in Nevada.
Nimesh M. Patel, president of the National Asian Pacific American Bar Association (NAPABA), congratulated Du and thanked Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nev.) for suggesting her name to President Obama and scheduling her confirmation vote.
“Judge Du is a nominee with a wealth of experiences and qualifications,” said Patel. “She also has an inspiring life story, and will add much needed diversity of perspective on the federal court in Nevada.”
Du fled from Vietnam with her family by boat when she was eight years old. After spending a year in refugee camps in Malaysia, they immigrated to Alabama. She attended UC Davis, where she graduated with honors, and UC Berkeley (Boalt Hall). She moved to Nevada after law school and became a partner with the firm of McDonald Carano Wilson LLP in Reno, where she was chair of the Employment and Labor Law group.
Nevada has a burgeoning APA community, with approximately 9 percent of the population.
“With her confirmation, Judge Du joins a growing number of Asian Pacific American judges on the federal courts,” said Mee Moua, president and executive director of the Asian American Justice Center (AAJC), a member of the Asian American Center for Advancing Justice. “Although Asian Pacific Americans are still underrepresented in the federal judiciary, we applaud the forward movement and thank Sen. Reid for recommending her for this vacancy.”
With Du’s confirmation, the number of active Asian Pacific American Article III judges has doubled from eight to 16 during the Obama Administration. However, if the number of APA judges reflected the general population, then there should be approximately 11-12 APA federal circuit court judges, and 40-41 APA federal district court judges.
AAJC and NAPABA urged members of the APA community to continue pressing the Senate to schedule confirmation votes for pending APA judicial nominees.
Rep. Judy Chu (D-El Monte), chair of the Congressional Asian Pacific American Caucus (CAPAC), said, “I urge the Senate to move forward in confirming pending judicial nominees, including Judge Jacqueline Nguyen and John Z. Lee. While Miranda’s confirmation is a victory for our community, there is still much work to be done. CAPAC looks forward to working with President Obama and the Senate to expand the number of diverse and highly qualified candidates serving on the federal bench.”