BUILDING THE PIPELINE OF GEORGIA'S
ASIAN PACIFIC AMERICAN JUDGES
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Asian Pacific American Judges on the Rise in Georgia
ATLANTA, GA – On Tuesday, August 13, 2013, Georgia Attorney General Sam Olens delivered the keynote speech at a special forum recognizing the rise of Asian Pacific American (“APA”) Judges and attorneys in Georgia. Entitled “Building the Pipeline of APA Judges in Georgia,” the event was hosted by the law firm of McKenna, Long & Aldridge, LLP, and was presented by the GA Asian American & Pacific Islander (AAPI) Task Force, and Georgia’s three APA Bar Associations: the Georgia Asian Pacific American Bar Association (GAPABA), the Korean American Bar Association (KABA-GA), and the South Asian Bar Association (SABA-GA).
The forum featured a superstar cadre of judges and prosecutors, including welcoming remarks from Sally Yates, U.S. Attorney for the Northern District of Georgia, followed by a panel discussion on judicial diversity with Justice Robert Benham, the first African American to serve on the Georgia Supreme Court, Judge Carla Wong McMillian, the first Asian Pacific American appointed to the Georgia Court of Appeals, and U.S. Magistrate Judge Justin Anand of the Northern District of Georgia, the first APA and South Asian appointed to the federal judiciary in Georgia. The event will also recognize Georgia’s first two APA Solicitors General: Jamie Inagawa, the first elected APA Solicitor General, hailing from Fayette County, and Donna Gopaul, the first South Asian Solicitor General from Forsyth County, newly appointed earlier this year by Governor Nathan Deal.
The event's purpose was to attract and encourage more APAs to seek appointment or election to judicial or legal office, and to highlight the need for a more diverse judiciary. Currently, U.S. Attorney Sally Yates’ office (N.D. GA) has identified at least six APA prosecutors in their office. U.S. Magistrate Judge Justin Anand himself is a former Assistant U.S. Attorney from that office. The Fulton County District Attorney’s and Public Defender’s office alone has at least nine APA attorneys, and more throughout the metro Atlanta counties.
GAPABA, SABA-GA and KABA-GA reached out to their membership rosters to attend the event. “KABA-GA is excited to present and participate in this important discussion on increasing the presence of APAs in the Georgia judiciary, especially considering the growing presence of Korean-American citizens and business in Georgia,” says Sara Hamilton, KABA-GA Board Member. “Indian Americans now represent the largest APA population in Georgia,” says Anita Goklaney, President of SABA-GA. “We are very proud to see South Asian faces represented in the legal field, especially with the recent appointment of Judge Anand and [Forsyth Solicitor General] Donna Gopaul.”
“It took 15 years for the number of APA judges in Georgia to suddenly rise in the last year. DeKalb County State Court Judge Alvin T. Wong was the Southeast’s first and only elected APA Judge for over a decade when he took office in 1998. Now, in 2013, with the elevation of Judge Wong McMillian to the Court of Appeals, and the appointment of Judge Anand in the Northern District of Georgia, we need to recognize that the pool of qualified APA legal candidates for Georgia’s judiciary has definitely expanded,” says Bonnie Youn, GAPABA Board Member and Chair of its Judiciary Committee. “The surge in APA judges in Georgia is also reflective of the national trend, where the current Administration has appointed more APA federal judges to the bench in the past four years than at any time in history.”
“We want to continue this trend of increasing the number of Georgia’s APA political appointments, particularly in the judiciary and legal fields,” says Farooq Mughal, Co-Chair of the Georgia AAPI Task Force. “It is important for our elected officials to recognize the breadth and depth of what the APA legal community has to offer. If we establish a new AAPI Commission for Georgia, we can recommend and push forward more qualified APA candidates for judicial office.”
These gains in the legal fields are possibly reflective of the changing demographics of Georgia, where the APA population has grown by 83 percent from 2000 to 2010. However, Youn notes, “Judge Wong McMillian first served in Fayette County State Court. Inagawa and Gopaul are APA lead prosecutors elected or appointed in Forsyth and Fayette Counties, not areas we associate with large, recognizable APA communities. Their success and legal acumen gives Justice an Asian American face in Georgia.”
Twitter Hashtag: #APAJudgesGA
Asian Pacific American Judges on the Rise in Georgia
ATLANTA, GA – On Tuesday, August 13, 2013, Georgia Attorney General Sam Olens delivered the keynote speech at a special forum recognizing the rise of Asian Pacific American (“APA”) Judges and attorneys in Georgia. Entitled “Building the Pipeline of APA Judges in Georgia,” the event was hosted by the law firm of McKenna, Long & Aldridge, LLP, and was presented by the GA Asian American & Pacific Islander (AAPI) Task Force, and Georgia’s three APA Bar Associations: the Georgia Asian Pacific American Bar Association (GAPABA), the Korean American Bar Association (KABA-GA), and the South Asian Bar Association (SABA-GA).
The forum featured a superstar cadre of judges and prosecutors, including welcoming remarks from Sally Yates, U.S. Attorney for the Northern District of Georgia, followed by a panel discussion on judicial diversity with Justice Robert Benham, the first African American to serve on the Georgia Supreme Court, Judge Carla Wong McMillian, the first Asian Pacific American appointed to the Georgia Court of Appeals, and U.S. Magistrate Judge Justin Anand of the Northern District of Georgia, the first APA and South Asian appointed to the federal judiciary in Georgia. The event will also recognize Georgia’s first two APA Solicitors General: Jamie Inagawa, the first elected APA Solicitor General, hailing from Fayette County, and Donna Gopaul, the first South Asian Solicitor General from Forsyth County, newly appointed earlier this year by Governor Nathan Deal.
The event's purpose was to attract and encourage more APAs to seek appointment or election to judicial or legal office, and to highlight the need for a more diverse judiciary. Currently, U.S. Attorney Sally Yates’ office (N.D. GA) has identified at least six APA prosecutors in their office. U.S. Magistrate Judge Justin Anand himself is a former Assistant U.S. Attorney from that office. The Fulton County District Attorney’s and Public Defender’s office alone has at least nine APA attorneys, and more throughout the metro Atlanta counties.
GAPABA, SABA-GA and KABA-GA reached out to their membership rosters to attend the event. “KABA-GA is excited to present and participate in this important discussion on increasing the presence of APAs in the Georgia judiciary, especially considering the growing presence of Korean-American citizens and business in Georgia,” says Sara Hamilton, KABA-GA Board Member. “Indian Americans now represent the largest APA population in Georgia,” says Anita Goklaney, President of SABA-GA. “We are very proud to see South Asian faces represented in the legal field, especially with the recent appointment of Judge Anand and [Forsyth Solicitor General] Donna Gopaul.”
“It took 15 years for the number of APA judges in Georgia to suddenly rise in the last year. DeKalb County State Court Judge Alvin T. Wong was the Southeast’s first and only elected APA Judge for over a decade when he took office in 1998. Now, in 2013, with the elevation of Judge Wong McMillian to the Court of Appeals, and the appointment of Judge Anand in the Northern District of Georgia, we need to recognize that the pool of qualified APA legal candidates for Georgia’s judiciary has definitely expanded,” says Bonnie Youn, GAPABA Board Member and Chair of its Judiciary Committee. “The surge in APA judges in Georgia is also reflective of the national trend, where the current Administration has appointed more APA federal judges to the bench in the past four years than at any time in history.”
“We want to continue this trend of increasing the number of Georgia’s APA political appointments, particularly in the judiciary and legal fields,” says Farooq Mughal, Co-Chair of the Georgia AAPI Task Force. “It is important for our elected officials to recognize the breadth and depth of what the APA legal community has to offer. If we establish a new AAPI Commission for Georgia, we can recommend and push forward more qualified APA candidates for judicial office.”
These gains in the legal fields are possibly reflective of the changing demographics of Georgia, where the APA population has grown by 83 percent from 2000 to 2010. However, Youn notes, “Judge Wong McMillian first served in Fayette County State Court. Inagawa and Gopaul are APA lead prosecutors elected or appointed in Forsyth and Fayette Counties, not areas we associate with large, recognizable APA communities. Their success and legal acumen gives Justice an Asian American face in Georgia.”
Twitter Hashtag: #APAJudgesGA