Senator Murray has worked closely with the Biden administration to make record progress in filling Washington state’s vacancies on the federal bench as quickly as possible to ensure the federal judicial system is working for all Washington state families
Senator Murray: “Judge Chun is patient and thoughtful—someone the people of Washington state can count on to faithfully uphold the rule of law and treat litigants, and all parties before him, with grace and respect.”
***WATCH VIDEO OF SENATOR MURRAY’S FLOOR SPEECH CALLING FOR CONFIRMATION OF JUDGE CHUN HERE***
***PHOTOS OF SENATOR MURRAY AND JUDGE CHUN HERE***
(Washington, D.C.) – Today, U.S. Senator Patty Murray (D-WA), hailed the Senate’s confirmation today of Judge John Chun to serve as a U.S. District Court judge for the Western District of Washington by a vote of 49-47.
Senator Murray recommended Judge Chun to the Biden-Harris administration in early 2021 after his name was submitted to the Senator for consideration by Murray’s judicial merit selection committee. Judge Chun is the fifth confirmed judicial candidate recommended by Senator Murray to a lifetime federal district judge appointment from Washington state during this Congress.
“Judge Chun is a Pacific Northwest native, a father, the son of South Korean immigrants and he would be the first Asian American man to serve on Washington state’s federal bench. Judge Chun is patient and thoughtful—someone the people of Washington state can count on to faithfully uphold the rule of law and treat litigants, and all parties before him, with grace and respect,” said Senator Murray.
“Judge Chun’s qualifications are superb, having served for seven years as a state court judge. And his temperament and record of service demonstrate a real commitment to fairness and impartiality—whether through his service as a Board Member for the Washington Low Income Housing Alliance or his many pro-bono commitments over the course of a long career as both an attorney and a judge. For all these reasons and more, Judge Chun’s service as a federal district court judge in my home state of Washington would surely help rebuild faith in our judicial system.”
John Chun has served as a judge on the Washington State Court of Appeals since 2018 and previously served as a judge on the King County Superior Court, where he presided as a trial judge in civil, criminal, and family law cases. Prior to his judgeships, Judge Chun was a member of the Summit Law Group in Seattle from 2006-2013, and a partner at K&L Gates and Mundt MacGregor before that. A Pacific Northwest native and the son of South Korean immigrants, Judge Chun graduated from Columbia University with a bachelor’s degree in English. He then graduated from Cornell Law School, becoming the first in his family to earn a law degree.
Judge Chun chairs the Washington State Center for Court Research Advisory Board. He serves on the Court of Appeals Rules Committee, the advisory board of the Judicial Institute, and the board of the Asian Bar Association of Washington Student Scholarship Foundation. He has also contributed as a board member of the King County Bar Association and the Federal Bar Association of the Western District of Washington. In 2007 he received the Community Leadership Award from the Korean American Bar Association of Washington. From 2004 to 2014, he served as a member of the American Arbitration Association’s Commercial and Employment panels. He presents regularly on a wide range of legal topics at continuing legal education seminars, bar events, and law schools.
Senator Murray has been a vocal supporter of the confirmation of highly qualified judicial candidates who represent the diverse communities in Washington state and across the country, with a special emphasis on increasing professional diversity on the federal court.
Senator Murray has also secured the confirmations of Tana Lin, Washington state’s first ever Asian American federal judge and a former public defender and civil rights lawyer; Lauren King, a tribal law expert who is serving as Washington state’s first ever Native American federal judge; David Estudillo, the son of Mexican immigrants and a former immigration attorney; and Kit Dimke who is serving in the Eastern District of Washington from the Spokane Courthouse. Senator Murray is currently working to secure the confirmation of Tiffany Cartwright, a leading civil rights lawyer.
Read more about Judge Chun’s nomination HERE.
Senator Murray’s floor remarks as prepared for delivery can be found below:
“M. President, I rise to urge my colleagues to join me in voting to confirm Judge John Chun for a federal district court judgeship in the Western District of Washington.
“Judge Chun is a Pacific Northwest native, a father, the son of South Korean immigrants and he would be the first Asian American man to serve on Washington state’s federal bench.
“Judge Chun is patient and thoughtful—someone the people of Washington state can count on to faithfully uphold the rule of law and treat litigants, and all parties before him, with grace and respect.
“Judge Chun’s qualifications are superb, having served for seven years as a state court judge.
“And his temperament and record of service demonstrate a real commitment to fairness and impartiality whether through his service as a Board Member for the Washington Low Income Housing Alliance or his many pro-bono commitments over the course of a long career as both an attorney and a judge.
“For all these reasons and more, Judge Chun’s service as a federal district court judge in my home state of Washington would surely help rebuild faith in our judicial system.
“I respectfully urge my colleagues to confirm Judge Chun.
“Thank you.”
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