APALA/NJ News & Announcements

APALA/NJ Letter to the Editor of the NJLJ
March 20, 2008
Letter to the Editor:

Last week, an unfortunate incident was revisited before the Senate Judiciary Committee. During his reappointment hearing, Superior Court Judge Fred Kieser, Jr., acknowledged saying "no tickee, no laundry" to a litigant during a support hearing. This, in addition to other concerns discussed during the hearing, caused Governor Jon Corzine to withdraw Judge Kieser's reappointment. The purpose of this letter is not to assess Judge Kieser's qualifications for reappointment. Rather, this seeks to reinforce that a fair and impartial Judiciary is a minimum and basic expectation of litigants as well as lawyers.

Make no mistake, Judge Kieser's statement is widely viewed as a racial slur perpetuating a negative stereotype of Asian business owners, and mocking Asian accents. Regardless to whom it is directed, these words are hurtful and offensive. From a Judge sitting on the bench in open court, the words undermine the public's basic expectation of a judiciary that is fair and free from bias.

The issue of bias, under representation, and disenfranchisement of Asian Americans in the judicial system transcends this singular episode. However, this incident highlights the challenges that minorities in the legal profession routinely face. A meaningful first step towards addressing bias is through diversity. Diversity decreases the likelihood of insensitivity or ignorance towards culture, religion, race, and gender, among others. Diversity also reassures litigants of inclusiveness within the Judiciary.

In terms of the Asian community, New Jersey has never had more than 2 Asian American judges - out of 441 seats - in New Jersey's Superior Court, a mere .0045% representation. Due to retirement, we risk having no Asian American judges as of June 30, 2008. Moreover, no Asian Americans serve on New Jersey's Appellate Division or Supreme Court. This under representation is particularly alarming in light of New Jersey's burgeoning Asian American community. New Jersey is home to approximately 650,000 Asian Americans, or nearly 8 percent of the State's population. In fact, the Asian American community is one of the fastest growing in New Jersey, and the nation. Only California and Hawaii have a greater proportion of Asian American residents.

Governor Corzine and his administration continue to actively engage all communities to ensure that qualified diversity candidates are considered for the bench, as well as the public sector. Towards this end, Governor Corzine has worked closely with the Asian Pacific Lawyers Association of New Jersey (APALA/NJ). Notably, Governor Corzine is the first New Jersey Governor to appoint two Asian Americans to cabinet level positions (the Public Advocate and the Commissioner of the Department of Transportation).

However, Asian American representation in the Judiciary cannot be achieved without the cooperation of the Legislature. Our elected State Senators must join Governor Corzine and actively identify, encourage, and support qualified Asian American judicial candidates. Additionally, given the applicability of the Hughes Compact, the respective county bar associations, and the New Jersey State Bar Association should strive toward meaningful diversity within their internal Judicial and Prosecutorial Appointments Committees, and also seek out more diversity candidates for judicial consideration.

New Jersey is home to a large number of outstanding Asian American attorneys including public officials and government attorneys, law professors, in-house counsel for New Jersey's top companies, and prominent private sector lawyers. There is a robust pool of qualified Asian American attorneys in New Jersey interested in serving in the Judiciary. We ask our State Senators and County and State Bar associations, to join Governor Corzine and focus their collective efforts on increasing Asian American representation in the judiciary.

Though regrettable, this incident can positively serve as a "wake up call" for the legal profession to demand true diversity in the Judiciary. In light of New Jersey's diverse, high quality, and competent legal community, there should be no excuse.

The APALA/NJ Board

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APALA/NJ Member Eugene Huang Honored with the Professional Lawyer of the Year Award

Former APALA/NJ President and current member Eugene Huang was presented with the award for the Professional Lawyer of the Year Award at the Annual Professionalism Awards Luncheon held at the New Jersey Law Center on September 28, 2007. He is pictured with United States District Court Chief Judge Garrett E. Brown Jr. and New Jersey Supreme Court Justice Barry T. Albin. Mr. Huang is also accompanied by a family member.

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APALA/NJ Hosts Northeast Regional Conference
On April 13th & 14th, APALA/NJ proudly hosted the NAPABA NE Regional Conference in Atlantic City, NJ. The conference theme, ALL IN, resonated throughout the conference. Many members and guests played a memorable round at the beautiful Harbor Pines Golf Club during Friday's golf outing, then enjoyed the welcome reception/dinner with special guests, Edison Mayor Jun Choi and NJ Department of Transportation Commissioner (and former NJ Acting Governor) Kris Kolluri.

Saturday's conference panelists provided terrific perspective and expert insight on significant legal and professional issues impacting the legal sector, particularly Asian American attorneys. Over 100 attorneys and friends from NJ, NY, PA, CT, MA and nationwide joined NYC Councilman John Liu and NAPABA President Phil Shinn on Saturday for the Conference's gala dinner. Our Mistress of Ceremonies, NBC News anchorwoman Denise Nakano, presided over a festive evening that included the induction of APALA/NJ's Board for 2007-08: Michael Angulo (President), Sudha Kantor (President-Elect), David Kwon (Vice President), Jin Hwang (Treasurer), and Will Shih (Secretary). The Hon. Patricia Medina Talbert adminstered the swearing-in. APALA/NJ also honored Lora Fong with its 2007 Achievement Award in re cognition of Lora's commitment and effort towards advancing APALA/NJ's mission.

APALA/NJ is grateful to NAPABA and our NE affiliates for the strong support and attendance that made this year's conference a resounding success. APALA/NJ would also like to congratulate the Conference Co-Chairs, Ed Sun Kiel and Moly K. Hung, on their terrific work.

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APALA/NJ Member Mark Ali Receives the Professionalism Award from the New Jersey Commission on Professionalism in the Law
On October 13, 2006, APALA/NJ member Mark Ali, an Assistant Prosecutor with the Essex County Prosecutor's Office, was recognized by the New Jersey Commission on Professionalism in the Law at the Commission's Annual Professionalism Awards Luncheon. For more information on the Commission and the Award received by Mark, please see the attached link to the Commission's website. http://www.njsba.com/commission_on_prof/. Congratulations Mark!

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Meeting Summary Between APALA/NJ and U.S. Senator Robert Menendez
On September 22, 2006, representatives of APALA/NJ met with U.S. Senator Menendez to discuss the judicial appointments process. The following is a report of that meeting from Michael Angulo, Chair of APALA/NJ's Political and Judicial Appointments Committee ("PJAC").

Read the full report here.

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APALA/NJ Members Chen & Kolluri Named to NJ Governor Corzine's Cabinet
APALA/NJ is proud to announce that two of its distinguished members - Ron Chen and Kris Kolluri - have been nominated by New Jersey Governor Jon S. Corzine to join his Cabinet. Ron will serve as Public Advocate, and Kris will serve as Commissioner of Transportation. Ron formerly served as Dean for Academic Affairs at Rutgers University Law School. Kris was most recently Counsel at Parker McCay, P.A., and was formerly Chief of Staff at the Department of Transportation. Following their respective Senate confirmation, this will represent the first time that Asian Americans have ever served in the Governor's Cabinet in New Jersey. Please join APALA/NJ in congratulating Ron and Kris on this historical occasion.

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APALA/NJ Founder Judge Sue Pai Yang Receives Tenure
APALA/NJ founder and supporter Judge Sue Pai Yang received her tenure as a Judge of Compensation in New Jersey. She is the first and only Asian American in New Jersey to be appointed as a workers' compensation judge by the governor.

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