Dolly Gee
Dolly Gee | |||||||||||
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| Chief Judge of theUnited States District Court for the Central District of California | |||||||||||
| Assumed office March 31, 2024 | |||||||||||
| Preceded by | Philip S. Gutierrez | ||||||||||
| Judge of theUnited States District Court for the Central District of California | |||||||||||
| Assumed office January 4, 2010 | |||||||||||
| Appointed by | Barack Obama | ||||||||||
| Preceded by | George P. Schiavelli | ||||||||||
| Personal details | |||||||||||
| Born | July 1, 1959[1] Hawthorne, California,U.S. | ||||||||||
| Education | University of California, Los Angeles(BA,JD) | ||||||||||
| Chinese name | |||||||||||
| Chinese | Chu mỹ du[citation needed] | ||||||||||
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Dolly Maizie Gee(born July 1, 1959) is thechief United States district judgeof theUnited States District Court for the Central District of California.
Early life and education
[edit]Gee was born inHawthorne, California,the daughter ofCantoneseimmigrants fromTaishan.[2][3][4]Gee's father was aWorld War IIveteranwho later worked as anaerospace engineeron projects like theApollo missionsand theSpace Shuttle,while her mother was agarment worker.[3]Gee earned aBachelors of Artsfrom theUniversity of California, Los Angelesin 1981 and aJuris DoctorfromUniversity of California, Los Angeles School of Lawin 1984.[5]From 1984 until 1986, Gee served as alaw clerkfor JudgeMilton Schwartzof theUnited States District Court for the Eastern District of California.[5][6]
Professional career
[edit]In 1986, Gee joined theLos Angeleslaw firm of Schwartz, Steinsapir, Dohrmann & Sommers LLP. She served as anassociatefrom 1986 until 1990, and became apartnerin 1990. From 1994 until 1999, Gee also served as a member of the Federal Service Impasses Panel, a federal labor relations authority.[6]
Federal judicial service
[edit]Expired nomination to federal district court under Clinton
[edit]On May 27, 1999, PresidentBill Clintonnominated Gee to be a judge on theUnited States District Court for the Central District of Californiato replace JudgeJohn G. Davies.However, with Republicans in control of theUnited States Senate,Gee's nomination languished, despite her meeting with Clinton on May 24, 2000.[7]Gee never received a hearing before the Republican-controlledUnited States Senate Committee on the Judiciary,and her nomination was returned to Clinton at the end of his presidency.[8]PresidentGeorge W. Bushlater successfully nominatedJohn F. Walterto the seat to which Gee had been nominated.[6]
Nomination to district court under Obama
[edit]On August 6, 2009, PresidentBarack Obamanominated Gee to a seat on theUnited States District Court for the Central District of California,to fill the seat vacated by JudgeGeorge P. Schiavelli,who resigned in October 2008.[5]On October 15, 2009, theUnited States Senate Committee on the Judiciaryreferred Gee's nomination to the full Senate. The Senate confirmed Gee by unanimous consent on December 24, 2009. She received her commission on January 4, 2010.[9]On March 19, 2010, Gee was inducted to California's branch of the United States District Court.[10]This makes her the firstChinese Americanwoman to serve as anArticle III Judge.[11][6]She became chief judge on March 31, 2024.[12]
Notable rulings
[edit]Ruling on Trump's family detention policy
[edit]In June 2018, US Attorney GeneralJeff Sessionsrequested that the U.S. District Court for the Central District of California modify theFlores Agreement“in a manner that would permit the Secretary, under present resource constraints, to detain alien families together throughout the pendency of criminal proceedings for improper entry or any removal or other immigration proceedings.” On July 9, 2018, Gee rejected the request, citing that there was no basis to modify the agreement and pointing out that it is an issue the legislative branch has to solve instead.[13]She ruled at the time that immigrant children generally can't be held longer than 20 days.[14]On June 26, 2020, Gee ruled that migrant children held longer than 20 days must be released because of theCOVID-19 pandemic in the United States.[15]
See also
[edit]- List of Asian American jurists
- List of first women lawyers and judges in California
- List of first women lawyers and judges in the United States
References
[edit]- ^Hubbell, Martindale (March 2002).Martindale-Hubbell Law Directory, Volume 2 (2002 - California A-R).Martindale-Hubbell.ISBN9781561604913.
- ^Baxter, Eric (September 28, 2009)."Chinese-American jurists raise the bar".China Daily.
- ^ab"L.A. Now".The Los Angeles Times.December 25, 2009.
- ^"Boxer recommends two for Los Angeles federal bench".Associated Press.February 3, 1999.
- ^abcPresident Obama Nominates Edward Milton Chen, Dolly Gee and Richard Seeborg to Serve on the District Court Bench,whitehouse.gov(August 7, 2009).
- ^abcdDolly Geeat theBiographical Directory of Federal Judges,a publication of theFederal Judicial Center.
- ^"Clinton Nominates Asian American for U.S. District court".AsianWeek.June 7, 2000. p. 12.
- ^"(END OF THE MONTH) U.S. District Judge J. Spencer Letts Takes Senior Status...Adjournment of Senate Kills Hopes of Ninth Circuit, U.S. District Court Nominees...Legislation Creating New Positions on Court of Appeal, Superior Court Effective Monday".Metropolitan News-Enterprise.December 29, 2000. p. 9.
- ^Dolly Geeat theBiographical Directory of Federal Judges,a publication of theFederal Judicial Center.
- ^"A Brilliant Shattering of Glass".The Pacific Citizen.April 2, 2010. Archived fromthe originalon September 7, 2014.
- ^"In The News".house.gov.Retrieved6 July2015.
- ^"Judge Dolly M. Gee Succeeds Judge Philip S. Gutierrez as Chief Judge of the Central District Of California".United States District Court for the Central District of California.April 1, 2024.RetrievedApril 4,2024.
- ^"Federal judge denies Trump administration request to detain immigrant children".www.cbsnews.com.10 July 2018.
- ^"Trump's executive order only protects against family separation for 20 days".www.cbsnews.com.20 June 2018.
- ^Romero, Dennis (June 26, 2020)."Judge orders release of migrant children over coronavirus".NBC News.RetrievedJune 27,2020.
External links
[edit]- Dolly Geeat theBiographical Directory of Federal Judges,a publication of theFederal Judicial Center.
- Dolly GeeatBallotpedia
- 1959 births
- Living people
- 20th-century American lawyers
- 20th-century American women lawyers
- 21st-century American judges
- 21st-century American women judges
- 21st-century American lawyers
- 21st-century American women lawyers
- People from Hawthorne, California
- Lawyers from Los Angeles
- American jurists of Chinese descent
- University of California, Los Angeles alumni
- UCLA School of Law alumni
- Judges of the United States District Court for the Central District of California
- United States district court judges appointed by Barack Obama