Asian Americans & the Law

Gold is found at Sutter’s Mill in what is now California, creating the California Gold Rush and starting immigration from Asia, particularly China, to the U.S. in search of a new life. The Opium Wars left many small farmers with high taxes that they could not afford, coupled with periods of drought and flood that created further economic troubles. Gam Saan or Gold Mountain, as the U.S. was known, promised a new life for immigrants.

The Page Act is signed into law, severely limiting the immigration of Chinese women into the U.S. In an attempt to prohibit “undesirable” immigrants, the law operated under the assumption that any East Asian immigrating to the U.S. would engage in immoral behavior and prostitution — thus establishing the objectification and sexual fetishization of Asian women.

The Chinese Exclusion Act of 1882 was signed into law, preventing all Chinese laborers from immigranting to the US. It continues to be the only law that prohibits all members of a specific ethnic or national group from immigrating into the US.

Hong Yen Chang becomes the first Asian immigrant (Chinese) to earn a law degree in the US, graduating from Columbia Law School. Following his graduation, Chang applied for admission to the NYS bar, which was rejected on the grounds that he was not a citizen. In 1887, the New York Court of Common Pleas issued Chang a naturalization certificate, and he subsequently reapplied for the bar and was admitted in 1888, becoming the first Chinese lawyer in the country.

Hawai’i is annexed by the United States, the culmination of a number of imperial acts committed against Native Hawaiians, including the “Bayonet Constitution.”

Pearl Harbor, a U.S. naval post in Hawai’i, is bombed by Japanese forces during World War II. This act signaled the U.S.’s formal entry in to WWII and many new challenges for Asian Americans.

President Franklin Delano Roosevelt signs Executive Order 9066, creating internment camps for Japanese Americans under the guise of protecting the nation from enemies.

Congress repeals the Chinese Exclusion Act. This act was to increase the nation’s power during World War II and build alliances. Japanese Americans continued to be subjected to harsh conditions in internment camps.

Korematsu v. U.S. 323 U.S. 214 is decided. Fred Korematsu refused to be relocated to an internment camp, and argued that the order violated the Fifth Amendment. The Supreme Court upheld President Roosevelt’s Executive Order, writing “that the miltiary urgency of the situation demanded that all citizens of Japanese ancestry be segregated from the West Coast.” In 1983, Korematsu’s conviction was overturned on the grounds of prosecutorial misconduct.

Emma Ping Lum becomes the first Asian American (Chinese) woman lawyer in the U.S.

The Philippines becomes independent from the U.S.

Tsuneko Tokuyasu becomes the first Asian American (Japanese) woman lawyer in New York.

John F. Aiso is appointed Los Angeles Municipal Court judge, the first Asian American (Japanese) to hold a judicial position in the U.S.

Hawai’i becomes a state.

Wilfred Tsukiyama is appointed Chief Justice of the Supreme Court of Hawaii, the first Asian American (Japanese) to serve as a state high court chief justice.

President Lyndon B. Johnson signs the Hart-Cellar Act into law. This ended the previously used immigration quota system, which often left many immigrants excluded, to a merit-based system. Many Asian immigrants took advantage of the family reunification clause.

Herbert Young Cho Choy is appointed to the United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit by President Richard Nixon, the first federally appointed Asian American (Korean) judge in the U.S.

Patricia A. Yim Cowett becomes the first Asian American (Chinese) woman judge in the U.S. with her appointment to the Municipal Court (California).

Vincent Chin is murdered by two white men who blamed immigrants for taking auto-industry jobs in Detroit. Though convicted, the perpetrators were given a lenient sentence of probation and a fine.

Randall T. Eng becomes the first Asian American (Chinese) judge in New York State when he is appointed to the Criminal Court of the City of New York.

Dorothy Chin Brandt becomes the first Asian American (Chinese) woman judge in New York when she was elected to the Civil Court of New York.

The National Asian Pacific American Bar Association is established, the only national Asian Pacific American bar association in the U.S.

The Asian American Bar Association of New York is incorporated.

Peter Tom is elected to the New York State Supreme Court in New York County, the first Asian American (Chinese) elected to this position.

Denny Chin is appointed to the United States District Court for the Southern District of New York by President Bill Clinton, the first Asian American appointed to a district court outside of the Ninth Circuit.

Peter Tom is appointed to the Appellate Division, First Department, the first Asian American (Chinese) appointed to this position.

Susan Oki Mollway is appointed to the United States District Court, District of Hawai’i by President Bill Clinton, the first Asian American woman appointed to the federal bench.

Norman Bay is appointed to serve as U.S. Attorney, the first Asian American (Chinese) appointed to the position.

The terrorist attacks on September 11, 2001 in New York City and on the Pentagon caused an increase in hate crimes against Muslim people and those perceived to be Muslim, including many South Asian Americans.

Doris Ling-Cohan becomes the first Asian American woman elected to the New York State Supreme Court.

Randall T. Eng becomes the first Asian American (Chinese) Presiding Justice of the Appellate Divisions, when he is appointed Presiding Justice of the Second Department.

Glenn Lau-Kee is the first Asian American (Chinese) to serve as President of the New York State Bar Association

Doris Ling-Cohan becomes the first Asian American woman to sit on the Appellate Term.

The Asian American Judges Association of New York is established to address issues affecting Asian American judges, staff, and litigants in the state courts; promote diversity amongst the bar and judiciary; and advance the inclusion of judges of Asian descent at all levels of the state court system.

Noel Francisco is appointed Solicitor General of the United States, the first Asian American (Filipino) appointed to this position.