Over Republican objections, the U.S. Senate Monday confirmed Lucy Koh, the first Korean American woman to win confirmation as a Federal Appeals Court judge, reports Reuters.
Koh will serve on the Ninth Circuit Court out of San Jose, California.
Bloomberg Law reports the GOP objected to a ruling by Koh which allowed California to restrict religious gatherings during the pandemic. It was a decision eventually overturned by the U.S. Supreme Court.
Koh defended her ruling during her confirmation hearings under questioning from Republicans.
“The factual evidence that was before me was uncontroverted by the plaintiffs that the risk of transmission of Covid is greater when you’re in a home versus in commercial entities that are actually regulated and can be subject to misdemeanor criminal prosecutions for not complying with the restrictions,” Koh said.
The People for the American Way applauded the confirmation.
“Koh’s track record on the bench shows that she recognizes the importance of the federal judiciary in protecting the rule of law and our nation’s democracy. Just last year, she twice pushed back against the Trump administration’s attempts to unlawfully manipulate the 2020 Census,” it said in a statement sent to AsAmNews.
President Biden nominated Koh as part of his push for more diversity on the bench. Koh had previously been nominated by then President Obama in 2016, but Republicans which held the majority in the Senate at the time refused to confirm her.
She has been a district court judge since 2010.
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