FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Contact: Chi-Ser Tran, [email protected]

Updated July 21, 2022

Yesterday, President Biden nominated Cindy K. Chung to serve as Circuit Judge on the United States Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit and Judge Mia Roberts Perez to serve as District Judge on the United States District Court for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania. If confirmed, Ms. Chung would be the first Asian Pacific American (APA) appellate judge to serve on the Third Circuit, and Judge Roberts Perez would be the first APA district judge to serve in the Eastern District. The Asian Pacific American Bar Association of Pennsylvania (APABA-PA) is excited about these historic nominations and looks forward to a speedy confirmation process. 

Ms. Chung has served as the United States Attorney for the Western District of Pennsylvania since 2021. She is the first APA U.S. Attorney in Pennsylvania and the only APA currently leading any prosecutors’ office in Pennsylvania. She has participated in APA community events, including those organized by APABA-PA, to speak about topics such as hate crimes, hate speech, harassment, and violence. From 2014 to 2021, Ms. Chung was an Assistant United States Attorney in the Western District of Pennsylvania, where she held numerous leadership positions in the office, including Acting Deputy Chief of the Violent Crimes Section and Deputy Chief of the Major Crimes Section. From 2009 to 2014, Ms. Chung served as a trial attorney in the Criminal Section of the Department of Justice’s Civil Rights Division. From 2003 to 2009, she served as an Assistant District Attorney in the New York County District Attorney’s Office. Ms. Chung served as a law clerk for Judge Myron Thompson on the U.S. District Court for the Middle District of Alabama from 2002 to 2003. She received her J.D. from Columbia Law School in 2002 and her B.A. from Yale University in 1997. 

Judge Mia Roberts Perez has served on the Philadelphia County Court of Common Pleas since 2016, when she became one of the youngest judges in the history of the Philadelphia Court of Common Pleas. From 2011 to 2016, Judge Roberts Perez was in private practice at her own firm, Perez Law, specializing in criminal defense and family law. From 2010 to 2011, Judge Perez was an associate at Friedman Schuman in Philadelphia. She served as an Assistant Defender at the Defender Association of Philadelphia from 2006 to 2010. Judge Perez received her J.D. from Temple University Beasley School of Law in 2006 and her B.A. from Tufts University in 2003. 

APABA-PA thanks President Biden for nominating Ms. Chung and Judge Roberts Perez and thanks Senator Bob Casey and Senator Pat Toomey for recommending and supporting their nominations.

APABA-PA, an affiliate of the National Asian Pacific American Bar Association, represents the interests of Asian Pacific American law students, lawyers, and judges, and the Asian Pacific American community across the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania by supporting the advancement of Asian Pacific American attorneys and promoting justice, equity, and legal access, especially for all Asian Pacific American communities.

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