Florence Y. Pan

Florence Yu Pan
Born	(1966-11-16) November 16, 1966 New York City, New York, U.S.
Other names	潘愉
Occupation(s)	Attorney, Judge
Years active	1993–present
Known for	United States circuit judge of the United States Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit; former United States district judge for the District of Columbia; former judge on the Superior Court of the District of Columbia
Notable work	Notable ruling in United States of America v. Donald J. Trump (2024)

Florence Yu Pan (Chinese: 潘愉; pinyin: Pān Yú; born November 16, 1966) is an American attorney currently appointed as a United States circuit judge on the United States Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit. She formerly held the position of United States district judge for the United States District Court for the District of Columbia from 2021 until 2022 and was a judge on the Superior Court of the District of Columbia between 2009 and 2021.

Early life and education

Born in 1966 into a Taiwanese American household in New York City, Pan’s parents had emigrated from Taiwan in 1961. She was raised in Tenafly, New Jersey.

Pan earned dual degrees, a Bachelor of Arts and a Bachelor of Science, graduating summa cum laude from the Wharton School at the University of Pennsylvania in 1988. Following her undergraduate studies, she worked as a financial analyst at Goldman Sachs from 1988 through 1990 before enrolling at Stanford Law School. During her time at Stanford, she contributed as an editor to both the Stanford Law Review and the Stanford Law and Policy Review, participated as a moot court finalist, and completed her Juris Doctor with distinction in 1993.

Career

Following law school, Pan undertook judicial clerkships with Judge Michael Mukasey at the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York (1993–1994) and subsequently with Judge Ralph K. Winter Jr. at the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit (1994–1995).

She began her government career as a Bristow Fellow in the Office of the Solicitor General within the United States Department of Justice (1995–1996), then served as an attorney in the Criminal Division’s Appellate Section from 1996 to 1998. Pan later moved to the United States Department of Treasury, where she provided counsel to senior officials on matters concerning financial markets and domestic finance between 1998 and 1999.

From 1999 until 2009, she worked as an assistant United States attorney in the District of Columbia, advancing to deputy chief of the Appellate Section from 2007 to 2009.

In addition to her legal practice, Pan has been involved in academia, serving as an adjunct professor at American University Washington College of Law during 2007–2008 and continuing since 2012 at Georgetown University Law Center.

Superior Court of the District of Columbia

President Barack Obama nominated Pan on March 24, 2009, to serve as an associate judge on the Superior Court of the District of Columbia. The Senate confirmed her by voice vote on May 21, 2009, and she officially took office on June 8. She remained on this court until her appointment to the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia in 2021.

Expired nomination to U.S. district court under Obama

On April 28, 2016, President Obama put forward Pan's nomination to become a United States district judge for the District of Columbia, aiming to fill the vacancy left by Judge Reggie Walton, who transitioned to senior status on December 31, 2015. The Senate Judiciary Committee conducted a hearing on July 13, 2016, and subsequently reported her nomination favorably through a voice vote on September 15, 2016. Nevertheless, her nomination lapsed on January 3, 2017, coinciding with the end of the 114th Congress.

Renomination to U.S. district court under Biden

President Joe Biden announced his intention to nominate Pan once again as a United States district judge for the District of Columbia on March 30, 2021. Her nomination was officially submitted to the Senate on June 15, 2021, to fill the vacancy created by Judge Ketanji Brown Jackson’s elevation to the United States Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit. A Senate Judiciary Committee hearing took place on July 14, 2021, and her nomination was approved with an 18–4 vote on August 5. Majority Leader Chuck Schumer filed for cloture on September 20, and the Senate invoked cloture by a vote of 66–27 on September 22. The Senate confirmed Pan’s appointment with a 68–30 vote on September 23, and she received her commission that same day. She made history as the first Asian American woman appointed to the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia. Her tenure as a district judge concluded on September 28, 2022, when she was elevated to the appellate court.

Court of appeals service

On May 25, 2022, President Joe Biden nominated Pan to serve as a United States circuit judge on the District of Columbia Circuit, filling the position vacated by Judge Ketanji Brown Jackson, who had been appointed to the Supreme Court of the United States. The Senate Judiciary Committee held a hearing on June 22, 2022, and reported her nomination favorably by a vote of 13–9 on July 21, 2022. Majority Leader Chuck Schumer filed cloture on September 15; the Senate voted to invoke cloture by a margin of 52–38 on September 19. Pan’s confirmation followed with a vote of 52–42 on September 20, and she officially received her judicial commission on September 26, 2022. She is recognized as the first Chinese American to serve on the United States Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit.

Notable rulings

In the case United States of America v. Donald J. Trump in 2024, Judge Pan along with two colleagues dismissed Trump's assertion of absolute presidential immunity. During a January 2024 hearing, she questioned Trump's legal team by presenting a hypothetical scenario in which a president could order an assassination yet remain immune from prosecution. This decision was later overturned by the Supreme Court, which upheld presidential immunity for official actions.

Personal life

Pan married attorney Max Stier, president and CEO of the Partnership for Public Service, in 2004 at the Embassy of New Zealand located in Washington, D.C. The couple has two sons.

She and her family are affiliated with the Adas Israel Congregation, a Conservative Jewish synagogue based in Washington, D.C.

See also

• List of Asian American jurists

External links

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