On February 16, in the AABANY co-sponsored event “Path to the Bench with the Honorable Denny Chin of the Second Circuit,” held at the offices of Patterson, Belknap in midtown Manhattan, attendees had the pleasure of hearing from Judge Chin of the United States Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit. The Muslim Bar Association of New York (MuBANY) organized the event, which was also co-sponsored by the Association of Muslim American Lawyers, Filipino American Lawyers Association of New York, the Hispanic National Bar Association – Region II (New York), the Korean American Lawyers Association of Greater New York, the New York City Bar Office of Diversity and Inclusion, the New York Women’s Bar Association, and the South Asian Bar Association of New York.
Born in Hong Kong, Judge Chin first moved to the United States at the age of two. He would later on attend Princeton to study Psychology before enrolling in Fordham Law School. After law school, he clerked for Judge Henry Werker in the Southern District, and then moved on to Davis Polk before leaving to serve as Assistant U.S Attorney for the Southern District. He then founded his own law firm, Campbell, Patrick & Chin, and also worked at Vladeck, Waldman, Elias & Engelhard P.C. before finally moving on to the bench .
While a district judge, Judge Chin tried a number of high profile cases, including Doe v. Pataki (which earned him the infamous nickname “Denny ‘the Pervert’s Pal’ Chin”), Million Youth March v. City of New York, Naked Cowboy v. Blue M&M, the infamous Bernie Madoff case, and Morales v. Portuondo (which was featured on an episode of “Law and Order”), among many other cases. As a circuit judge , he ruled on Authors Guild, Inc. v. Google, Inc. and NFL Management Council v. NFL Players Association, better known as the “Deflategate” case.
In addition to giving a sense of the sheer diversity of his past cases, Judge Chin also provided some insight on judicial practice and the present state of the judiciary. When asked about the role of empathy in a judge’s decision-making process, Judge Chin acknowledged the importance of empathy but was careful to note the distinction between empathy and pity: the former denotes the ability to understand the predicaments of both the plaintiff and defendant, the latter implies potential leniency in sentencing. He also mentioned the distinct experience of judging a case that involved an Asian American male defendant. When asked about whether he was inclined towards leniency in sentencing because of ethnic ties, Judge Chin responded by stating that the man had actually, through a letter, expressed how ashamed he felt in having to inflict such a burden of judgment. Judge Chin also spoke positively about the increase in the diversity of judges at the federal level, which he attributed to the earnest efforts of President Obama.
Judge Chin is a shining example of how diversity can enrich judicial decision-making. Occasionally, he does get lonely as a circuit judge, for he now no longer has the opportunity to “rub elbows with the people” as he once did as a trial judge. Nevertheless, Judge Chin has found other ways to interact with members of the community, most notably through lecturing and mentoring.
After the presentation, attendees had the chance to speak directly with Judge Chin and network with other attendees from the various participating bar associations. Many thanks to MuBANY for organizing this memorable and inspiring event.
(Thanks to AABANY intern Jason Cheung for the write-up.)