Kenneth Kiyul Lee

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Kenneth Kiyul Lee
Image of Kenneth Kiyul Lee

Nonpartisan

United States Court of Appeals for the 9th Circuit
Tenure

2019 - Present

Years in position

5

Education

Bachelor's

Cornell University, 1997

Law

Harvard Law School, 2000


Kenneth Kiyul Lee is a judge on the United States Court of Appeals for the 9th Circuit.[1] He was nominated to the court by President Donald Trump (R) on November 13, 2018, and confirmed by the U.S. Senate on May 15, 2019, by a vote of 52-45. He received commission on June 12, 2019.[2] To see a full list of judges appointed by Donald Trump, click here.

Lee was a partner in the Los Angeles, California office of Jenner & Block LLP from 2009 to 2019.[3]

The United States Court of Appeals for the 9th Circuit is one of 13 U.S. courts of appeal. They are the intermediate appellate courts of the United States federal courts. To learn more about the court, click here.

Judicial nominations and appointments

United States Court of Appeals for the 9th Circuit

See also: Federal judges nominated by Donald Trump

On October 10, 2018, President Donald Trump (R) announced his intent to nominate Lee to a seat on the United States Court of Appeals for the 9th Circuit.[4] His nomination was received in the U.S. Senate on November 13, 2018.[1] To read more about the federal nominations process, click here.

Nomination Tracker
Fedbadgesmall.png
Nominee Information
Name: Kenneth Kiyul Lee
Court: United States Court of Appeals for the 9th Circuit
Progress
Confirmed 183 days after nomination.
ApprovedANominated: November 13, 2018
ApprovedAABA Rating: Unanimously well qualified
Questionnaire: Questionnaire
ApprovedAHearing: March 13, 2019
QFRs: QFRs (Hover over QFRs to read more)
Renom. QFRs: Renom. QFRs
ApprovedAReported: April 4, 2019 
ApprovedAConfirmed: May 15, 2019
ApprovedAVote: 52-45


Confirmation vote

The U.S. Senate confirmed Lee on May 15, 2019, on a vote of 52-45.[5] To see a full breakdown of the vote on the official U.S. Senate website, click here.

Lee confirmation vote (May 15, 2019)
Party Yea Nay No vote
Electiondot.png Democratic 0 43 2
Ends.png Republican 52 0 1
Grey.png Independent 0 2 0
Total 52 45 3

Senate Judiciary Committee hearing

The Senate Judiciary Committee held hearings on Lee's nomination on March 13, 2019.[6] Click here to access Lee's committee questionnaire.

The committee voted 12-10 on April 4 to advance Lee's nomination to the full U.S. Senate.[7]

Nomination

On October 10, 2018, President Donald Trump (R) announced his intent to nominate Lee to a seat on the United States Court of Appeals for the 9th Circuit.[4] His nomination was received in the U.S. Senate on November 13.[1] Lee was nominated to succeed Judge Stephen Reinhardt, who died on March 29, 2018.[8]

At the sine die adjournment of the 115th Congress on January 3, 2019, the Senate returned Lee's nomination to President Trump.[9]

Trump announced his intent to renominate Lee on January 30, 2019.[10] The Senate received Lee's renomination on February 6.[11]

The American Bar Association rated Lee unanimously well qualified for the position.[12] To read more about ABA ratings, click here.

Opposition from home-state senators

California Senators Dianne Feinstein (D) and Kamala Harris (D) expressed opposition to the nomination of Patrick Bumatay, Daniel Collins, and Kenneth Kiyul Lee. Feinstein and Harris, who both served on the Senate Judiciary Committee in 2018, said the White House announced the three nominations to the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals without consulting them.[13]

Feinstein said in a statement:

“ I repeatedly told the White House I wanted to reach an agreement on a package of 9th Circuit nominees, but last night the White House moved forward without consulting me, picking controversial candidates from its initial list and another individual with no judicial experience who had not previously been suggested.[14] ”


She said she and Harris "strongly opposed Daniel Collins." She also said she told White House Counsel Don McGahn that Lee "failed to disclose to our judicial selection committees controversial writings on voting rights and affirmative action."[15]

Lily Adams, Harris' communications director, said,[16]

“ Instead of working with our office to identify consensus nominees for the 9th Circuit, the White House continues to try to pack the courts with partisan judges who will blindly support the President’s agenda, instead of acting as an independent check on this Administration.[14] ”


McGahn wrote in a letter to Senate Judiciary Committee Chairman Chuck Grassley (R-Iowa) that the White House tried for two years to negotiate with the California senators. He said he reached out to Feinstein on multiple occasions and added Harris "refused to engage with the White House at any level, whatsoever on the issue." McGahn said the president was "exercising his prerogative to nominate his own well-qualified nominees."[13][17]

Noteworthy cases

Proposition 63: ownership of large-capacity firearm magazines (2019)
See also: United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit (Duncan, et al., v. Becerra)

On August 14, 2020, Judge Kenneth Lee, writing the opinion for a Ninth Circuit panel, stated that Proposition 63's ban on large-capacity magazines violated the Second Amendment. He wrote, "The state could ban virtually anything if the test is merely whether something causes social ills when someone other than its lawful owner misuses it. Adopting such a radical position would give the government carte blanche to restrict the people’s liberties under the guise of protecting them."[18]

Education

Lee received an A.B., summa cum laude, from Cornell University in 1997. He obtained a J.D., magna cum laude, from Harvard Law School in 2000.[4][3]

Professional career

About the court

The 9th Circuit has appellate jurisdiction over cases heard in one of its subsidiary districts. These cases can include civil and criminal matters that fall under federal law.

The 9th Circuit has jurisdiction over the district courts in the following districts:

It also has appellate jurisdiction over the following territorial courts:

To read opinions published by this court, click here.

The federal nomination process

Federal judges are nominated by the president of the United States and confirmed by the Senate. There are multiple steps to the process:

  • The president nominates an individual for a judicial seat.
  • The nominee fills out a questionnaire and is reviewed by the Senate Judiciary Committee.
  • The Senate Judiciary Committee holds a hearing with the nominee, questioning them about things like their judicial philosophy, past rulings or opinions, etc.
  • As part of this process, the committee sends a blue slip to senators from the home state in which the judicial nomination was received, allowing them to express their approval or disapproval of the nominee.
  • After the hearing, the Senate Judiciary Committee will vote to approve or return the nominee.
  • If approved, the nominee is voted on by the full Senate.
  • If the Committee votes to return the nominee to the president, the president has the opportunity to re-nominate the individual.
  • The Senate holds a vote on the candidate.
  • If the Senate confirms the nomination, the nominee receives a commission to serve a lifelong position as a federal judge.
  • If the Senate does not confirm the nomination, that nominee does not become a judge.


See also

External links


Footnotes

  1. ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 Congress.gov, "PN2592 — Kenneth Kiyul Lee — The Judiciary," accessed January 31, 2019
  2. ↑ Federal Judicial Center, "Lee, Kenneth Kiyul," accessed June 13, 2019
  3. ↑ 3.0 3.1 3.2 Senate Judiciary Committee, "Questionnaire for judicial nominees: Kenneth Kiyul Lee," accessed June 13, 2019
  4. ↑ 4.0 4.1 4.2 4.3 WhiteHouse.gov, "President Donald J. Trump Announces Eighteenth Wave of Judicial Nominees, Eighteenth Wave of United States Attorney Nominees, and Thirteenth Wave of United States Marshal Nominees," October 10, 2018
  5. ↑ United States Senate, "Roll Call Vote 116th Congress - 1st Session," accessed May 17, 2019
  6. ↑ Committee on the Judiciary, "Nominations Hearing," March 13, 2019
  7. ↑ Senate Judiciary Committee, "Results of Executive Business Meeting," April 4, 2019
  8. ↑ Congress.gov, "PN373 — Kenneth Kiyul Lee — The Judiciary," accessed April 5, 2019
  9. ↑ Under Senate Rule XXXI, paragraph 6 of the Standing Rules of the Senate, pending nominations are returned to the president if the Senate adjourns sine die or recesses for more than 30 days. Congressional Research Service, "Senate Consideration of Presidential Nominations: Committee and Floor Procedure," April 11, 2017
  10. ↑ White House, "President Donald J. Trump Announces Intent to Nominate Judicial Nominees," January 30, 2019
  11. ↑ White House, "Twelve Nominations Sent to the Senate," February 6, 2019
  12. ↑ American Bar Association, "Ratings of Article III and Article IV judicial nominees: 116th Congress," accessed March 13, 2019
  13. ↑ 13.0 13.1 The Hill, "Trump, Feinstein feud intensifies over appeals court nominees," October 16, 2018
  14. ↑ 14.0 14.1 Note: This text is quoted verbatim from the original source. Any inconsistencies are attributable to the original source.
  15. ↑ United States Senator for California Dianne Feinstein, "Feinstein non Ninth Circuit Nominees," October 11, 2018
  16. ↑ The Sacramento Bee, "Trump defies California senators with 9th Circuit judge nominations," October 11, 2018
  17. ↑ CNN, "White House nominations to 9th Circuit set off firestorm," October 13, 2018
  18. ↑ Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals, "Duncan v. Becerra," August 14, 2020

Political offices
Preceded by
- 		United States Court of Appeals for the 9th Circuit
2019-Present		 Succeeded by
-


California courts

Federal courts:

Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals • U.S. District Court: Central District of California, Eastern District of California, Northern District of California, Southern District of California • U.S. Bankruptcy Court: Central District of California, Eastern District of California, Northern District of California, Southern District of California

State courts:

California Supreme Court • California Courts of Appeal • California Superior Courts

State resources:

Courts in California • California judicial elections • Judicial selection in California

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