Dale Ho
Judge of the United States District Court for the Southern District of New York
Assumed office
August 18, 2023
Appointed byJoe Biden
Preceded byKatherine B. Forrest
Personal details
Born
Dale Edwin Ho[1]

1977 (age 46–47)
San Jose, California, U.S.
EducationPrinceton University (BA)
Yale University (JD)

Dale Edwin Ho (born 1977)[2] is an American lawyer who is serving as a United States district judge of the United States District Court for the Southern District of New York. Prior to becoming a judge, he was the director of the American Civil Liberties Union's voting rights project.

Early life and education

Ho was born in 1977 in San Jose, California.[2] He received his Bachelor of Arts summa cum laude from Princeton University in 1999 and his Juris Doctor from Yale Law School in 2005.[2][3]

Career

Ho served as a law clerk to Judge Barbara S. Jones of the United States District Court for the Southern District of New York from 2005 to 2006 and Associate Judge Robert S. Smith of the New York Court of Appeals from 2006 to 2007.[3][4] Through the fellowship, he worked for the private law firm Fried, Frank, Harris, Shriver & Jacobson as a NAACP Legal Defense & Educational Fund, Inc. (NAACP LDF) Fellow from 2007 to 2009, and then as a staff attorney with the NAACP LDF from 2009 to 2013,[5] where he worked on legislative redistricting projects, including anti-gerrymandering efforts.[6]

In 2013, Ho became Director of the American Civil Liberties Union Voting Rights Project.[3] In 2014, Ho began teaching a racial justice clinic as an adjunct professor at the New York University School of Law.[7]

In 2019, Ho was one of five ACLU lawyers featured in the documentary The Fight, produced by actress Kerry Washington, which followed his preparation, oral argument, and reaction in the United States Supreme Court proceedings around Department of Commerce v. New York.[8]

Notable cases

In 2018, Ho was a lead attorney in Fish v. Kobach, in which the district court ruled that it was illegal to require documentary proof of citizenship in order to register to vote.[9][10] Ho argued the case before the United States Court of Appeals for the Tenth Circuit, which affirmed the Kansas district court's ruling.[11]

Ho argued twice against the Trump administration in front of the Supreme Court of the United States. In Department of Commerce v. New York (2019), Ho represented a coalition of immigrant advocacy groups who successfully challenged Donald Trump's plan to include a citizenship question on the 2020 United States census questionnaire.[12]

In Trump v. New York (2020), the ACLU unsuccessfully challenged the Trump administration's plan to exclude illegal immigrants from the congressional apportionment process.[7]

Federal judicial service

Since the start of President Joe Biden's administration, Ho had been considered a potential nominee for a federal judgeship.[13] On June 7, 2021, U.S. Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer recommended Ho for a federal judgeship to the United States District Court for the Southern District of New York.[14] On September 30, 2021, Biden nominated Ho to serve as a judge of that court,[15] to the seat vacated by Judge Katherine B. Forrest, who resigned on September 11, 2018.[16]

On December 1, 2021, a hearing on his nomination was held before the Senate Judiciary Committee.[17] During his confirmation hearing, Ho apologized for his "overheated rhetoric" on social media, which included past tweets critical of three Republican members of the Senate Judiciary Committee, Marsha Blackburn, Mike Lee, and Tom Cotton.[18] He was questioned by senators over a tweet in which he appeared to refer to himself as a "wild-eyed sort of leftist"; he explained that he was "referring to a caricature of the way other people may have described me, not how I would describe myself."[19] A resurfaced video from 2018 showed Ho calling the U.S. Senate and the Electoral College "undemocratic" and arguing that voting should be made easier and that people with criminal convictions should not lose the right to vote.[20] The conservative Judicial Crisis Network launched a $300,000 television ad campaign against Ho, the group's first TV campaign against a Biden judicial nominee;[21] in response, progressive group Demand Justice launched a six-figure ad campaign in support of Ho.[22]

On January 3, 2022, his nomination was returned to the President under Rule XXXI, Paragraph 6 of the United States Senate;[23] he was renominated the same day.[24] On January 20, 2022, the committee failed to report his nomination by an 11–11 vote.[25]

On January 3, 2023, his nomination was returned to the President under Rule XXXI, Paragraph 6 of the United States Senate;[23] he was renominated the same day.[24] On February 9, 2023, his nomination was reported out of committee by an 11–10 vote.[26] On June 14, 2023, the Senate invoked cloture on his nomination by a 50–49 vote.[27] Senator Joe Manchin was the only Democrat to vote against cloture and against confirmation of Ho’s nomination, stating Ho was "extreme left" and accusing him of "hateful words" and "partisanship."[28][29] Later that same day, his nomination was confirmed by a 50–49 vote.[30][31][32] Ho is only the second ACLU lawyer to be confirmed directly to the federal bench as an Article III judge after Ruth Bader Ginsburg.[33] He received his judicial commission on August 18, 2023.[34]

Personal life

Ho is a member of the First Unitarian Congregational Society of Brooklyn.[2]

See also

References

  1. ↑ Bulletin of Yale University, Series 101 Number 8 (PDF). August 10, 2005. {{cite book}}: |work= ignored (help)
  2. 1 2 3 4 "Questionnaire for Judicial Nominees" (PDF). United States Senate Committee on the Judiciary. Retrieved November 30, 2021.
  3. 1 2 3 "President Biden Names Eighth Round of Judicial Nominees" (Press release). White House Press Office. September 30, 2021.
  4. ↑ "Fried Frank Fellowship Opens Doors" (PDF). www.friedfrank.com. Archived from the original (PDF) on October 22, 2021. Retrieved October 5, 2021.
  5. ↑ "LDF Issues Statement on President Biden's New Judicial Nominees". www.naacpldf.org (Press release). Retrieved October 5, 2021.
  6. ↑ Service, Ronnie EllisCNHI News (August 24, 2011). "Lawmaker wants prisoners to be counted in redistricting". Richmond Register. Retrieved March 25, 2021.
  7. 1 2 Kalmbacher, Colin (September 30, 2021). "Biden Nominates ACLU Voting Rights Head to Federal Judgeship in New York; Progressives Praise Choice of 'Democracy's Lawyer'". Law & Crime. Retrieved October 1, 2021.
  8. ↑ Kenigsberg, Ben (July 30, 2020). "'The Fight' Review: Pressing the Case, or Cases". The New York Times. Retrieved March 19, 2021.
  9. ↑ Desrochers, Daniel (September 30, 2021). "Attorney who helped toss Kobach's voter registration law nominated for federal judgeship". McClatchy. Retrieved October 1, 2021.
  10. ↑ Cassens Weiss, Debra. "Judge strikes down Kansas voter ID law and orders Kris Kobach to take additional CLE". ABA Journal. Retrieved March 19, 2021.
  11. ↑ "Supreme Court won't revive Kansas voter registration ID law". Associated Press. December 14, 2020.
  12. ↑ Sherman, Mark; Gresko, Jessica (October 16, 2020). "Justices to weigh Trump census plan to exclude noncitizens". Associated Press. Retrieved March 26, 2021.
  13. ↑ Kragie, Andrew (January 3, 2021). "65 Names To Watch When Biden Picks Circuit Judges – Law360". www.law360.com. Retrieved March 26, 2021.
  14. ↑ Alder, Madison (June 7, 2021). "Schumer Recommends Voting Rights Lawyers for Federal Bench". news.bloomberglaw.com. Retrieved June 7, 2021.
  15. ↑ "Biden Nominates ACLU Voting Rights Head to Federal Judgeship in New York; Progressives Praise Choice of 'Democracy's Lawyer'". September 30, 2021.
  16. ↑ "Nominations Sent to the Senate" (Press release). Washington, D.C.: The White House. September 30, 2021. Public Domain This article incorporates text from this source, which is in the public domain.
  17. ↑ "Nominations". Washington, D.C.: United States Senate Committee on the Judiciary. December 1, 2021.
  18. ↑ Scarcella, Mike (December 1, 2021). "In bid for N.Y. federal bench, ACLU litigator apologizes for 'overheated' tweets". Reuters. Retrieved December 17, 2021.
  19. ↑ Bendery, Jennifer (December 2, 2021). "John Kennedy Tells Biden Nominee Dale Ho He's Too 'Angry' To Be A Federal Judge". HuffPost. Retrieved December 17, 2021.
  20. ↑ "Biden Trial Court Pick Dale Ho Target of Conservative Ad (1)". news.bloomberglaw.com. November 30, 2021. Retrieved December 17, 2021.
  21. ↑ Nichols, Hans (November 30, 2021). "Conservative group targets Biden court pick ahead of Mississippi abortion case". Axios. Retrieved December 17, 2021.
  22. ↑ Swanson, Ian (December 6, 2021). "Demand Justice launches ad campaign backing Biden nominee who drew GOP pushback". TheHill. Retrieved December 17, 2021.
  23. 1 2 "PN1501 — Dale E. Ho — The Judiciary". Congress.gov. Retrieved July 24, 2023.
  24. 1 2 "Nominations Sent to the Senate" (Press release). Washington, D.C.: The White House. January 3, 2023. Public Domain This article incorporates text from this source, which is in the public domain.
  25. ↑ "Results of Executive Business Meeting – January 20, 2022" (PDF). United States Senate Committee on the Judiciary. Retrieved January 20, 2022.
  26. ↑ "Results of Executive Business Meeting – February 9, 2023" (PDF). United States Senate Committee on the Judiciary. Retrieved February 9, 2023.
  27. ↑ "On the Cloture Motion (Motion to Invoke Cloture: Dale E. Ho to be United States District Judge for the Southern District of New York)". United States Senate. June 14, 2023. Retrieved June 14, 2023.
  28. ↑ Cohen, Zach C. "Manchin to Oppose Dale Ho Nomination to New York Court Seat (2)". Bloomberg Law. Retrieved June 14, 2023.
  29. ↑ Bolton, Alexander. "Manchin rips Biden judicial nominee for 'hateful words' and 'partisanship'". The Hill. Retrieved June 14, 2023.
  30. ↑ "On the Nomination (Confirmation: Dale E. Ho, of New York, to be U.S. District Judge for the Southern District of New York)". United States Senate. June 14, 2023. Retrieved June 14, 2023.
  31. ↑ Headley, Tiana; Alder, Madison. "ACLU's Dale Ho Confirmed to New York-Based US District Court". Bloomberg Law. Retrieved June 14, 2023.
  32. ↑ Weaver, Al. "Senate confirms Dale Ho to Southern District New York court seat". The Hill. Retrieved June 14, 2023.
  33. ↑ Bendery, Jennifer (June 14, 2023). "In Big Win For Progressives, Senate Confirms Dale Ho To Be A Federal Judge". HuffPost.com. Retrieved June 14, 2023.
  34. ↑ Dale Ho at the Biographical Directory of Federal Judges, a publication of the Federal Judicial Center.
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