Lucy Haeran Koh

Lucy Haeran Koh (born August 7, 1968) is an active United States circuit judge on the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals. Appointed by President Joe Biden and confirmed in December 2021, she previously served as a district judge for the Northern District of California from 2010 to 2021 and as a Superior Court judge in Santa Clara County from 2008 to 2010. Koh is noted as the first Korean‑American woman to sit on a federal appellate bench.

Early life and legal career

Lucy Haeran Koh was born in Washington, D.C., the first member of her family to be born in the United States. Her mother escaped from North Korea at age ten after a two‑week trek to South Korea, later becoming an academic at Alcorn State University in Mississippi. Koh’s father served as a veteran of the Korean War. During her childhood she lived primarily in Mississippi, with additional periods in Maryland and Oklahoma; she completed high school at Norman High School in Oklahoma in 1986.

Koh pursued undergraduate studies at Harvard College, where she earned a Bachelor of Arts magna cum laude in social studies in 1990. While at Harvard she received the Harry S. Truman Scholarship, an award recognizing leadership potential and commitment to public service. She continued her education at Harvard Law School, graduating with a Juris Doctor in 1993 after participating as a semifinalist in the Ames Moot Court Competition.

Following law school, Koh entered federal service as a Women’s Law and Public Policy Fellow for the United States Senate Committee on the Judiciary (1993‑1994). She then joined the Department of Justice, serving first as Special Counsel in the Office of Legislative Affairs from 1994 to 1996 and subsequently as Special Assistant to the Deputy Attorney General until 1997. From 1997 to 2000 she worked as an assistant United States attorney in the Central District of California, handling criminal prosecutions and civil matters on behalf of the federal government.

Koh transitioned to private practice in 2000, becoming a senior associate at Wilson Sonsini Goodrich & Rosati in Palo Alto. Two years later she joined McDermott Will & Emery as a litigation partner in its Silicon Valley office, where she represented technology companies in patent disputes, trade‑secret claims, and other commercial civil actions through 2008.

In January 2008 Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger appointed Koh to the Santa Clara County Superior Court. During her tenure on the state bench she presided over a broad docket of civil and criminal cases until her elevation to the federal judiciary in 2010.

Federal appellate service

Koh’s first nomination to the Ninth Circuit came from President Barack Obama on February 25, 2016 for the seat vacated by Judge Harry Pregerson. After a Senate Judiciary Committee hearing on July 13, 2016, the committee reported her nomination favorably on September 15, 2016 with a 13–7 vote. The full Senate did not act before the end of the 114th Congress, and the nomination expired on January 3, 2017.

President Joe Biden announced his intention to renominate Koh on September 8, 2021. The formal nomination was transmitted to the Senate on September 20, 2021 for the vacancy created by Judge Richard Paez’s transition to senior status. Following Senate consideration, Koh was confirmed by unanimous consent on December 13, 2021 and received her commission shortly thereafter. She now serves as an active circuit judge on the Ninth Circuit, which covers a large portion of the western United States.

Jurisprudence and legacy

Koh’s judicial career spans state, district, and appellate courts, providing her with extensive experience in both trial and appellate adjudication. While serving as a district judge, she oversaw several high‑profile technology disputes, including litigation between Apple Inc. and Samsung Electronics, antitrust matters involving the Federal Trade Commission and Qualcomm, and multi‑district actions related to data breaches at Yahoo and Anthem. Her rulings in these cases contributed to evolving legal standards on patent licensing, competition law, and cybersecurity liability.

In 2020 Koh issued a decision extending the deadline for the decennial census from September 30 to October 15 after a coalition of local governments, advocacy groups, and tribal entities challenged the Trump administration’s plan to halt the count early. The ruling underscored the judiciary’s role in ensuring statutory compliance with nationwide data‑collection efforts.

During the COVID‑19 pandemic Koh presided over Tandon v. Newsom, a case challenging California’s restrictions on indoor and outdoor religious gatherings. She denied an injunction sought by plaintiffs, finding that the state’s regulations treated religious and secular assemblies alike and did not single out religion for disfavored treatment. The Ninth Circuit affirmed her analysis, though the United States Supreme Court later reversed the restriction on private‑home religious gatherings in a narrow 5–4 decision.

Koh’s appellate service began after her confirmation to the Ninth Circuit. Although her tenure on the appellate bench is relatively recent, she brings to the panel a background in complex civil litigation and a record of handling cases with significant technological and public‑policy dimensions. Her presence on the Ninth Circuit also marks a historic milestone as the first Korean‑American woman appointed to a federal appellate court, reflecting broader diversification within the federal judiciary.

Overall, Lucy Haeran Koh’s professional trajectory illustrates a blend of public service, private‑sector advocacy for technology firms, and judicial leadership at multiple levels of government. Her decisions have addressed critical issues ranging from intellectual property and antitrust enforcement to election administration and religious liberty. As an active circuit judge, she continues to shape the development of federal law across a jurisdiction that encompasses diverse legal challenges in the western United States.