Denny Chin

Denny Chin is a senior United States circuit judge on the Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit. Appointed to the federal bench in 1994 by President Bill Clinton and elevated to the appellate court in 2010 by President Barack Obama, he has served at both the district‑court and appellate levels for more than three decades. In addition to his judicial duties, Chin maintains an academic role as an adjunct professor of legal writing at Fordham University School of Law. His career spans private practice, government service, and a notable record of decisions that have addressed issues ranging from intellectual property and defamation to criminal law and high‑profile civil litigation.

Early life and legal career

Denny Chin was born in 1954 in Kowloon, Hong Kong, and arrived in the United States with his family in 1956. He grew up in New York City and graduated from Stuyvesant High School in 1971. Pursuing higher education, he attended Princeton University where he earned a Bachelor of Arts in psychology with magna cum laude honors in 1975. While at Princeton, Chin contributed to the campus newspaper, serving first as a staff writer and later as managing editor of *The Daily Princetonian*. His senior thesis examined the lives of elderly Chinese residents in Manhattan’s Chinatown.

Chin continued his studies at Fordham University School of Law, receiving a Juris Doctor in 1978. During law school he was appointed managing editor of the *Fordham Law Review*, an experience that foreshadowed his later involvement in legal education. After completing his degree, Chin clerked for Judge Henry Frederick Werker of the United States District Court for the Southern District of New York from 1978 to 1980, gaining early exposure to federal judicial processes.

Following his clerkship, Chin entered private practice as an associate at Davis Polk & Wardwell, where he worked from 1980 until 1982. He then joined the United States Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of New York, serving as an Assistant United States Attorney from 1982 to 1986. In that capacity he prosecuted federal crimes and represented the government in civil matters.

In 1986 Chin left public service to co‑found a boutique law firm, Campbell, Patrick & Chin, with two former colleagues from the U.S. Attorney’s Office. The firm focused on litigation and provided counsel to a range of clients. Four years later, in 1990, he became a partner at Vladeck, Waldman, Elias & Engelhard, P.C., where his practice concentrated on labor and employment law. At that firm Chin represented employees and labor unions, developing expertise in collective‑bargaining disputes, workplace discrimination claims, and related statutory matters.

Throughout his pre‑judicial career, Chin combined courtroom advocacy with scholarly engagement. He later returned to Fordham University as an adjunct professor, teaching first‑year legal writing courses and contributing to the development of future attorneys.

Federal appellate service

Chin’s federal judicial career began when President Bill Clinton nominated him on March 24 1994 to a newly created seat on the United States District Court for the Southern District of New York. The Senate confirmed his appointment on August 9 1994, and he received his commission the following day. During his tenure as a district judge, Chin presided over a diverse docket that included complex civil litigation, criminal prosecutions, and matters involving emerging technology. Notably, his service marked him as the first Asian American appointed to a United States district judgeship outside of the Ninth Circuit.

After sixteen years on the district bench, Chin was nominated by President Barack Obama on October 6 2009 for elevation to the United States Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit, filling the vacancy created when Judge Robert D. Sack assumed senior status. The Senate Judiciary Committee reported his nomination favorably on December 10 2009, and the full Senate confirmed him unanimously (98‑0) on April 22 2010. He received his appellate commission on April 23 2010 and was sworn in three days later.

As an active circuit judge, Chin participated in panels that reviewed appeals from federal district courts across New York, Connecticut, and Vermont. His opinions addressed a wide array of legal issues, including constitutional questions, statutory interpretation, and procedural matters. On June 1 2021, he assumed senior status, a form of semi‑retirement that permits continued participation in cases while creating a vacancy for a new full‑time judge. Since taking senior status, Chin has remained an active member of the Second Circuit, hearing arguments and contributing to written opinions.

Jurisprudence and legacy

Judge Chin’s judicial record reflects engagement with both high‑profile commercial disputes and significant criminal proceedings. In 2001, he denied a motion by the Parents Television Council to dismiss a lawsuit filed by the World Wrestling Federation (now WWE). The case involved claims of defamation, interference with business relationships, and copyright infringement; Chin concluded that the plaintiff presented sufficient grounds for its claims, leading to an out‑of‑court settlement.

Another notable decision came in *Fox v. Franken*, where Chin denied Fox News Channel’s request for a preliminary injunction against author Al Franken’s satirical book. The ruling underscored the balance between trademark concerns and First Amendment protections for political commentary.

Chin also presided over several criminal trials that attracted public attention. He oversaw the perjury case against Larry Stewart, a handwriting expert implicated in the trial of Martha Stewart; the jury ultimately acquitted Stewart. In the United States v. Pak Dong‑seon, Chin sentenced the defendant to five years’ imprisonment after a jury convicted him for involvement in the United Nations Oil‑for‑Food scandal. Similarly, he managed the prosecution of Oscar Wyatt, an oil executive accused of illicit payments to the Saddam Hussein regime; midway through the trial Wyatt entered a guilty plea as part of a negotiated agreement.

Intellectual property and digital rights have featured prominently in Chin’s appellate work. Assigned to the Google Book Search Settlement case on January 8 2009, he later ruled on March 23 2011 that Google’s proposed plan to digitize every published book would violate existing copyright law. He subsequently dismissed *Authors Guild et al. v. Google* in November 2013; the United States Supreme Court declined to review the decision on April 18 2016, leaving Chin’s judgment intact.

In the realm of securities and insider‑trading enforcement, Chin sentenced Anil Kumar, a senior executive at McKinsey & Company, to two years’ probation in 2012 as part of the broader Galleon Group investigation. His panel also upheld the suspension of NFL quarterback Tom Brady in 2016, affirming Commissioner Roger Goodell’s disciplinary action in the “Deflategate” controversy.

More recently, a decision authored by Chin and two fellow Second Circuit judges was reversed by the United States Supreme Court in *National Rifle Association of America v. Vullo* (2024). The high court unanimously ruled in favor of the NRA, overturning the appellate panel’s earlier judgment concerning New York’s insurance regulator.

Throughout his career, Judge Chin has been recognized for breaking barriers as an Asian American jurist and for contributing to legal education through his teaching role at Fordham. His extensive experience across trial and appellate courts, combined with a docket that spans technology, criminal law, labor relations, and constitutional issues, underscores a multifaceted legacy within the federal judiciary. While senior status has shifted his workload, Chin continues to shape Second Circuit jurisprudence and mentor future lawyers, reflecting an enduring commitment to public service and the rule of law.