Eunice Cheryl Lee

Eunice Cheryl Lee (born 1970) is an active United States circuit judge on the Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit. Appointed by President Joseph R. Biden and confirmed in August 2021, she brings extensive experience from a career spent largely in federal public defense and legal education. Her service on the appellate bench follows more than two decades of work defending indigent clients in criminal appeals and teaching appellate practice at a major law school.

Early life and legal career

Lee was born on a United States Air Force base in Wiesbaden, West Germany, where her family was stationed at the time of her birth. She pursued undergraduate studies at Ohio State University, graduating summa cum laude with a Bachelor of Arts degree in 1993. Following her undergraduate work, she attended Yale Law School and earned a Juris Doctor in 1996.

After law school, Lee entered the federal judiciary as a clerk for two judges. From 1996 to 1997 she served on the United States District Court for the Southern District of Ohio under Judge Susan J. Dlott, and from 1997 to 1998 she clerked for Judge Eric L. Clay of the United States Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit. These early experiences provided her with insight into both trial‑level and appellate judicial processes.

In 1998 Lee began a long tenure with the Office of the Appellate Defender in New York City, an organization that provides legal representation to individuals charged with federal crimes who cannot afford counsel. She entered as a staff attorney and was promoted to supervising attorney in 2001, overseeing teams of attorneys handling complex criminal appeals. From 2003 through 2019 she also directed the office’s recruitment and outreach efforts, working to attract qualified candidates to public defense service.

Concurrently with her duties at the Appellate Defender, Lee joined the faculty of New York University School of Law as an adjunct assistant professor from 2003 to 2019. In that capacity she taught a clinical course focused on criminal appellate defense, supervising law students as they assisted in real‑world appellate matters. Her combined roles as practitioner and educator reflected a commitment to both effective representation for indigent defendants and the training of future lawyers.

Speculation about Lee’s potential elevation to higher judicial office emerged in early 2022 when some media outlets reported that she was being considered by President Biden as a possible nominee to replace Justice Stephen Breyer on the United States Supreme Court. Ultimately, the president selected Judge Ketanji Brown Jackson for that vacancy.

Federal appellate service

President Joseph R. Biden nominated Lee on May 12, 2021 to fill the seat on the Second Circuit vacated by Judge Robert Katzmann, who had taken senior status earlier that year. The nomination was reviewed by the Senate Judiciary Committee, and a hearing on her qualifications took place on June 9, 2021. During the confirmation process she addressed a letter written as an undergraduate in 1991 that referenced Thomas as a “black conservative,” clarifying her position relative to the content of that early writing.

The committee reported Lee’s nomination out of its deliberations on July 15, 2021 by a vote of 11–10. Senator Lindsey Graham chose not to cast a vote on that measure. The full Senate subsequently moved to invoke cloture on her nomination; Majority Leader Chuck Schumer filed the cloture motion on August 3, 2021, and the Senate invoked cloture on August 5, 2021 by a margin of 50–49. Lee’s confirmation followed two days later, with the Senate voting 50–47 in favor of her appointment on August 7, 2021. She received her judicial commission on August 16, 2021.

Lee’s elevation to the appellate bench marked several notable milestones. At the time of her confirmation she became the longest‑serving public defender to sit on a United States Court of Appeals. She also entered the Second Circuit as the second African American woman ever appointed to that court. Until the later confirmation of Judge Sarah A. L. Merriam, Lee was the only judge on the circuit with prior experience as a federal defender.

Since joining the bench, Judge Lee has participated in panels addressing a range of legal issues. In 2021 she sat on a panel that considered a lawsuit filed by New York City school administrators and teachers seeking to halt the city’s COVID‑19 vaccine mandate. The panel concluded that the mandate did not violate the First Amendment, though it remanded the case for further consideration, indicating that the policy might be unconstitutional under other grounds. In 2022 she was part of a panel that issued an opinion in *Bruce Katz, M.D., P.C. v. Focus Forward*, a consumer‑protection dispute involving unsolicited communications regulated by the Telephone Consumer Protection Act.

Jurisprudence and legacy

Judge Lee’s judicial record reflects her background in criminal appellate defense and her experience teaching appellate practice. Her participation in cases concerning constitutional rights, such as the First Amendment analysis of a public health mandate, demonstrates an engagement with fundamental liberties while balancing governmental interests. The panel’s decision to remand the vaccine‑mandate case underscores a careful approach that seeks thorough judicial review before reaching final conclusions on complex policy questions.

In the consumer‑protection realm, Lee’s involvement in the *Katz* case illustrates her willingness to address statutory interpretation under federal communications law. By applying the Telephone Consumer Protection Act to an unsolicited advertising claim, the panel contributed to the development of jurisprudence governing modern communication practices and the protection of consumers from unwanted solicitations.

Lee’s tenure on the Second Circuit also carries symbolic significance within the broader context of judicial diversity. As the second African American woman to serve on that circuit, her presence adds to the representation of historically under‑served groups in the federal judiciary. Moreover, her status as a former public defender highlights the value of professional experience from the defense side of criminal law among appellate judges, offering perspectives that differ from those of career prosecutors or private practitioners.

The combination of Lee’s extensive public‑defender service, academic contributions, and judicial decisions positions her as an influential figure within the Second Circuit. Her rulings contribute to the body of federal appellate precedent, particularly in areas intersecting constitutional rights, criminal procedure, and consumer protection. While her tenure is ongoing, the early record indicates a methodical approach grounded in legal analysis shaped by years of advocacy for indigent defendants and instruction of law students.

Overall, Judge Eunice C. Lee’s career trajectory—from an Air Force base birth overseas to clerkships, public defense leadership, legal education, and ultimately appointment to one of the nation’s most prominent appellate courts—exemplifies a path marked by dedication to public service and the development of legal expertise across multiple facets of the federal system. Her continued work on the Second Circuit will further define her contributions to American jurisprudence and the evolving composition of the federal judiciary.