Kenly Kiya Kato | |
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Judge of the United States District Court for the Central District of California | |
Assumed office November 17, 2023 | |
Appointed by | Joe Biden |
Preceded by | Beverly Reid O'Connell |
Magistrate Judge of the United States District Court for the Central District of California | |
In office July 1,2014 –November 17,2023 | |
Succeeded by | David T. Bristow |
Personal details | |
Born | 1972 (age 51–52) Los Angeles,California,U.S. |
Education | University of California,Los Angeles (BA) Harvard University (JD) |
Kenly Kiya Kato (born 1972) [1] is an American judge who has served as a United States district judge of the United States District Court for the Central District of California since 2023. She previously served as a United States magistrate judge of the same court from 2014 to 2023.
Kato is Japanese American;her parents,as children,were among those subjected to internment during World War II. [2] She earned her Bachelor of Arts, summa cum laude ,from the University of California,Los Angeles in 1993. [3] She graduated Phi Beta Kappa,with a major in political science. [4] She received a Juris Doctor, cum laude ,in 1996 from Harvard Law School,where she was an editor of the Harvard Civil Rights–Civil Liberties Law Review . [3]
Kato served as a law clerk for Judge Robert Mitsuhiro Takasugi of the United States District Court for the Central District of California from 1996 to 1997. From 1997 to 2003,she was a deputy federal public defender in the federal public defender's office in Los Angeles. From 2003 to 2004,Kato was an associate at Liner LLP in Los Angeles. [3]
From 2004 to 2014,she was a sole practitioner. [3] She primarily represented federal criminal defendants,and also represented clients in civil rights and labor disputes. [4] Prior to her appointment as a U.S. magistrate judge,she served on the federal district court's Merit Selection Panel and Standing Committee on Attorney Discipline. [4]
On July 1,2014,Kato was sworn in as a United States magistrate judge for the U.S. District Court for the Central District of California. [4]
On December 15,2021,President Joe Biden nominated Kato to serve as a United States district judge of the United States District Court for the Central District of California. [3] President Biden nominated Kato to the seat vacated by Judge Beverly Reid O'Connell,who died on October 8,2017. [5]
On February 1,2022,a hearing was held before the Senate Judiciary Committee. [6] During her confirmation hearing,Senators Chuck Grassley and Ted Cruz questioned her about a 1995 book review,published in Harvard Civil Rights–Civil Liberties Law Review ,that Kato had co-written in law school;in a heated dialogue,the two Republicans questioned Kato about a footnote in the book review that said that Asian-American neoconservatives "internalize the dialogue of oppressors,believing in the values of the status quo and condemning the activism of their group." [2] [7] [8] Cruz also questioned her about her views on affirmative action. [2] [7] Some Republicans also objected to Kato's past experience as a public defender. [9] Her nomination is supported by the National Asian Pacific American Bar Association. [7] On March 10,2022,the committee failed to report her nomination by an 11–11 vote. [10]
On January 3,2023,her nomination was returned to the president under Rule XXXI,Paragraph 6 of the Senate;she was renominated the same day. [11] On February 9,2023,her nomination was reported out of committee by a party-line 11–10 vote. [12] On November 7,2023,the Senate invoked cloture on her nomination by a 50–47 vote. [13] Later that day,her nomination was confirmed by a 51–46 vote. [14] She received her judicial commission on November 17,2023. [15]
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