Ronald S.W. Lew

Ronald S.W. Lew
Judge of the United States District Court for the Central District of California
In office May 7, 1987 – September 19, 2006
Appointed by	Ronald Reagan
Preceded by	Laughlin Edward Waters, Sr.
Succeeded by	George H. Wu
Los Angeles Superior Court Judge
In office 1984–1987
Appointed by	Governor George Deukmejian
Los Angeles Municipal Court Judge
In office 1982–1984
Appointed by	Governor Edmund G. Brown, Jr.
Personal details
Born	September 19, 1941 Los Angeles, California, U.S.
Spouse(s)	Mamie
Alma mater	Loyola Marymount University Southwestern Law School

Ronald S.W. Lew (Chinese name: 刘成威; born September 19, 1941) is a U.S. District Court Judge for the Central District of California in the Ninth Circuit. Outside of Hawaii, Judge Lew was the first Chinese-American appointed to the federal bench after being appointed by President Ronald Reagan in 1987. He is a graduate of Loyola High School (Los Angeles), and he earned his undergraduate degree from Loyola Marymount University in 1964, and his J.D. from Southwestern University School of Law in 1971. .

Judge Lew was appointed to the District Court upon the recommendation of Attorney Hochman, the father of Assistant United States Attorney Nathan Hochman, who regularly practiced in front of Lew.

Early career

Prior to his federal appointment, Judge Lew had served on both the Municipal Court and Superior Court for Los Angeles and had worked for the Los Angeles City Attorney. Judge Lew is a respected figure in Los Angeles.^[1]

In 1976, Mayor Tom Bradley appointed Judge Lew to the Los Angeles Fire and Police Pension Commission, on which he served for six years.

Personal

Judge Lew is married to Mamie. They have four children (three girls and a boy).

Awards and honors

In 2001, Judge Lew was awarded the Historymakers Award by the Los Angeles Chinese American Museum in law and justice^[2] He was also honored by the Chinese Historical Society of Southern California (CHSSC) as one of the Chinese American Pioneers in Law in 2005.

References

1. Robert Greene, 1998 "Person of the Year", Metropolitan News-Enterprise, Dec. 31, 1998
2. CAM past honorees, 2005

Sources

• Ronald S.W. Lew at the Biographical Directory of Federal Judges, a public domain publication of the Federal Judicial Center.