# Herbert Choy > Mediated Wiki article. Canonical URL: https://mediated.wiki/source/Herbert_Choy > Markdown URL: https://mediated.wiki/source/Herbert_Choy.md > Source: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Herbert_Choy > Source revision: 1354722066 > License: Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/) {{Short description|American judge (1916–2004)}} {{Infobox officeholder | honorific_prefix = | name = Herbert Choy | honorific_suffix = | image = Herbert_Choy.jpg | alt = | caption = | office = [Senior Judge](/source/Senior_status) of the [United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit](/source/United_States_Court_of_Appeals_for_the_Ninth_Circuit) | term_start = October 3, 1984 | term_end = March 10, 2004 | office1 = Judge of the [United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit](/source/United_States_Court_of_Appeals_for_the_Ninth_Circuit) | term_start1 = April 23, 1971 | term_end1 = October 3, 1984 | nominator1 = | appointer1 = [Richard Nixon](/source/List_of_federal_judges_appointed_by_Richard_Nixon) | predecessor1 = [Stanley Barnes](/source/Stanley_Barnes) | successor1 = [Melvin T. Brunetti](/source/Melvin_T._Brunetti) | pronunciation = | birth_name = Herbert Young Cho Choy | birth_date = {{Birth date|1916|01|06}} | birth_place = [Makaweli](/source/Kaumakani%2C_Hawaii), [Territory of Hawaii](/source/Territory_of_Hawaii) | death_date = {{Death date and age|2004|03|10|1916|01|06}} | death_place = [Honolulu, Hawaii](/source/Honolulu), U.S. | death_cause = | resting_place = | resting_place_coordinates = | citizenship = | party = | other_party = | height = | spouse = {{marriage|Helen Shular Choy|June 19, 1945}} | partner = | relations = | children = | parents = | mother = | father = | relatives = | education = [University of Hawaii](/source/University_of_Hawaii) ([BA](/source/Bachelor_of_Arts))
{{nowrap|[Harvard University](/source/Harvard_University) ([JD](/source/Juris_Doctor))}} | alma_mater = | occupation = | profession = | known_for = | salary = | net_worth = | cabinet = | committees = | portfolio = | awards = | signature = | signature_alt = | website = | module = {{Infobox Korean name/auto | child = yes | hangul = %최영조 }} }} '''Herbert Young Cho Choy''' (January 6, 1916 – March 10, 2004) was the first [Asian American](/source/Asian_American) to serve as a [United States federal judge](/source/United_States_federal_judge) and the first person of [Korean](/source/Korean_people) ancestry to be [admitted to the bar in the United States](/source/Admission_to_the_bar_in_the_United_States).{{cite web | date= March 12, 2004 | url = http://archives.starbulletin.com/2004/03/12/news/story14.html | title = Isle Judge was Asian Pioneer in the Law Field Nationwide | publisher=archives.starbulletin.com | accessdate = July 20, 2015}} He served as a [United States circuit judge](/source/United_States_federal_judge) of the [United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit](/source/United_States_Court_of_Appeals_for_the_Ninth_Circuit). ==Education and career== Born to Korean [immigrants](/source/Korean_immigration_to_Hawaii) who worked in [sugar plantations in Hawaii](/source/sugar_plantations_in_Hawaii) on January 6, 1916, in [Makaweli](/source/Kaumakani%2C_Hawaii), [Kauai](/source/Kauai), [Hawaii](/source/Hawaii), Choy received a [Bachelor of Arts](/source/Bachelor_of_Arts) degree in 1938 from the [University of Hawaii](/source/University_of_Hawaii). He received a [Juris Doctor](/source/Juris_Doctor) in 1941 from [Harvard Law School](/source/Harvard_Law_School). He served in the [Hawaii Territorial Guard](/source/Hawaii_Territorial_Guard) from 1941 to 1942. He served in the [United States Army](/source/United_States_Army) from 1942 to 1946. In 1946, Choy served in the [Judge Advocate General's Corps](/source/United_States_Army_Judge_Advocate_General's_Corps). Choy was in private practice in [Honolulu](/source/Honolulu), Hawaii, from 1946 to 1971. He was the first person of Korean ancestry to be admitted to the practice of law in the United States. He served with the [law firm](/source/law_firm) of Fong Miho Choy & Robinson from 1947 to 1957, with one of his partners being future [United States Senator](/source/United_States_Senator) [Hiram Fong](/source/Hiram_Fong). From 1957 to 1958, Choy served as [Attorney General](/source/Attorney_General_of_Hawaii) for the [Territory of Hawaii](/source/Territory_of_Hawaii).{{FJC Bio|426|nid=1379086|name=Herbert Young Cho Choy}} ==Federal judicial service== thumb|Choy in the 1970s. At the recommendation of Senator Fong, Choy was nominated by President [Richard Nixon](/source/Richard_Nixon) on April 7, 1971, to a seat on the [United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit](/source/United_States_Court_of_Appeals_for_the_Ninth_Circuit) vacated by Judge [Stanley Barnes](/source/Stanley_Barnes). He was confirmed by the [United States Senate](/source/United_States_Senate) on April 21, 1971, and received his commission on April 23, 1971. He was the first Asian American on the federal bench as well as the first Hawaii native. He assumed [senior status](/source/senior_status) on October 3, 1984. His service terminated on March 10, 2004, due to his death. ===Former clerk=== In 2001, one of Choy's former law clerks, [Richard Clifton](/source/Richard_Clifton), became the second judge from Hawaii to serve on the Ninth Circuit.{{Cite web|url=https://www.staradvertiser.com/2016/01/05/breaking-news/clifton-to-step-down-as-active-federal-appeals-court-judge/|title=Clifton to step down as active federal appeals court judge|date=2016-01-05|website=Honolulu Star-Advertiser|language=en-US|archive-url=|archive-date=|access-date=2019-05-29}} ==Personal== Chou married Dorothy Helen "Henny" Shular on June 19, 1945.{{cite web | url=https://obits.staradvertiser.com/2018/04/08/helen-shular-choy/ | title=Helen Shular Choy Obituary | Honolulu Star-Advertiser }} They had no children. ==Death== Choy died in Honolulu on March 10, 2004, due to complications from [pneumonia](/source/pneumonia).{{cite web | date= March 12, 2004 | url = http://the.honoluluadvertiser.com/article/2004/Mar/12/ln/ln25a.html | title = Herbert Choy served on 9th Circuit Court | publisher=the.honoluluadvertiser.com | accessdate = July 20, 2015}} ==See also== {{main|List of Asian American jurists}} {{main|List of first minority male lawyers and judges in the United States}} *[Shiro Kashiwa](/source/Shiro_Kashiwa) - first Japanese American federal judge (1972) *[Masaji Marumoto](/source/Masaji_Marumoto) - first Asian American territorial court justice (1956) *[Kathryn Doi Todd](/source/Kathryn_Doi_Todd) - first female Asian American judge in the U.S. (1978) *[Wilfred Tsukiyama](/source/Wilfred_Tsukiyama) - first Asian American state chief justice (1959) *[Delbert E. Wong](/source/Delbert_E._Wong) - first Chinese American judge in the continental U.S. (1959) ==References== {{Reflist}} ==External links== * {{FJC Bio|426|nid=1379086|name=Herbert Young Cho Choy}} {{s-start}} {{s-legal}} {{s-bef|before=[Stanley Barnes](/source/Stanley_Barnes)}} {{s-ttl|title={{nowrap|Judge of the [United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit](/source/United_States_Court_of_Appeals_for_the_Ninth_Circuit)}}|years=1971–1984}} {{s-aft|after=[Melvin T. Brunetti](/source/Melvin_T._Brunetti)}} {{s-end}} {{authority control}} {{DEFAULTSORT:Choy, Herbert}} Category:1916 births Category:2004 deaths Category:American politicians of Korean descent Category:Harvard Law School alumni Category:Hawaii attorneys general Category:Lawyers from Hawaii Category:Judges of the United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit Category:United States court of appeals judges appointed by Richard Nixon Category:American jurists of Korean descent Category:American military personnel of Korean descent Category:People from Hawaii of Korean descent Category:United States Army Judge Advocate General's Corps Category:United States Army soldiers Category:University of Hawaiʻi at Mānoa alumni Category:United States Army personnel of World War II Category:Deaths from pneumonia in Hawaii --- Adapted from the Wikipedia article [Herbert Choy](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Herbert_Choy) by Wikipedia contributors ([contributor history](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Herbert_Choy?action=history)). Available under [Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International](https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/). Changes may have been made.