--- title: "Jacqueline Hong-Ngoc Nguyen | KnowJudges" canonical: "https://knowjudges.com/kyj/judge/jacqueline-hong-ngoc-nguyen" page_type: "judge_profile" updated: "2026-10-09" --- # Jacqueline Hong-Ngoc Nguyen U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit · U.S. Circuit Judge ## Profile - Court: U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit - State: National federal courts - Role: U.S. Circuit Judge - Service status: active - Last verified: 2026-07-25 ## Summary Official statewide and applicable court procedural guidance applies to this judge. ## Biography ### Professional career - 2012–present: Judge, U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit, appointed by President Obama on September 22, 2011; confirmed by the Senate on May 7, 2012 - 2009–2012: Judge, U.S. District Court for the Central District of California, appointed by President Barack Obama - Judge, District Court, C.D. California, 2009-2012 - Judge, Superior Court of California, County of Los Angeles, 2002-2009 - 2002–2009: Judge, Superior Court of Los Angeles County — the first Vietnamese‐American woman appointed to that court - 1995–2002: Assistant U.S. Attorney, Central District of California, in the Public Corruption and Government Fraud section; later Deputy Chief of the General Crimes Division - Judge of the United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit - In summary: Jacqueline Hong‐Ngoc Nguyen is a trailblazing federal judge whose career spans private practice, federal prosecution, state court service, and now appellate law, with a legacy marked by historic firsts in the U.S. judiciary ### Education - B.A. in English from Occidental College (1987) and a J.D. from the University of California, Los Angeles School of Law (1991). ### Additional information - Also considered a potential Supreme Court nominee in 2016. - deputy chief, General Crimes Division, 2000-2002 - 1991–1995: Private litigation attorney in Los Angeles - Private practice, Los Angeles, CA, 1991-1994 - Nguyen was born to a South Vietnamese Army major and moved to the United States at age 10 as a refugee after the Fall of Saigon in 1975. - Date of birth: 1965-01-01 - focusing on commercial, intellectual property, and construction‐defect cases. - Notable as the first Asian American woman on a U.S. federal appellate court and the first Vietnamese‐American woman on the federal bench. - On the Ninth Circuit, Nguyen has authored and participated in numerous opinions covering a range of cases, including environmental, commercial, and criminal matters. - Her judicial service is documented in the Federal Judicial Center and Benchlight databases. - She grew up in the La Crescenta‐Montrose area of Los Angeles, later helping her parents run a doughnut shop in Glendale, California. - Birth place: Dalat ## Before you appear - Read the judge-specific standing order first when one is listed. - Check the docket and case orders for requirements that supersede broader guidance. - Confirm current remote-access and courtroom technology arrangements before the proceeding. ## Courtroom Rules ### appellate oral argument Scope: courtwide In federal courts of appeals, oral argument is allowed unless a three-judge panel unanimously finds one of Rule 34's specified grounds for dispensing with it; the clerk provides the date, time, place, and time allocation. Evidence excerpt: Oral argument must be allowed in every case unless a panel of three judges who have examined the briefs and record unanimously agrees that oral argument is unnecessary [Federal Rule of Appellate Procedure 34, Oral Argument](https://www.uscourts.gov/forms-rules/current-rules-practice-procedure/federal-rules-appellate-procedure) Source checked: 2026-07-26 ## Sources - [Official profile](https://www.fjc.gov/node/1392971) - [Official roster](https://www.fjc.gov/node/1392971) - [Federal Judicial Center biography](https://www.fjc.gov/node/1392971) - [CourtListener judicial biographical directory](https://www.courtlistener.com/person/2403/jacqueline-hong-ngoc-nguyen/) - [Federal Rule of Appellate Procedure 34, Oral Argument](https://www.uscourts.gov/forms-rules/current-rules-practice-procedure/federal-rules-appellate-procedure) - [CourtListener judicial biographical directory](https://www.courtlistener.com/person/2403/jacqueline-hong-ngoc-nguyen/) - [Wikidata: Jacqueline Nguyen](https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q6120173) ## JSON-LD ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "WebPage", "@id": "https://knowjudges.com/kyj/judge/jacqueline-hong-ngoc-nguyen", "url": "https://knowjudges.com/kyj/judge/jacqueline-hong-ngoc-nguyen", "name": "Jacqueline Hong-Ngoc Nguyen | KnowJudges", "description": "Jacqueline Hong-Ngoc Nguyen, U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit. 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