--- title: "Tony N. Leung | KnowJudges" canonical: "https://knowjudges.com/kyj/judge/tony-n-leung-minnesota-us-magistrate" page_type: "judge_profile" updated: "2026-10-08" --- # Tony N. Leung U.S. District Court for the District of Minnesota · U.S. Magistrate Judge ## Profile - Court: U.S. District Court for the District of Minnesota - State: Minnesota - Role: U.S. Magistrate Judge - Service status: active - Last verified: 2026-07-29 ## Summary Official statewide and applicable court procedural guidance applies to this judge. ## Biography ### Professional career - Retired U.S. Magistrate Judge for the United States District Court for the District of Minnesota, serving from April 30, 2011, until May 4, 2025 - On April 30, 2011, he was appointed a U.S. Magistrate Judge for the District of Minnesota, a newly created position - Judge, Minnesota District Court - 4th Judicial District, 1994-07–2011-04 - First judicial role: Minnesota 4th Judicial District Judge (1994–2011) - In 1994, Minnesota Governor Arne Carlson appointed him District Court Judge for Hennepin County’s Fourth Judicial District, making him the first Asian‐descent judge in Minnesota - Began his legal career at Faegre & Benson as an associate and later equity partner ### Education - B.A. in political science from Yale University in 1982 and a J.D. from New York University School of Law in 1985 ### Additional information - Magistrate, District Court, D. Minnesota, 2011-present - Retired from the federal bench on May 4, 2025, after 14 years as a magistrate judge. - Federal role: U.S. Magistrate Judge, D. Minn. (2011–2025) - He also held leadership roles in the Federal Bar Association Minnesota Chapter (2019–2020) - Served two eight‐year terms, with his second term starting in 2019 - He was re‐elected in 1996, 2002, and 2008 - J.D. — New York Univ. — 1992 - B.A. — Yale Univ. — 1985 - He lived one year in Aurora, Illinois, before settling in Minneapolis, where he graduated co‐valedictorian and student council president from West High School in 1978. - Born August 16, 1959, in Hong Kong to parents from Taishan, Guangdong, China, Leung emigrated to the U.S. with his family in 1966 at age six. - Date of birth: 1959-08-16 - focusing on real estate and business transactions. - handling civil, criminal, juvenile, and child protection cases - Practitioner, Faegre & Bnson - Notable as the first Asian Pacific American judge in Minnesota and later the first Asian Pacific American federal judge in the state - Notable: First Asian Pacific American judge in Minnesota; first in that role at the federal level in the state - His duties included civil and criminal proceedings and naturalization ceremonies. - His career spanned 31 years in judicial service - Leung co‐founded the Minnesota Chapter of the National Asian Pacific American Bar Association and held the role of the first chair of Twin Cities Diversity in Practice. - Birth place: Hong Kong ## 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 ### civil remote testimony Scope: courtwide In federal district-court civil proceedings, testimony is ordinarily taken in open court; remote contemporaneous testimony requires good cause in compelling circumstances and appropriate safeguards. Evidence excerpt: For good cause in compelling circumstances and with appropriate safeguards, the court may permit testimony in open court by contemporaneous transmission from a different location. [Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 43(a), Testimony in Open Court](https://www.uscourts.gov/forms-rules/current-rules-practice-procedure/federal-rules-civil-procedure) Source checked: 2026-07-26 ### criminal recording and broadcasting Scope: courtwide Federal district courts may not permit courtroom photography or broadcasting during criminal judicial proceedings unless a statute or another federal rule provides an exception. Evidence excerpt: Except as otherwise provided by a statute or these rules, the court must not permit the taking of photographs in the courtroom during judicial proceedings or the broadcasting of judicial proceedings from the courtroom. [Federal Rule of Criminal Procedure 53, Courtroom Photographing and Broadcasting Prohibited](https://www.uscourts.gov/court-records/access-court-proceedings/remote-public-access-proceedings/history-cameras-broadcasting-and-remote-public-access-courts) Source checked: 2026-07-26 ## Sources - [Official profile](https://www.uscourts.gov/sites/default/files/document/cjra_na_0331.2026.pdf#page=77) - [Official roster](https://www.uscourts.gov/sites/default/files/document/cjra_na_0331.2026.pdf#page=77) - [U.S. Courts judicial profile or roster](https://www.uscourts.gov/sites/default/files/document/cjra_na_0331.2026.pdf#page=77) - [CourtListener judicial biographical directory](https://www.courtlistener.com/person/9324/tony-n-leung/) - [Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 43(a), Testimony in Open Court](https://www.uscourts.gov/forms-rules/current-rules-practice-procedure/federal-rules-civil-procedure) - [Federal Rule of Criminal Procedure 53, Courtroom Photographing and Broadcasting Prohibited](https://www.uscourts.gov/court-records/access-court-proceedings/remote-public-access-proceedings/history-cameras-broadcasting-and-remote-public-access-courts) - [CourtListener judicial biographical directory](https://www.courtlistener.com/person/9324/tony-n-leung/) - [BR/MAG Judge Database: Tony N. Leung](https://legaldatalab.law.virginia.edu/brmag-judges/brmag-judges.json) - [Wikidata: Tony N. Leung](https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q76490173) - [CourtListener judicial biographical directory](https://www.courtlistener.com/person/9324/tony-n-leung/) - [BR/MAG Judge Database: Tony N. Leung](https://legaldatalab.law.virginia.edu/brmag-judges/brmag-judges.json) - [Wikidata: Tony N. Leung](https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q76490173) ## JSON-LD ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "WebPage", "@id": "https://knowjudges.com/kyj/judge/tony-n-leung-minnesota-us-magistrate", "url": "https://knowjudges.com/kyj/judge/tony-n-leung-minnesota-us-magistrate", "name": "Tony N. Leung | KnowJudges", "description": "Tony N. Leung, U.S. District Court for the District of Minnesota. 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Section-specific exceptions, waivers, later amendments and case orders remain applicable. This is a source excerpt, not an exhaustive statement of the rule. [Official source](https://www.uscourts.gov/sites/default/files/document/federal-rules-of-criminal-procedure.pdf). Collected 2026-10-27.