
Hon. Ronald S.W. Lew: First Chinese American Federal Judge in the continental United States
Ronald S.W. Lew, born in Los Angeles in 1941, used to serve as the judge of the U.S. District Court of the Central District of California and the first Chinese American federal judge outside of the State of Hawaii. Lew graduated from Loyola Marymount University in 1964 and received a Juris Doctor from Southwestern University School of Law in 1971. Governor Jerry Brown appointed Lew to Judge of the Los Angeles Municipal Court in 1982. Governor George Deukmejian appointed Lew to Judge of the Los Angeles Superior Court in 1984. President Ronald Reagan nominated Lew to a seat on the U.S. District Court in 1987.