Dolly M. Gee

Dolly Gee
Judge of the United States District Court for the Central District of California
Incumbent
Assumed office January 4, 2010
Appointed by	Barack Obama
Preceded by	George Schiavelli
Personal details
Born	1959 (age 56–57) Hawthorne, California, U.S.
Alma mater	University of California, Los Angeles

Dolly Maizie Gee (born 1959) is a United States district judge on the United States District Court for the Central District of California.

Early life and education

Gee was born in Hawthorne, California, the daughter of Cantonese immigrants from rural China.^[1][2] Gee's father was a World War II veteran who later worked as an aerospace engineer on projects like the space shuttle and the Apollo missions, while her mother was a garment worker.^[1] Gee earned a B.A. from the University of California, Los Angeles in 1981 and a law degree from University of California, Los Angeles School of Law in 1984.^[3] From 1984 until 1986, Gee served as a law clerk for Judge Milton Schwartz of the United States District Court for the Eastern District of California.^[3]

Professional career

In 1986, Gee joined the Los Angeles law firm of Schwartz, Steinsapir, Dohrmann & Sommers LLP. She served as an associate from 1986 until 1990, and became a partner in 1990. From 1994 until 1999, Gee also served as a member of the Federal Service Impasses Panel, a federal labor relations authority.

Failed nomination to federal district court

On May 27, 1999, President Bill Clinton nominated Gee to be a judge on the United States District Court for the Central District of California to replace Judge John G. Davies. However, with Republicans in control of the United States Senate, Gee's nomination languished, despite her meeting with Clinton on May 24, 2000.^[4] Gee never received a hearing before the Republican-controlled United States Senate Committee on the Judiciary, and her nomination was returned to Clinton at the end of his presidency.^[5] President George W. Bush later successfully nominated John F. Walter to the seat to which Gee had been nominated.

Federal judicial service

On August 6, 2009, President Barack Obama nominated Gee to a seat on the United States District Court for the Central District of California, to fill the seat vacated by Judge George P. Schiavelli, who resigned in October 2008.^[3] On October 15, 2009, the United States Senate Committee on the Judiciary referred Gee's nomination to the full Senate. The Senate confirmed Gee by unanimous consent on December 24, 2009. On March 19, 2010, Gee was inducted to the United States District Court.^[6] This makes her the first Chinese American woman to serve as an Article III Judge.^[7]

References

1. "L.A. Now". The Los Angeles Times. December 25, 2009.
2. "Boxer recommends two for Los Angeles federal bench". Associated Press. February 3, 1999.
3. President Obama Nominates Edward Milton Chen, Dolly Gee and Richard Seeborg to Serve on the District Court Bench, whitehouse.gov (August 7, 2009).
4. "Clinton Nominates Asian American for U.S. District court". AsianWeek. June 7, 2000. p. 12.
5. "(END OF THE MONTH) U.S. District Judge J. Spencer Letts Takes Senior Status...Adjournment of Senate Kills Hopes of Ninth Circuit, U.S. District Court Nominees...Legislation Creating New Positions on Court of Appeal, Superior Court Effective Monday". Metropolitan News-Enterprise. December 29, 2000. p. 9.
6. "A Brilliant Shattering of Glass". The Pacific Citizen. April 2, 2010.
7. "In The News". house.gov. Retrieved 6 July 2015.

External links

• Dolly M. Gee at the Biographical Directory of Federal Judges, a public domain publication of the Federal Judicial Center.