Ming William Chin (born August 31, 1942) is an American attorney and former

Associate Justice Associate justice or associate judge (or simply associate) is a judicial panel member who is not the chief justice in some jurisdictions. The title "Associate Justice" is used for members of the Supreme Court of the United States and some sta ...

of the Supreme Court of California, serving from March 1, 1996 to August 31, 2020.

Biography

Chin was born and raised in

Klamath Falls, Oregon Klamath Falls ( ) is a city in and the county seat of Klamath County, Oregon, United States. The city was originally called ''Linkville'' when George Nurse founded the town in 1867. It was named after the Link River, on whose falls the city was ...

. His family moved to San Jose, California, and he attended Bellarmine College Preparatory, graduating in 1960. Chin then received a

Bachelor of Arts Bachelor of arts (BA or AB; from the Latin ', ', or ') is a bachelor's degree awarded for an undergraduate program in the arts, or, in some cases, other disciplines. A Bachelor of Arts degree course is generally completed in three or four year ...

political science Political science is the scientific study of politics. It is a social science dealing with systems of governance and power, and the analysis of political activities, political thought, political behavior, and associated constitutions and la ...

from the

University of San Francisco The University of San Francisco (USF) is a private Jesuit university in San Francisco, California. The university's main campus is located on a setting between the Golden Gate Bridge and Golden Gate Park. The main campus is nicknamed "The Hil ...

in 1964. Subsequently, he studied at the

University of San Francisco School of Law The University of San Francisco School of Law (USF Law) is the law school of the private University of San Francisco. Established in 1912, it received American Bar Association accreditation in 1935 and joined the Association of American Law Sc ...

, and obtained a Juris Doctor in 1967. After graduating, he was commissioned a Captain in the

United States Army The United States Army (USA) is the land warfare, land military branch, service branch of the United States Armed Forces. It is one of the eight Uniformed services of the United States, U.S. uniformed services, and is designated as the Army o ...

, and in 1969 was awarded both a Commendation Medal and

Bronze Star The Bronze Star Medal (BSM) is a United States Armed Forces decoration awarded to members of the United States Armed Forces for either heroic achievement, heroic service, meritorious achievement, or meritorious service in a combat zone. Wh ...

for his meritorious service in the

Vietnam War The Vietnam War (also known by other names) was a conflict in Vietnam, Laos, and Cambodia from 1 November 1955 to the fall of Saigon on 30 April 1975. It was the second of the Indochina Wars and was officially fought between North Vietnam a ...

. After Chin's discharge, he practiced for three years as a deputy district attorney for the Alameda County District Attorney's Office, and was promoted to felony trial deputy. In 1973, Chin entered private practice with Aiken, Kramer & Cummings, and focused on litigation. He is well-known among California employment lawyers as one of the four current authors of the Rutter Group practice guide on employment litigation.

Judicial career

In 1988, Chin was appointed as a Judge of the Alameda County Superior Court. Then, in August 1990, Governor

George Deukmejian Courken George Deukmejian Jr. (; June 6, 1928 – May 8, 2018) was an American politician who served as the 35th governor of California from 1983 to 1991. Of Armenian descent, Deukmejian was a member of the Republican Party and he also served ...

elevated Chin to the position of Associate Justice of the

California Court of Appeal The California Courts of Appeal are the state intermediate appellate courts in the U.S. state of California. The state is geographically divided along county lines into six appellate districts.

, First District. On August 17, 1994,

Governor A governor is an administrative leader and head of a polity or political region, ranking under the head of state and in some cases, such as governors-general, as the head of state's official representative. Depending on the type of political ...

Pete Wilson Peter Barton Wilson (born August 23, 1933) is an American attorney and politician who served as the 36th governor of California from 1991 to 1999. A member of the Republican Party, he also served as a United States senator from California betw ...

appointed Chin as the Presiding Justice of the Court of Appeal, First District, Division Three, beginning January 2, 1995. In November 1994, he was elected to a 12-year term. On January 25, 1996, Governor Wilson appointed Chin as an associate justice of the

California California is a state in the Western United States, located along the Pacific Coast. With nearly 39.2million residents across a total area of approximately , it is the most populous U.S. state and the 3rd largest by area. It is also the m ...

Supreme Court. Chin was confirmed by the Commission on Judicial Appointments and sworn in on March 1, 1996. He was retained by the electorate in 1998 and 2010. On December 16, 2014, Chief Justice

Tani Cantil-Sakauye Tani Gorre Cantil-Sakauye ( née Cantil; born October 19, 1959) is an American lawyer and jurist who was the 28th Chief Justice of California and is the president/ CEO of the Public Policy Institute of California. Nominated by Governor Arnold Sch ...

named Chin to the California Judicial Council for a two-year term. In his first decade on the court, he authored the most majority opinions at the Supreme Court. Among Chin's notable cases is his 2008 majority opinion in ''Silicon Valley Taxpayers' Assn., Inc. v. Santa Clara County Open Space Authority'', a landmark California

separation of powers Separation of powers refers to the division of a state's government into branches, each with separate, independent powers and responsibilities, so that the powers of one branch are not in conflict with those of the other branches. The typic ...

case regarding Proposition 218. On August 31, 2020, Chin retired from the California Supreme Court. On October 5, 2020, Governor

Gavin Newsom Gavin Christopher Newsom (born October 10, 1967) is an American politician and businessman who has been the 40th governor of California since 2019. A member of the Democratic Party, he served as the 49th lieutenant governor of California f ...

announced that his seat would be filled by

Martin Jenkins Martin Joseph Jenkins (born November 12, 1953) is an American attorney and jurist serving as an associate justice of the Supreme Court of California. He was previously a justice of the California Court of Appeal for the First District, located ...

Civic activities

Chin was elected president of the Alameda County Bar Association. He served as a member of the Board of Trustees of the University of San Francisco.

Honors and awards

Chin has received a series of honors from his ''alma mater''. In 1988, he was selected as the USF Alumnus of the Year. In 1993, he was named USF Law School Alumnus of the Year. Finally, in 1996 USF Law School presented him with the St. Thomas More Award. Chin was also awarded honorary

LL.D. Legum Doctor (Latin: “teacher of the laws”) (LL.D.) or, in English, Doctor of Laws, is a doctorate-level academic degree in law or an honorary degree, depending on the jurisdiction. The double “L” in the abbreviation refers to the early ...

degrees in 1996 by Southwestern Law School, in 2001 by

California Western School of Law California Western School of Law is a private Private or privates may refer to: Music * " In Private", by Dusty Springfield from the 1990 album ''Reputation'' * Private (band), a Denmark-based band * "Private" (Ryōko Hirosue song), from th ...

, and in 2002 by

Pepperdine University School of Law The Pepperdine University Rick J. Caruso School of Law (formerly Pepperdine University School of Law) is the law school of Pepperdine University, a private research university in Los Angeles County, California. The school offers the Juris D ...

Personal life

In 1971, Chin wed Carol Joe, a pharmacist, with whom he has two children: Jennifer (b. 1974) and Jason (b. 1976). Chin is of Chinese descent.

References

Selected publications

* * (Hein paid subscription
Lexis-Nexis
paid subscription)

Videos

External links

California State Courts.
Profile
Bloomberg.com.
Court opinions authored by Ming Chin
Courtlistener.com

California State Courts.

California Court of Appeal, First District. , - , - {{DEFAULTSORT:Chin, Ming 1942 births Living people Justices of the Supreme Court of California Judges of the California Courts of Appeal Superior court judges in the United States University of San Francisco alumni United States Army personnel of the Vietnam War United States Army officers American jurists of Chinese descent Politicians from Klamath Falls, Oregon Lawyers from San Francisco Lawyers from Oakland, California American legal writers California Republicans 20th-century American judges 21st-century American judges California politicians of Chinese descent Military personnel from California Military personnel from Oregon