Philip Kwon is deputy counsel for the

Port Authority of New York and New Jersey The Port Authority of New York and New Jersey, PANYNJ; stylized, in logo since 2020, as Port Authority NY NJ, is a joint venture between the U.S. states of New York and New Jersey, established in 1921 through an interstate compact authorized ...

and a previous nominee for the New Jersey Supreme Court.

Background, education, early career and political affiliation

Kwon was born in

South Korea South Korea, officially the Republic of Korea (ROK), is a country in East Asia, constituting the southern part of the Korea, Korean Peninsula and sharing a Korean Demilitarized Zone, land border with North Korea. Its western border is formed ...

and emigrated to the United States in 1973. Kwon graduated from the

Bronx High School of Science The Bronx High School of Science, commonly called Bronx Science, is a public specialized high school in The Bronx in New York City. It is operated by the New York City Department of Education. Admission to Bronx Science involves passing the Spec ...

. Kwon received his undergraduate degree from

Georgetown University Georgetown University is a private university, private research university in the Georgetown (Washington, D.C.), Georgetown neighborhood of Washington, D.C. Founded by Bishop John Carroll (archbishop of Baltimore), John Carroll in 1789 as Georg ...

in 1989 and his J.D. from

Rutgers School of Law–Newark Rutgers Law School is the law school of Rutgers University, with classrooms in Newark and Camden, New Jersey. It is the largest public law school and the 10th largest law school, overall, in the United States. Each class in the three-year J.D. pr ...

in 1994.NJ.com, "Gov. Christie nominates two for state Supreme Court, including gay African-American mayor," January 23, 2012
/ref> In September 1999, Kwon joined the United States Attorney’s Office for the District of New Jersey as an Assistant United States Attorney in the Criminal Division, focusing on crimes involving drugs, gangs, counterfeiting, white-collar fraud, and immigration fraud. Kwon worked in the

New Jersey Attorney General The attorney general of New Jersey is a member of the executive cabinet of the state and oversees the New Jersey Department of Law and Public Safety, Department of Law and Public Safety. The office is appointed by the governor of New Jersey, confir ...

's office. Before that, he was an Assistant U.S. Attorney for New Jersey, where he later worked under

Chris Christie Christopher James Christie (born September 6, 1962) is an American politician, lawyer, political commentator, lobbyist, and former federal prosecutor who served as the 55th governor of New Jersey from 2010 to 2018. Christie, who was born in Ne ...

. Kwon also worked in the law office of LeBoeuf, Lamb, Greene & MacRae from 1994 to 1997. Prior to moving to New Jersey in April 2011, Kwon lived in New York, where he was a registered Republican. He resides and is registered to vote in Closter without a Democratic or Republican party affiliation.

Supreme Court nomination and rejection

Kwon was nominated for the

New Jersey Supreme Court The Supreme Court of New Jersey is the highest court in the U.S. state of New Jersey. In its current form, the Supreme Court of New Jersey is the final judicial authority on all cases in the state court system, including cases challenging the ...

by Governor

in January 2012 to succeed John Wallace. On March 22, 2012, the New Jersey Senate Judiciary Committee voted 7-6 not to approve Kwon's nomination.NECN.com, "NJ Supreme Court nominee Kwon rejected," March 22, 2012
/ref> Kwon's was the first gubernatorial nominee for the Supreme Court in modern times to fail to be approved. Kwon would have been the first Asian-American to serve on the court.

Port Authority of New York and New Jersey

Kwon was appointed to the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey (PANYNJ) in July 2012. In February 2014, Kwon was subpoenaed to testify before the

New Jersey Legislature The New Jersey Legislature is the legislative branch of the government of the U.S. state of New Jersey. In its current form, as defined by the New Jersey Constitution of 1947, the Legislature consists of two houses: the General Assembly and the ...

special committee investigating the Fort Lee George Washington Bridge lane closures which occurred in September 2013. Kwon reportedly spent four or five days preparing

Bill Baroni William E. Baroni Jr. (born December 10, 1971) is an American Republican Party politician and law professor. He represented the 14th legislative district in the New Jersey Senate and General Assembly. In 2010, New Jersey Governor Chris Christie ...

, the PANYNJ deputy executive director, for his November 2013 appearance before the NJ Assembly Transportation Committee and who at that time claimed that the lane closures were part of a legitimate traffic study. In May 2014 Kwon was subpoenaed by the grand jury

's office regarding the matter. In June 2014 the NJ Legislative committee issued another subpoena to Kwon. At the federal trial in 2016, Kwon was represented by

Geoffrey Berman Geoffrey Steven Berman (born September 12, 1959) is an American attorney who served as the United States Attorney for the Southern District of New York from 2018 to 2020. Berman served as an Assistant United States Attorney for the Southern Dis ...

, who would later be interviewed by President Trump for the role of U.S. Attorney, Southern District of New York.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Kwon, Phillip Port Authority of New York and New Jersey people People from Closter, New Jersey Georgetown University alumni Rutgers School of Law–Newark alumni South Korean emigrants to the United States New Jersey lawyers Living people American politicians of Korean descent New York (state) Republicans New Jersey Republicans Year of birth missing (living people) Asian-American people in New York (state) politics Asian-American people in New Jersey politics Asian conservatism in the United States

Background, education, early career and political affiliation

Supreme Court nomination and rejection

Port Authority of New York and New Jersey

See also

References