Delbert Wong (, May 17, 1920 – March 10, 2006) was the first judge in the continental United States of Chinese descent.

Early life and education

Delbert Wong was born in

Hanford, California Hanford is a city and county seat of Kings County, California, located in the San Joaquin Valley region of the greater Central Valley (California), Central Valley. The population was 53,967 at the 2010 United States Census, 2010 census. History ...

on May 17, 1920, and raised a short distance away in Bakersfield. After obtaining an Associate of Arts degree from

Bakersfield College Bakersfield College (BC) is a public community college in Bakersfield, California. BC serves about 22,000 students each semester or 31,000 annually, and offers Associate degrees, certificate programs, and is one of fifteen California Community C ...

, he transferred to the

University of California, Berkeley The University of California, Berkeley (UC Berkeley, Berkeley, Cal, or California) is a public land-grant research university in Berkeley, California. Established in 1868 as the University of California, it is the state's first land-grant u ...

, where he would earn a B.S. in business in 1942. While attending UC Berkeley, he was a brother of

Pi Alpha Phi Pi Alpha Phi Fraternity, Inc. (, also Pi Alpha Phi or PAPhi) is an American university-level fraternity. It was founded in 1929 at the University of California, Berkeley, and is the oldest active Asian-American interest fraternity in the nati ...

, an Asian-American Interest fraternity. Wong met his wife, Dolores (née Wing), at Berkeley; she graduated from there in 1943 and earned a master's degree from Smith College. After he graduated from Berkeley, Wong joined the

United States Army Air Forces The United States Army Air Forces (USAAF or AAF) was the major land-based aerial warfare service component of the United States Army and ''de facto'' aerial warfare service branch of the United States during and immediately after World War II ...

during

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposing ...

, and became one of eighteen B-17 Flying Fortress navigators that graduated in his class at

Mather Field Mather may refer to: People * Mather (given name), a list of people with the given name * Mather (surname), a list of people with the surname Places * Mather, California (disambiguation) * Mather, Manitoba, Canada, a community * Mather, Pennsyl ...

in Sacramento. During his service with the military, he was one of only three navigators who completed their thirty bombing missions. For his bravery and dedication,

First Lieutenant First lieutenant is a commissioned officer military rank in many armed forces; in some forces, it is an appointment. The rank of lieutenant has different meanings in different military formations, but in most forces it is sub-divided into a ...

Delbert Wong was awarded the Distinguished Flying Cross, as well as four

Air Medal The Air Medal (AM) is a military decoration of the United States Armed Forces. It was created in 1942 and is awarded for single acts of heroism or meritorious achievement while participating in aerial flight. Criteria The Air Medal was establish ...

s. In 1948, Wong became the first Chinese American graduate of

Stanford Law School Stanford Law School (Stanford Law or SLS) is the law school of Stanford University, a private research university near Palo Alto, California. Established in 1893, it is regarded as one of the most prestigious law schools in the world. Stanford La ...

. After his graduation, Delbert continued to break new ground. He was the first Asian American to be appointed Deputy Legislative Counsel serving the California State Legislature, and the first Asian American to be appointed a Deputy State Attorney General in 1952.

Career

During his tenure as a Deputy State Attorney General, Delbert was appointed by then-Governor

Pat Brown Edmund Gerald "Pat" Brown (April 21, 1905 – February 16, 1996) was an American lawyer and politician who served as the 32nd governor of California from 1959 to 1967. His first elected office was as district attorney for San Francisco, and he w ...

to the Municipal Court of the Los Angeles Judicial District in 1959, making him the first Chinese American named to the bench in the continental United States. Two years later, Judge Wong was elevated to the Los Angeles County Superior Court, where he served for over 20 years. Despite his busy schedule as a Municipal Court Judge, Wong served as Cubmaster of

Cub Scout Cub Scouts, Cubs or Wolf Cubs are programs associated with Scouting for young children usually between 7 and 12, depending on the organization to which they belong. A participant in the program is called a Cub. A group of Cubs is called a 'P ...

Pack 527 of the Hollywood Wilshire Council of the

Boy Scouts of America The Boy Scouts of America (BSA, colloquially the Boy Scouts) is one of the largest scouting organizations and one of the largest youth organizations in the United States, with about 1.2 million youth participants. The BSA was founded ...

. One of his Cub Scouts was

Lance Ito Lance Allan Ito (born August 2, 1950) is a retired American judge best known for presiding over the criminal trial for the O. J. Simpson murder case, held in the Los Angeles County Superior Court in 1995. Early life and career Ito was born ...

, later to become trial judge in the infamous

O. J. Simpson murder case ''The People of the State of California v. Orenthal James Simpson'' was a criminal trial in Los Angeles County Superior Court starting in 1994, in which O. J. Simpson, a former National Football League (NFL) player, broadcaster and actor, was ...

. Ito appointed then-retired Judge Wong to serve as a special master to retrieve a

switchblade A switchblade (aka switch knife, automatic knife, pushbutton knife, ejector knife, flick knife, Stiletto, flick blade, or spring knife (Sprenger,Benson, Ragnar (1989). ''Switchblade: The Ace of Blades''. Paladin Press. pp. 1–14. . The sw ...

knife from the Simpson residence that had been missed by police detectives. Even after he retired from the bench in 1982, he continued to be involved in his community. Wong researched and reported on racial issues within the Los Angeles Airport Police Bureau at the request of the Los Angeles Department of Airports; was appointed by then-Mayor of Los Angeles Tom Bradley to serve on a panel tasked with drafting an ethics policy for the

City of Los Angeles Los Angeles ( ; es, Los Ángeles, link=no , ), often referred to by its initials L.A., is the largest city in the state of California and the second most populous city in the United States after New York City, as well as one of the world' ...

; and was appointed Chair of the Asian Pacific American Focus Program of the

National Conference of Christians and Jews The National Conference for Community and Justice is an American social justice organization focused on fighting biases and promoting understanding between people of different races and cultures. The organization was founded in 1927 as the Natio ...

to combat the rise in violence against Asian Americans. Together with his wife, Dolores, Judge Wong was also an ardent supporter of the Chinese American community, making significant contributions to the Asian Pacific American Legal Center, the Chinatown Service Center and the Asian Pacific American Friends of the Center Theater Group.

Personal life and legacy

In 1954, Wong became the first minority resident of the

Silver Lake Silver is a chemical element with the Symbol (chemistry), symbol Ag (from the Latin ', derived from the Proto-Indo-European wikt:Reconstruction:Proto-Indo-European/h₂erǵ-, ''h₂erǵ'': "shiny" or "white") and atomic number 47. A soft, whi ...

neighborhood of Los Angeles, California; the real estate agent refused to work with the Wongs until he was threatened with termination by the property owner. Wong's home was designed by architect

Gilbert Leong Gilbert Lester Leong (1911-1996) was a Chinese-American architect who designed churches and public buildings in the Los Angeles area. He was the first Chinese-American to graduate from USC with a degree in architecture. His designs helped shape t ...

. On March 10, 2006, Wong died. He was 85 years old. On November 23, 2014, Wong's wife Dolores died in her sleep. She was 93 years old. A square in

Los Angeles Chinatown Chinatown is a neighborhood in Downtown Los Angeles, California, that became a commercial center for Chinese and other Asian businesses in Central Los Angeles in 1938. The area includes restaurants, shops, and art galleries, but also has a reside ...

was dedicated to Judge Wong in 2013; it is at the intersection of Ord and North Hill, and is the first time the City of Los Angeles recognized a Chinese-American with an official landmark. A similar motion to dedicate a public square for his wife Dolores was advanced in June 2021.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Wong, Delbert American military personnel of Chinese descent United States Army Air Forces officers Recipients of the Distinguished Flying Cross (United States) Recipients of the Air Medal United States Army Air Forces personnel of World War II 1920 births 2006 deaths Stanford Law School alumni University of California, Berkeley alumni Bakersfield College alumni Superior court judges in the United States

Early life and education

Career

Personal life and legacy

See also

References