more aapi judges nominated to federal bench

On Friday, President Obama nominated Judge Leslie E. Kobayashi, Judge Susan Richard Nelson, Judge Ellen Lipton Hollander, Judge James K. Bredar and Edmond E. Chang to United States District Court judgeships. From the White House press release, here are the bios of Judge Kobayashi and Judge Chang:

Judge Leslie E. Kobayashi: Nominee for the United States District Court for the District of Hawaii
Judge Leslie E. Kobayashi serves as a United States Magistrate Judge for the District of Hawaii, a position she has held since 1999. Prior to her appointment, she was an associate attorney (1984-1991) and then partner and managing partner (1991-1999) with the Honolulu firm of Fujiyama, Duffy & Fujiyama. Before joining the firm, Judge Kobayashi served as a Deputy Prosecuting Attorney in Honolulu from 1983 to 1984. She received her J.D. in 1983 from Boston College School of Law and her B.A. from Wellesley College in 1979.

Edmond E. Chang: Nominee for the United States District Court for the Northern District of Illinois
Edmond E. Chang is an Assistant United States Attorney for the Northern District of Illinois, Chicago office, where he has represented the government in criminal cases at the trial and appellate levels since 1999. Since 2005, he has served as Chief of Appeals for the Criminal Division, and he previously served as Deputy Chief of the General Crimes section. From 1997 to 1999, he was an associate in the Chicago office of Sidley Austin LLP, where he practiced in labor and employment litigation. After law school, Chang was a law clerk to the Honorable James L. Ryan of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit and then for the Honorable Marvin E. Aspen of the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Illinois. Since 1996, he has served as an adjunct professor of law at Northwestern University School of Law teaching civil rights litigation. Chang received his B.S.E. in Aerospace Engineering (cum laude) in 1991 from the University of Michigan, and his J.D. (cum laude) in 1994 from Northwestern University School of Law.

If you're keeping score, with last week's nominations, the President has now appointed eight AAPIs to federal judicial positions -- the exact number of AAPIs on the bench when he came into office. That means if all are confirmed, we'll have doubled the number of AAPI federal judges.