Brooklyn Heights
Trailblazer
Standing O salutes federal Judge Pamela Chen for her trailblazing work.
Chen is a federal judge for the United States District Court for the Eastern District of New York in Downtown, and was the first openly-gay Asian federal judge when she took the bench in 2013.
She was honored for her work at the Brooklyn Women’s Bar Association at its Asian American and Pacific Islander Heritage Celebration on May 13, which had plenty of fanfare and food for the attendees.
“It was a wonderful event, you can never have a bad event when you have lion dancers,” Chen said.
The Manhattan-based law professional has presided over cases such as the targeted surveillance of Muslims by the New York Police Department and has a proven track record of bringing justice to victims of human trafficking.
The celebration, held at the Bar Association’s Remsen Street headquarters, was hosted by the lawyers group, as well as the Asian American Judges Association of New York.
Chen said it was very gratifying to be recognized for her work.
“It’s nice to know that the work that you do and the public’s perception of it is that it’s done impartial and fairly,” she said.
— Kevin Duggan
