Tony N. Leung

Tony N. Leung (simplified Chinese: 梁 栋 宁; traditional Chinese 梁 棟 寧; born August 16, 1959) is a United States Magistrate Judge of the United States District Court for the District of Minnesota. 

The Honorable

Tony N. Leung
Magistrate Judge of the United States District Court for the District of Minnesota
Assumed office
April 30, 2011
District Court Judge of the Fourth Judicial District of Minnesota
In office
1994–2011
Personal details
Born (1959-08-16) August 16, 1959
Hong Kong
EducationYale University (B.A.)
New York University School of Law (J.D.)

Leung is the first Asian Pacific American judge in Minnesota.[1] In 1994, he was appointed as a District Court Judge for the Fourth Judicial District of Minnesota by Minnesota Governor Arne H. Carlson.[2] He served in that capacity as a general jurisdiction trial judge until he was appointed to the federal bench in 2011, becoming the first Asian Pacific American to serve as a federal judge in Minnesota.[3]

Early life

Born in Hong Kong to parents from Taishan, Guangdong, China,[4] [5] Leung emigrated at age six with his family to the United States in 1966. He lived one year in Aurora, Illinois, learning to speak English before moving to Minneapolis, Minnesota, residing south of the Lyn-Lake area.

Education

He attended Minneapolis Public Schools and graduated as co-valedictorian and president of the student council in 1978 from West High School.[6] In 1982, he graduated with honors from Yale University, where he received a BA in political science, was co-captain of the Yale Tae Kwon-do Club,[7] and studied at Beijing University in the summer of 1981. He received his JD from New York University School of Law in 1985.

Career

Leung returned to Minnesota to practice at Faegre & Benson (now Faegre, Drinker Biddle & Reath), where he was an equity partner focusing on real estate and other business transactions until he joined the state bench.[4]

On July 29, 1994, Leung became Minnesota’s first judge of Asian descent when he was appointed a District Court Judge on Minnesota’s Fourth Judicial District in Hennepin County, replacing the Honorable Michael J. Davis, who had been appointed as a United States District Judge for the District of Minnesota.[8] Leung, who was re-elected in 1996, 2002 and 2008, presided over a wide variety of subjects, including civil,[9] [10] criminal,[11] child protection and juvenile delinquency cases.

On April 30, 2011, Leung was sworn in as a United States Magistrate Judge for the United States District Court for the District of Minnesota. His magistrate judgeship was newly created in 2011. His duties include civil and criminal proceedings[12] as well as naturalization ceremonies.[5] He was appointed to his first eight-year term by District Judges of the United States District Court for the District of Minnesota and appointed to a second eight-year term in 2019.

Leung served as the President of the Federal Bar Association Minnesota Chapter from 2019-2020. He was one of the co-founders of Minnesota's Chapter of the National Asian Pacific American Bar Association in 1990. He has served on the board of Twin Cities RISE! for 25 years, beginning in 1995, and as Chair of the Yale Alumni Schools Committee in Minneapolis since 1991.[13] He was a co-founder and first Board Chair of Twin Cities Diversity in Practice in 2005. He is or has been on the boards of Wishes & More, Northern Star Council, Boy Scouts of America, and Lakewood Cemetery Association. He has been a lecturer as part of the University of St. Thomas's Great Books Seminar for business and law students since 1998.

References
  1. Ojeda-Zapata, Julio (July 29, 1994). "Leung views his judgeship as an opportunity to have a lasting impact on society". Pioneer Press.
  2. Shah, Allie (July 30, 1994). "To Judge Leung, sacrifices are part of new job". Star Tribune.
  3. Walsh, James (May 11, 2011). "Leung named to federal bench". Star Tribune.
  4. Lebedoff, David (1997). Cleaning Up. pp. 315–316.
  5. "New U.S. citizens fulfill dream, embrace future". Star Tribune. Retrieved 2020-08-11.
  6. Flanagan, Barbara (August 1, 1994). "Flanagan Memo". Star Tribune.
  7. Hansen, Keith (6 November 1980). "Two Yale students take third place at national Tae Kwon Do tourney". Yale Daily News no. 45, New Haven, Connecticut.
  8. Moy, Cindy (31 October 1997). "The State's only Asian American Judge". Minnesota Lawyer.
  9. Minot train derailment: Nicholson, Blake, “Lawsuits on ND Derailment to Hit Courts.” Star Tribune, Minneapolis, 18 October 2005; Wagner, Steven P, “Derailment suits beginning.” In Forum News, Fargo, North Dakota, 25 October 2005; Olson, Jim, “Jim Olson’s notes from the courtroom.” KXMC News, Minot, North Dakota, 31 January 2006; Karnowski, Steve, “Jurors Award $1.86M in ND Derailment.” Lancaster Online, Lancaster, North Dakota, 15 February 2006; In re the Soo Line R.R. Co. Derailment of Jan. 18, 2002 in Minot, N.D., 2006 WL 1153359, 2006 Minn. Dist. LEXIS 170 (Minn. Dist. Ct. Apr. 24, 2006); Nicholson, Blake, “Judge: Federal pre-emption not an absolute for railroads.” Star Tribune, Minneapolis, 25 April 2006; Lundeen v. Can. Pac. Ry. Co., 532 F.3d 682 (8th Cir. 2008), rehearing denied 550 F.3d 747, cert. denied 556 U.S. 1235 (2009).
  10. Employment class action: Rios v. Jennie-O Turkey Store, Inc., 793 N.W.2d 309 (Minn. Ct. App. 2011). Wrongful death medical malpractice: Zack, Margaret, “$931,970 awarded in heart-test death.” Star Tribune, Minneapolis, 27 August 1996. Excessive force: Zack, Margaret, “3 officers didn’t use too much force, jury rules.” Star Tribune, 27 June 1996. Shareholders derivative suit: In Re Nash Finch Company Derivative Litigation. Contract: Syngenta Seeds Inc. v Monsanto Company. Personal injury: Lerner, Maura, “Minneapolis Golf Club settled with Abigail Taylor’s family for $8 million in the girl’s fatal accident.” Star Tribune, Minneapolis, 4 September 2008. Defeasance from collateral: Mulcahy v. Fenton Sub Parcel D, LLC, 2009 WL 2842011, (Minn. Dist. Ct. June 18, 2009), aff’d by 2010 WL 4181263, 2010 Minn. App. Unpub. LEXIS 1066 (Minn. Ct. App. Oct. 26, 2010)
  11. Homicides: Zack, Margaret, “Man guilty of murder in baby’s death.” Star Tribune, Minneapolis, 30 April 1996; State of Minnesota v. Watkins, 1997 WL 396215, 1997 Minn. App. LEXIS 775 (Minn. Ct. App. July 15, 1997). “Zack, Margaret, “Cottage Grove man convicted of killing 2.” Star Tribune, Minneapolis, 7 April 2001; State of Minnesota v. Krosch, 642 N.W.2d 713 (Minn. 2002). Olson, Rochelle, “In the same cell – and on opposite sides of murder case.” Star Tribune, Minneapolis, 21 March 2008; Olson, Rochelle, “’Mr. Diggins is disappointed’; he’s guilty.” Star Tribune, Minneapolis, 26 March 2008; State of Minnesota v. Diggins, 836 N.W.2d 349 (Minn. 2013).  Felony murder: State of Minnesota v. Anderson, 666 N.W.2d 696 (Minn. 2003) (affirming trial court’s dismissal of felony murder count).
  12. Copyright: Losey, Ralph, “Purple Rain of Sanctions Fall on the Record Company in the “Prince Case” for their Intentional Destruction of Text Messages.” e-discoveryteam.com, Orlando, Florida, 11 March 2019.  Civil Rights: Feshir, Riham, “Judge stays civil suit in Ruszczyk shooting.” MPR News, St. Paul, 2 October 2018; Ruszczyk v. Noor, 349 F. Supp. 3d 754 (D. Minn. 2018); Occupy Minneapolis, et. al v. County of Hennepin, et. al, 11cv3412.   Products liability and class action: City of Wyoming, et. al v. Procter & Gamble, et. al, No. 0:2015cv02101-Document 863 (D. Minn. 2019). Criminal: Murphy, Esme, “Judge: Heinrich Will Stay in Jail, Is a Potential Risk to Community.” WCCO 4, CBS Minnesota, Minneapolis, 4 November 2015.  
  13. Goldser, Ronald S. (2019). No Small Coincidence: How Yale Alumni Made History in Minnesota.
This article is issued from Wikipedia. The text is licensed under Creative Commons - Attribution - Sharealike. Additional terms may apply for the media files.