Appointed by Barack Obama Preceded by George Schiavelli | Name Dolly Gee Role Judge | |
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Alma mater University of California, Los Angeles Education UCLA School of Law, University of California, Los Angeles | ||
Family Detention at a Crossroads: Will the U.S. Government Persist or Desist?
Dolly Maizie Gee (born 1959) is a United States District Judge of the United States District Court for the Central District of California.
Contents
- Family Detention at a Crossroads Will the US Government Persist or Desist
- Early life and education
- Professional career
- Failed nomination to federal district court
- Federal judicial service
- References
Early life and education
Gee was born in Hawthorne, California, the daughter of Cantonese immigrants from rural China. Gee's father was a World War II veteran who later worked as an aerospace engineer on projects like the space shuttle and the Apollo missions, while her mother was a garment worker. Gee earned a Bachelors of Arts from the University of California, Los Angeles in 1981 and a Juris Doctor from University of California, Los Angeles School of Law in 1984. From 1984 until 1986, Gee served as a law clerk for Judge Milton Schwartz of the United States District Court for the Eastern District of California.
Professional career
In 1986, Gee joined the Los Angeles law firm of Schwartz, Steinsapir, Dohrmann & Sommers LLP. She served as an associate from 1986 until 1990, and became a partner in 1990. From 1994 until 1999, Gee also served as a member of the Federal Service Impasses Panel, a federal labor relations authority.
Failed nomination to federal district court
On May 27, 1999, President Bill Clinton nominated Gee to be a judge on the United States District Court for the Central District of California to replace Judge John G. Davies. However, with Republicans in control of the United States Senate, Gee's nomination languished, despite her meeting with Clinton on May 24, 2000. Gee never received a hearing before the Republican-controlled United States Senate Committee on the Judiciary, and her nomination was returned to Clinton at the end of his presidency. President George W. Bush later successfully nominated John F. Walter to the seat to which Gee had been nominated.
Federal judicial service
On August 6, 2009, President Barack Obama nominated Gee to a seat on the United States District Court for the Central District of California, to fill the seat vacated by Judge George P. Schiavelli, who resigned in October 2008. On October 15, 2009, the United States Senate Committee on the Judiciary referred Gee's nomination to the full Senate. The Senate confirmed Gee by unanimous consent on December 24, 2009. On March 19, 2010, Gee was inducted to the United States District Court. This makes her the first Chinese American woman to serve as an Article III Judge.