The Honorable Edward M. Chen

Edward Milton Chen is a Judge on the United States District Court for the Northern District of California. On May 10, 2011, the United States Senate confirmed Chen in a 56–42 vote. He received his judicial commission on May 12, 2011, after a lengthy confirmation battle. Born and raised in Oakland, California, Chen earned a bachelor's degree in 1975 from the University of California, Berkeley and a law degree from Boalt Hall School of Law in 1979. After graduating law school, Chen served judicial clerkships for United States District Judge Charles Renfrew from June 1979 until April 1980 and United States Circuit Judge James R. Browning from June 1981 until June 1982.

From 1982 until 1985, Chen served as an associate at the San Francisco law firm of Coblentz, Cahen, McCabe & Breyer. In September 1985, Chen became a staff attorney for the American Civil Liberties Union, specializing in language discrimination cases. He held that post until April 2001 when the judges on the United States District Court for the Northern District of California named Chen to an eight-year term as a federal magistrate judge. Chen served as a federal magistrate judge from 2001 until 2011.