Who appointed Pamela Ki Mai Chen?

President Barack Obama appointed Pamela Ki Mai Chen to the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of New York in 2013.

Was Pamela Ki Mai Chen appointed by a Democrat or a Republican?

Pamela Ki Mai Chen was appointed by President Barack Obama, a Democrat. JudicialFinder records the appointing president's party, not a judge's own politics.

What was Pamela Ki Mai Chen's confirmation vote?

Pamela Ki Mai Chen was confirmed by voice vote on March 4, 2013. No senator-by-senator tally was recorded.

Eastern District of New York / Appointed 2013 / Active

Pamela Ki Mai Chen

Judge, U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of New York

Appointed by President Barack Obama in 2013 and confirmed by voice vote, Pamela Ki Mai Chen is a Judge on the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of New York. She earned a law degree from Georgetown University Law Center in 1986. Sources ↓

Born: 1961 · age 65
Appointed by: Barack Obama, 2013
Confirmed: by voice vote
Education: University of Michigan 1983 · Georgetown Law Center 1986
Succeeded: Raymond Joseph Dearie

Federal judicial service

Year	Court	Appointed by	Vote
2013	Eastern District of New York succeeded Raymond Joseph Dearie	Obama (D)	Voice vote

Party letters show the appointing president’s party, not the judge’s own. A voice vote means the chamber approved aloud. No senator-by-senator tally is recorded.

Confirmation vote

Voice vote

The Senate approved this confirmation aloud, with no senator-by-senator tally recorded. Recorded roll-call votes begin in 1989.

Education

University of Michigan	B.A.	1983
Georgetown University Law Center	J.D.	1986

Judicial Record

Caseload & case types

In our data, Chen was assigned 4,200 district-court cases (1996–2026). Median time from filing to termination: 162 days across 3,821 closed cases.

Other civil matters34%

Civil rights16%

Other federal statutes12%

Labor & ERISA7%

Personal-injury torts5%

Contract5%

Other21%

Case assignment is from CourtListener’s PACER-derived docket records: a partial sample, not a complete caseload, reflecting the judge last assigned each case. How we count.

On appeal

Of 138 of Chen’s decisions reviewed on the merits by the U.S. courts of appeals in our data, 110 were affirmed, 15 reversed or vacated, and 13 affirmed in part and reversed in part. This is a historical count of appellate outcomes for cases we could match, not a judgment of the judge, and not a complete record. How we count.

Questions & answers

Who appointed Pamela Ki Mai Chen?: President Barack Obama appointed Pamela Ki Mai Chen to the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of New York in 2013.
Was Pamela Ki Mai Chen appointed by a Democrat or a Republican?: Pamela Ki Mai Chen was appointed by President Barack Obama, a Democrat. JudicialFinder records the appointing president's party, not a judge's own politics.
What was Pamela Ki Mai Chen's confirmation vote?: Pamela Ki Mai Chen was confirmed by voice vote on March 4, 2013. No senator-by-senator tally was recorded.
Which court is Pamela Ki Mai Chen on?: Pamela Ki Mai Chen is a Judge on the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of New York.

Sources

Each fact on this page traces to a primary public record.

How we source & reconcile data → Data & Sources

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13 years on the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of New York. Data as of 2026-08-10. Informational only; verify against the primary source before relying. Not a consumer report (FCRA).