Collection Guide
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Chin (Ming W.) Papers
MSS 2001
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Table of contents
Language of Material:
English
Contributing Institution:
CJCL Special Collections and Archives
Title: Ming W. Chin papers
Creator:
Chin, Ming W., 1942 -
Creator:
Californians for Justice Chin
Identifier/Call Number: MSS 2001
Physical Description:
15 linear feet
(9 records storage cartons, 2 legal document boxes, 2 map drawers, 112 electronic files)
Date (inclusive): circa 1950-2020
Date (bulk): 1985-2020
Language of Material: Collection materials are in English, with a few certificates and awards in Chinese.
Collection is open for research upon approval of written request. Requests should be submitted to: California Judicial Center
Library, Special Collections and Archives, 455 Golden Gate Avenue, Room 4617, San Francisco, CA, 94102-7013, or by e-mail
to archives@jud.ca.gov. All researchers must sign the California Judicial Center Library Special Collections Access Agreement
form. This agreement can be sent electronically by request. Records in the collection may contain confidential information,
as defined in the Access Agreement. Publication or disclosure of such information is strictly prohibited.
Immediate Source of Acquisition
Gift of Justice Ming W. Chin, 2020.
The collection is arranged into six series: 1) Opinions (1990-2001); 2) Speeches (1994-2020); 3) Californians for Justice
Chin files (1997-1999); 4) Aiken, Kramer & Cummings files (1985); 5) Certificates, awards, and ephemera (1984-2020); and 6)
Photographs (circa 1950-2019).
The Honorable Ming William Chin was appointed to the Supreme Court of California by Governor Pete Wilson on January 25, 1996,
and confirmed by the Commission on Judicial Appointments on March 1, 1996. He is the first Chinese American to have been appointed
to the state's highest court. During his 24-year tenure, Justice Chin authored more than 350 majority opinions, writing landmark
decisions in cases involving DNA evidence, domestic violence, expert witnesses, toxic tort insurance, surrogate parents, and
hate crimes. In 1998, Justice Chin won a retention election after facing opposition by anti-abortion groups. He was retained
by the voters again in 2010. He retired from the state Supreme Court on August 31, 2020.
Chin received his bachelor's and law degrees from the University of San Francisco. After graduating from law school, he served
two years as a captain in the United States Army, including a year in Vietnam, where he was awarded the Army Commendation
Medal and the Bronze Star. He later served as a deputy district attorney for Alameda County before entering private practice
and becoming a partner in the Oakland law firm Aiken, Kramer & Cummings, specializing in business and commercial litigation.
Chin was the first Asian American to serve as a partner in a major Oakland law firm. His successful trials include two judgments
in excess of one million dollars. The first was a $1.3 million judgment in an unfair competition/wrongful termination case
in the Alameda County Superior Court (
George Gradin v. State Center Mills); and the second was a $1.2 million award in an arbitration of a construction dispute in Los Angeles between the Greenland
Partnership and Stolte, Inc.
On January 6, 1988, Governor George Deukmejian appointed Chin to serve as a judge on the Alameda Superior Court. Two years
later, on August 7, 1990, Governor Deukmejian appointed Chin to serve as an associate justice on the California Court of Appeal,
First Appellate District, Division 3. On August 17, 1994, Governor Pete Wilson elevated Justice Chin to the position of presiding
justice of the First District Court of Appeal, Division 3. He served in that role from January 2, 1995, until he was elevated
to the California Supreme Court in 1996.
Justice Chin's many contributions to the legal community have included his service as the first Asian American President of
the Alameda County Bar Association. In 1998, he served as President of the Commonwealth Club of California. Named Jurist of
the Year by the Judicial Council in 2009 for his contributions to judicial administration, Justice Chin was a member of the
Advisory Committee on Racial and Ethnic Bias in the Courts, and served as chair of the Court Technology Advisory Committee,
the California Commission for Impartial Courts, and the Science and the Law Steering Committee.
A frequent lecturer, Justice Chin is also an author of two California Practice Guides published by the Rutter Group:
Employment Litigation and
Forensic DNA Evidence: Science and the Law. He has been an active supporter of his alma mater, serving as an Adjunct Professor of Law, president of the Alumni Association,
and a member of USF's Board of Trustees and the Law School's Board of Counselors. In 1988, he was named USF Alumnus of the
Year. The USF Law School named him Alumnus of the Year in 1993 and awarded him the St. Thomas More Award in 1996. He has received
honorary degrees from Southwestern University School of Law and Golden Gate University School of Law and is the recipient
of many awards, including the American Jewish Committee's Learned Hand Award (1997); the Asian Law Alliance's Legal Impact
Award (2007); and a Lifetime Achievement Award from the Orange County Asian American Bar Association (2010).
[Identification of item, date]; Ming W. Chin Papers, MSS 2001; [box number, folder number]; California Judicial Center Library.
The collection was processed by Special Collections Librarian & Archivist Marie Silva in 2020. Opinions, speeches, and Aiken,
Kramer & Cummings files were removed from binders. Framed photographs, certificates, and awards were unframed. Materials were
placed in new acid-free folders and boxes. The collection was arranged into series based on the original order of the papers,
and original folder titles were retained, when present. Confidential, duplicative, and out-of-scope materials were removed
and returned to Justice Chin.
The Ming W. Chin Papers consist of materials created or gathered by Justice Chin and removed from his chambers in August 2020,
after he announced him retirement from the California Supreme Court. The bulk of the materials are dated between 1985 and
2020, and document Justice Chin's legal career, beginning with his work as an attorney at the firm Aiken, Kramer & Cummings
and continuing until his retirement from the California Supreme Court. The largest series of materials comprise opinions
(1990-2001) and speeches (1994-2020), reflecting Justice Chin's service on the Court of Appeal, First Appellate District,
and the California Supreme Court, as well as his commitment to the broader legal community and engagement with issues like
diversity, technology, judicial independence, and the intersection of bioscience and law. The collection also includes certificates,
awards, and ephemera (1984-2020) honoring Justice Chin's career and achievements, and photographs (circa 1950-2019), mostly
born-digital, of Justice Chin with his family, staff, and prominent legal and political figures. Californians for Justice
Chin files (1997-1999) document the financial and public relations activities of Justice Chin's successful retention election
campaign, which was led by political consultant Ken Khachigian.
Copyright for materials in this collection, created by Ming W. Chin, was not transferred to the California Judicial Center
Library. Permission for reproduction or publication of materials in this collection beyond that allowed by fair use must be
secured from the copyright holder. Copyright will be transferred to the California Judicial Center Library on September 30,
2045.
Subjects and Indexing Terms
Asian American judges -- California
Asian American attorneys -- California
Judges -- California -- Election
California. Supreme Court
California. Court of Appeal (1st District)