Florence Y. Pan

Florence Yu Pan (Chinese: 潘愉; pinyin: Pān Yú; born 1966) is an American lawyer who serves as a United States circuit judge of the United States Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit. She was a United States district judge of the United States District Court for the District of Columbia from 2021 to 2022 and a judge of the Superior Court of the District of Columbia from 2009 to 2021.

Early life and education Pan was born in 1966 to a Taiwanese American family in New York City. Her parents had immigrated to the United States from Taiwan in 1961. Her father is Wu-Ching Pan, and her mother is Felicia D. Pan. She grew up in Tenafly, New Jersey.

Pan attended the Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania, graduating in 1988 with a Bachelor of Arts and a Bachelor of Science degree, summa cum laude. From 1988 to 1990, Pan worked for Goldman Sachs as a financial analyst. She then attended Stanford Law School, where she was an editor of the Stanford Law Review and the Stanford Law and Policy Review and was a finalist in the school's moot court competition. She graduated in 1993 with a Juris Doctor with distinction.

Career After graduating from law school, Pan was a law clerk for Judge Michael Mukasey of the United States District Court for the Southern District of New York from 1993 to 1994

From 2007 to 2008, she was an adjunct professor at American University Washington College of Law and since 2012, she has been an adjunct professor at Georgetown University Law Center. Pan was confirmed by voice vote on May 21, 2009, and sworn in on June 8 of that year. She remained on the court until her confirmation to the United States District Court for the District of Columbia in 2021.

Expired nomination to United States district court under Obama Chief Judge Sri Srinivasan administers the oath of office to Judge Pan at her ceremonial investiture for the United States District Court for the District of ColumbiaOn April 28, 2016, President Barack Obama nominated Pan to serve as a United States district judge for the District of Columbia, to the seat vacated by Judge Reggie Walton, who assumed senior status on December 31, 2015. On July 13, 2016, a hearing on her nomination was held before the Senate Judiciary Committee. On September 15, 2016, her nomination was favorably reported by the committee by voice vote. Her nomination expired on January 3, 2017, with the end of the 114th Congress.

Renomination to United States district court under Biden

On March 30, 2021, President Joe Biden announced his intent to nominate Pan to serve as a United States district judge for the District of Columbia. On June 15, 2021, her nomination was sent to the Senate. President Biden nominated Pan to the seat vacated by Judge Ketanji Brown Jackson, who was nominated to serve as a circuit judge for the United States Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit. On July 14, 2021, a hearing on her nomination was held before the Senate Judiciary Committee. On August 5, 2021, her nomination was favorably reported by the committee by a 18–4 vote. On September 20, 2021, Majority Leader Chuck Schumer filed cloture on her nomination. On September 22, 2021, the United States Senate invoked cloture on her nomination by a 66–27 vote. On September 23, 2021, her nomination was confirmed by a 68–30 vote. She received her judicial commission the same day. Her service as a district judge was terminated on September 28, 2022, when she was elevated to the court of appeals. She was nominated to the seat being vacated by Judge Ketanji Brown Jackson, who was elevated to the Supreme Court of the United States. A hearing on her nomination was held before the Senate Judiciary Committee on June 22, 2022. On July 21, 2022, her nomination was favorably reported by the committee by a 13–9 vote. On September 15, 2022, Majority Leader Chuck Schumer filed cloture on her nomination. On September 19, 2022, the Senate invoked cloture on her nomination by a 52–38 vote. On September 20, 2022, her nomination was confirmed by a 52–42 vote. She received her judicial commission on September 26, 2022.

Notable rulings

In the 2024 case United States of America v. Donald J. Trump, Judge Pan and two others presided over a federal appeals case that rejected Donald Trump's claim of absolute presidential immunity. During the January 2024 hearing, she challenged the Trump counsel's legal argument by posing a hypothetical scenario in which a president could order an assassination of a political rival and still be immune from prosecution. The Supreme Court overturned the circuit court's ruling and held that the president has immunity for official acts.

Personal life In 2004, Pan married attorney Max Stier, whom she met at Stanford Law School and who serves as the president and CEO of the Partnership for Public Service, at the Embassy of New Zealand in Washington, D.C. They have two sons.