Chi Soo Kim Appointed to be a United States Magistrate Judge in the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of California
On Friday, March 29, 2024, Chief U.S. District Judge Kimberly J. Mueller signed the General Order appointing Chi Soo Kim as a magistrate judge in the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of California. Later that day, District Judge Troy L. Nunley administered the oath to Judge Kim, with her family present along with members of the extended federal court family.
Judge Kim was selected by the District Judges of the Eastern District court from a list of finalists submitted to the court by a Merit Based Selection Panel, as required by federal statute. The Selection Panel was chaired by Sacramento Superior Court Judge Jill H. Talley. Judge Kim fills the vacancy created by the retirement of Chief Magistrate Judge Kendall J. Newman on February 7, 2024. She will sit in Sacramento. Her term is for eight years, after which she may seek reappointment subject to a merit-based review.
Magistrate Judge Kim completed her undergraduate education at Princeton University and obtained her law degree from Georgetown University Law Center. She has nineteen years of experience as a lawyer in both the public and private sectors. For the past eleven years she has served in the U.S. Attorney’s Office - Eastern District of California, Sacramento office. Immediately prior to her appointment, she served as Chief of the Civil Division. Her public service also includes experience as a Staff Attorney with the Ninth Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals and judicial clerkships with former U.S. District Judge William W. Schwarzer and retired Magistrate Judge Nandor J. Vadas in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California. Judge Kim previously worked at private law firms in the San Francisco Bay Area. She has been active in civics education outreach efforts to high school students across the Eastern District, and also has taught legal courses at U.C. Davis School of Law and U.C. Law San Francisco (formerly U.C. Hastings).
The court welcomes Magistrate Judge Kim to our bench!