NAPABA Applauds the Confirmation of Dale E. Ho and Nusrat Jahan Choudhury to the U.S. District Court

For Immediate Release:
June 15, 2023

NAPABA Applauds the Confirmation of Dale E. Ho and Nusrat Jahan Choudhury to the U.S. District Court

WASHINGTON - Yesterday, the United States Senate confirmed Dale E. Ho to the United States District Court for the Southern District of New York, and today, the Senate confirmed Nusrat Jahan Choudhury to the United States District Court for the Eastern District of New York. 

“NAPABA congratulates Dale Ho and Nusrat Choudhury on their confirmation to U.S. District Court,” said Sandra Leung, President of NAPABA. “A nationally renowned voting rights expert, Judge Ho received the NAPABA President’s Award and, in 2017, the NAPABA Best Under 40 Award. Judge Choudhury is a champion of civil rights and has a distinguished career in criminal justice reform. We are proud to have supported their nominations.”

Judge Ho served as director of the American Civil Liberties Union’s (ACLU) Voting Rights Project and supervised the ACLU’s voting rights litigation nationwide. Notably, Judge Ho has argued two crucial cases before the Supreme Court of the United States challenging the inclusion of a citizenship question on the 2020 Census and the exclusion of undocumented immigrants from the population count to determine apportionment for the U.S. House of Representatives. Judge Ho previously clerked for the Hon. Barbara Jones on the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York and Judge Robert S. Smith of the New York Court of Appeals. He is a graduate of Princeton University and Yale Law School. 

Judge Choudhury served as the Roger Pascal Legal Director at the ACLU of Illinois, overseeing a team advancing civil rights and civil liberties. She has over a decade of experience advocating for underserved communities in her previous roles at the ACLU Foundation in New York. Choudhury clerked for the Hon. Barrington D. Parker of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit and for the Hon. Denise Cote of the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York. She received her B.A. from Columbia University, M.P.A. from Princeton University, and J.D. from Yale Law School. Judge Choudhury is the first Muslim American woman and the first Bangladeshi American to serve as an Article III judge.

“Judge Ho and Judge Choudhury’s nominations were widely supported by AANHPI community, leading practitioners, women and civil rights groups, law enforcement, law professors, and students,” said Priya Purandare, Executive Director of NAPABA. “Today, we collectively celebrate and welcome our two newest federal judiciary members.”

NAPABA thanks President Biden for nominating Judge Ho and Judge Choudhury, and we thank Leader Schumer and Senator Gillibrand for supporting and recommending their nominations.

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The National Asian Pacific American Bar Association (NAPABA), represents the interests of over 60,000 Asian Pacific American (APA) legal professionals and nearly 90 national, state, and local APA bar associations. NAPABA is a leader in addressing civil rights issues confronting Asian American, Native Hawaiian, and Pacific Islander communities. Through its national network, NAPABA provides a strong voice for increased diversity of the federal and state judiciaries, advocates for equal opportunity in the workplace, works to eliminate hate crimes and anti-immigrant sentiment, and promotes the professional development of people of all backgrounds in the legal profession.