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Thomas Tang

Judge, U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit · 1977

Thomas Tang , Judge, U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit. Thomas Tang (January 11, 1922 – July 18, 1995) was an American lawyer and jurist who served as a United States circuit judge of the United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit from 1977 to 1995. Tang was the first American of Chinese descent to become a U.S. federal judge.

Education

  • University of Santa Clara (now Santa Clara University)B.S., 1947
  • University of Arizona College of Law (now James E. Rogers College of Law)LL.B., 1950

Career

U.S. Army first lieutenant, 1942-1946, 1951-1952; Law clerk, Hon. Evo DeConcini, Arizona Supreme Court, 1950-1951; Deputy county attorney, Maricopa County, Arizona, 1952-1957; Assistant attorney general, State of Arizona, 1957-1958; Private practice, Phoenix, Arizona, 1959-1963, 1971-1977; City councilman, Phoenix, Arizona, 1960-1962; Judge, Superior Court of Arizona, Maricopa County, 1963-1970

Biography

Thomas Tang (January 11, 1922 – July 18, 1995) was an American lawyer and jurist who served as a United States circuit judge of the United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit from 1977 to 1995. Tang was the first American of Chinese descent to become a U.S. federal judge.

From Wikipedia (CC BY-SA).

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From Senate roll call votes, Wikidata, Wikipedia and Office of Government Ethics records.

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Capitol Receipts, “Thomas Tang : Judge, U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit,” https://www.capitolreceipts.com/appointee/j2337/thomas-tang (accessed 2026-10-13).

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