The AABANY Trial Reenactment team has been led by Hon. Denny Chin, United States Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit, and Kathy Hirata Chin, Partner, Crowell & Moring. From inception, Judge Chin and Kathy Hirata Chin have generously donated their time to bring together members and friends of AABANY to do the work necessary to bring these important cases from Asian American history to life. It involves culling through numerous pages of transcripts and documents from the National Archives, court records, and attorneys’ files. Judge Chin and Kathy Hirata Chin then condense these voluminous materials into a one-hour script, selecting the key portions of the transcripts and adding narration to unify the different pieces into a cohesive and compelling story.
We thank Judge Chin and Kathy for their commitment and dedication to producing these trial reenactments, and inspiring us to learn more about Asian American history, to become better lawyers and advocates, to help educate other lawyers and the public about these important cases.
Denny Chin
Denny Chin is a United States Circuit Judge for the Second Circuit. Judge Chin graduated from Princeton University magna cum laude and received his law degree from Fordham Law School, where 
he was managing editor of the Law Review. After clerking for the Honorable Henry F. Werker, United States District Judge for the Southern District of New York, he was associated with the law firm Davis Polk & Wardwell. He served as an Assistant United States Attorney in the Southern District of New York from 1982 until 1986, when he and two of his colleagues from the U.S. Attorney’s Office started a law firm, Campbell, Patrick & Chin. In 1990, he joined Vladeck, Waldman, Elias & Engelhard, P.C., where he specialized in labor and employment law. From September 13, 1994, through April 23, 2010, Judge Chin served as a United States District Judge for the Southern District of New York. Judge Chin has taught legal writing at Fordham Law School since 1986. While in private practice, he provided extensive pro bono representation to the Asian American Legal Defense and Education Fund. He served as President of AABANY from January 1992 through January 1994. He has served on the boards of numerous non-profit organizations. Judge Chin was born in Hong Kong. He was the first Asian American appointed a United States District Judge outside the Ninth Circuit.
Kathy Hirata Chin
Kathy Hirata Chin is a partner at Crowell & Moring LLP. She is a member of the litigation group specializing in healthcare and real estate issues. Ms. Chin graduated from Princeton University magna cum laude and Columbia Law School, where she was Editor-in-Chief of the Journal of Transnational Law. She served as Commissioner on the New York City Planning Commission from 1995 to 2001 and is currently a Commissioner on the New York City Commission to Combat Police Corruption, a position she has held since Mayor Michael Bloomberg appointed her in August 2003. She has served on the Federal Magistrate Judge Merit Selection Panel for the Eastern District of New York, Governor Mario Cuomo’s Judicial Screening Committee for the First Department, the Gender Bias Committee of the Second Circuit Task Force, former Chief Judge Judith Kaye’s Commission to Promote Public Confidence in Judicial Elections, chaired by John Feerick, the Second Circuit Judicial Conference Planning and Program Committee, and the Board of Directors of the New York County Lawyers Association. She currently serves on the Attorney Emeritus Advisory Council and the Commercial Division Advisory Council, appointed to both by Chief Judge Jonathan Lippman of the New York State Court of Appeals, and on the Board of Directors of the Medicare Rights Center, a national nonprofit organization dedicated to helping older adults and people with disabilities get affordable health care, as well as on the Board of Directors of New York Lawyers for the Public Interest, a non-profit that advocates for marginalized New Yorkers. In December 2012 and again in December 2014, she was nominated for appointment to the New York State Court of Appeals by the New York State Commission on Judicial Nomination. In May 2015, the New York City Bar honored Ms. Chin with its Diversity and Inclusion Champion Award. Since January 2016, she has served as a member of the Second Circuit Judicial Council Committee on Civic Education & Public Engagement, focusing on historic reenactments as a teaching tool. In April 2017, Ms. Chin was also honored as a “25th Anniversary Celebrant” by Apex For Youth on April 26, 2017. Since September 1, 2017, she has served as co-chair of the Enhance Diversity in the Profession Committee of the City Bar, with Hon. Rosalyn Richter of the Appellate Division, First Department. In October 2017, Ms. Chin was honored by the Arthur Ashe Institute for Urban Health with its Leadership Award. In November, 2017, Ms. Chin received the Lillian D. Wald Award from the Visiting Nurse Service of New York, a nonprofit home and community based health care organization that helps thousands of New Yorkers get the care they need. On Feb. 10, 2018, Columbia Law School APALSA presented Kathy with its inaugural Hong Yen Chen Award, and on Feb. 28, 2018, AABANY honored Kathy with its Women’s Leadership Award.
The following members and friends of AABANY have appeared in one or more of our trial reenactments over the years. We thank them all for their active involvement and participation in the AABANY Trial Reenactments.
| Janicelynn J. Asamoto John Bajit Ben Chan Christopher W. Chan Vincent Chang Yang Chen Theodore K. Cheng Francis H. Chin James Chou John Flock | Andrew T. Hahn, Sr. Mike Huang Reiko Kaji Jane Kim Deborah Lee Jean Lee Lauren U.Y. Lee Vinny Lee Robert W. Leung Linda S. Lin | Kiyo A. Matsumoto Anna R. Mercado Concepcion A. Montoya Susan Moon Esther Nguonly Clara J. Ohr Justin Ruaysamran Yasuhiro Saito Gurinder J. Singh Liza Sohn | Betsy Tsai Vinoo P. Varghese Ona Theresa Wang William Wang Frank H. Wu David Weinberg Jessica C. Wong Michael Yap Dwight Yoo |
Click on the cover images from each of the reenactments
to see a list of characters from each production.
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