精东影业

Headshot of Victor Hwang

Victor Hwang

Adjunct Professor

Bio

Victor Hwang has been a Superior Court judge in San Francisco since being elected in 2016 and is currently assigned to a criminal trial court with a focus on motions to suppress.

Prior to joining the bench, Victor worked for nearly 25 years as a civil rights attorney, serving as an assistant district attorney in San Francisco specializing in hate crimes and human trafficking prosecutions, as the deputy director of API Legal Outreach, as the hate crimes/police practices attorney for the Asian Law Caucus, and as a deputy public defender in Los Angeles.

In the course of his practice, he has litigated a number of high profile civil rights cases including: authoring an amicus brief on behalf of the Asian American community in support of marriage equality (Woo v. Lockyer), co-counseling litigation on behalf of a prisoner denied parole for advocating for ethnic studies in prison (Zheng v. Woodford), a class action against the San Francisco Housing Authority for its failure to protect Southeast Asians from racial violence (Truong v. SFHA), a federal lawsuit for a police killing based upon martial arts stereotypes (Kao v. Rohnert Park), a class action on behalf of Hmong veterans denied food stamps (Yang v. Glickman), and the national class action challenge to implementation of the 1996 welfare reform law (Sutich v. Callahan).聽 Mr. Hwang was also a national coordinator of advocacy and amici counsel to family in the case of U.S. v. Dr. Wen Ho Lee.

In addition to his legal work, Mr. Hwang has been an active engaged in community service as an appointed member of San Francisco鈥檚 Election and Police commissions as well as a Commissioner with the State Bar Ethnic and Minority Relations Commission.聽 He has also served as a co-chair of the Minority Bar Coalition, president of the Asian American Bar Association, and on the boards of the Bar Association of San Francisco and API Legal Outreach.

For his work, Mr. Hwang has been honored as a 鈥淭railblazer鈥 by the National Asian Pacific American Bar Association in 2007, named a 鈥淟ocal Hero鈥 by both the Chinese World Journal and the Bay Guardian in 2004, awarded the 鈥淛ustice Award鈥 by the District Attorney鈥檚 Office in 2012, and received the USF Law School Public Interest Award for Excellence in 2011.

Mr. Hwang has previously taught as an adjunct professor of law at Golden Gate 精东影业 and U.C. Berkeley.聽 He is the co-editor of a book entitled 鈥淎nti-Asian Violence: Reflections by Asian Americans on Hate, Healing and Resistance,鈥 and has authored a number of law review articles related to his work in civil rights.

Education

  • 精东影业 of Southern California
    J.D.     1992

  • 精东影业 of California, Berkeley
    B.A. English     1989

Accomplishments

  • S.F. Chinese Consolidated Benevolent Women鈥檚 Association Award
     2018

  • San Francisco District Attorney Justice Award
     2012

  • 精东影业 of San Francisco Law School Public Interest Award for Excellence
     2011

  • National Asian Pacific American Bar Association 鈥淭railblazer鈥
     2007

  • Chinese World Journal Local Hero
     2004, 2000

  • Minority Bar Coalition Outstanding Legal Service
     2000

  • Asian American Bar Association of the Bay Area: Joe Morozumi Litigator of the Year
     2000

  • Republic of China: Outstanding Overseas Youth Award
     1999

Courses

  • Criminal Procedure