Labor-side attorneys aren’t commonly selected for the federal bench, even by past Democratic Administrations. As such, the nomination of Jennifer Sung, who has spent her entire career representing unions and workers’ rights organizations, to the Ninth Circuit is particularly notable.
Background
Jennifer Sung received her B.A. from Oberlin College in 1994 and then spent three years working as a labor organizer for the Service Employees International Union Local 74. She then spent three years as an organizer with the Service Employees International Union Local 1199 before joining Yale Law School. After graduating, Sung clerked for Judge Betty Binns Fletcher on the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit and then served as a Skadden Fellow at the Brennan Center for Justice at New York University Law School.
In 2007, Sung joined the San Francisco office of Altshuler Berzon LLP, a union-side labor law firm established by now-Ninth Circuit Judge Marsha Berzon. In 2013, Sung became a Partner with McKanna Bishop Joffe LLP in Portland. Since 2017, Sung has been a member of the Oregon Employment Relations Board, where she helps to resolve labor disputes and conflicts.
History of the Seat
Sung has been nominated to an Oregon seat on the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit. This seat is currently held by Judge Susan Graber, who has announced her intention to move to senior status upon confirmation of her successor.
Legal Experience
Consistent with her work as a labor organizer prior to law school, Sung has spent her career as a labor lawyer, frequently representing unions and worker’s groups. Some of her prominent cases are summarized below.
Challenge to Arizona SB 1365
In 2011, Sung represented the Local 5 Service Employees International Union in challenging Arizona SB 1365, which limited public employees’ ability to send payroll deductions to certain unions that engaged in political activity. See United Food & Commer. Workers Local 99 v. Brewer, 817 F. Supp. 2d 1118 (D. Ariz. 2011). The law was enjoined by U.S. District Judge Murray Snow, who found that it violated the First Amendment. See id.
Challenge to ACA Individual Mandate
In 2011, Virginia challenged the individual mandate of the Affordable Care Act as unconstitutional and won before the U.S. District Court. Sung represented the Service Employees International Union as amicus before the Fourth Circuit urging the court to uphold the mandate. See Virginia ex rel. Cuccinelli v. Sebelius, 656 F.3d 253 (4th Cir. 2011). The Court upheld the constitutionality of the individual mandate (and the U.S. Supreme Court eventually agreed). See id.
New York Transit Strike of 2005
In 2005, during negotiations over a new collective bargaining agreement between transportation unions and the the New York City Transit Authority, the Authority obtained an injunction pursuant to New York’s Taylor Law to prevent the unions from striking. See New York City Tr. Auth. v. Transport Workers Union of A., 35 A.3d 73, 75 (N.Y. App. Div. 2006). When the Local 100 of Transport Workers Union of America initiated a strike anyway, it was found in contempt and fined $1 million per day. See id. Sung represented amicus in supporting the Union’s challenge to the contempt citation on appeal. See id. However, the Appellate Division of the New York Supreme Court upheld the citation against the Union’s Sixth and Fourteenth Amendment challenges. See id.
Los Angeles Worker Retention Ordinance
In 2011, Sung represented amicus in defending the City of Los Angeles worker retention ordinance, which limited employers’ ability to replace their workforces. See California Grocers Ass’n v. City of Los Angeles, 52 Cal. 4th 177 (2011). While the California Court of Appeals struck down the ordinance as being pre-empted by state law, the California Supreme Court upheld the ordinance. See id. at 210.
Legislative and Policy Work
While at the Brennan Center, Sung also worked on labor policy outside of the litigation context. For example, Sung advised the New York Working Families Policy in developing a proposal to tax companies, such as Wal Mart, who failed to provide health benefits for their workers. See Danny Hakim, Wal-Mart Looms Over 2 Bills to Improve Worker Health Care, N.Y. Times, Mar. 8, 2006. Sung also helped draft a Chicago ordinance requiring big box retailers, such as Wal-Mart, to provide a living wage to employees. See Gretchen Ruethling, In Chicago, New Pay Law Is Considered for Big Stores, N.Y. Times, May 28, 2006.
Overall Assessment
With extensive experience in labor law, Jennifer Sung has an unusual background for an appellate nominee. Not since Marsha Berzon was appointed to the Ninth Circuit in 2000 has such a nominee been picked for the Ninth Circuit. Based on her representations and her work in drafting ordinances and legislation, Sung is likely to attract opposition from most Senate Republicans. However, assuming that Democrats stick together, they should be able to confirm Sung by the Fall. Once confirmed, it is likely that Sung would establish a jurisprudential profile similar to that of Berzon’s.
The Vetting Room 
Phenomenal pick. The 9th Circuit got much more conservative due to the retirement of many liberal lions & subsequent replacements by President Trump with him having 10 nominees confirmed. With this pick for Oregon, 3 current vacancies from California & hopefully many more vacancies (Maybe even any of the 3 President George W Bush appointees) & President Biden will be well on the way to getting the 9th Circuit firmly back to the most liberal circuit court again.
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Outstanding selection! We need more labor lawyers (and labor law professors) on the federal bench. It would be smart for Biden to pick another labor lawyer as a replacement for Marsha Berzon as well.
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Biden went bold again. If Sung has no history of political contributions or inflammitory statements, she’ll likely win all Democrats and pick up a couple of Republicans.
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Not sure what you expect. Most of Biden’s circuit court selections have been bold. I think Biden got the message once KBJ got just three GOP votes, that the GOP was just going to block vote against anyone he puts up.
Honestly if any of Biden’s selections get any GOP votes (other than Collins, Murkowski, and/or Graham), it’s a shitty pick.
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Interesting to see Biden nominate a pro labor nominee for this seat. Wonder if we will see a similar trend for some of the other appeals seats.
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The senate judiciary committee announced which nominees will be in tomorrow’s nomination hearing & Jennifer Sung isn’t on the list despite the Michigan nominees that was announced the same day as her being on the panel. I was hoping she would be fast tracked.
Well the good news from today that got over shadowed by the infrastructure passing in the senate & Andrew Cuomo resigning is Nancy Pelosi announced the House will cut their vacation short & they will return August 23rd. The senate is already working this week which was suppose to be the first of their 5 week vacation. There is absolutely no reason either house of congress to be on vacation that long with the slim majorities & overwhelming issues that need to be tackled I don’t what the Summer recess tradition usually is.
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After Senator Kennedy’s more-than-usual vindictive and despicable questioning, Jennifer Sung has shot up in my rankings, and is only second to Myrna Perez of Biden’s best nominees so far
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Jennifer Sung was always my second best appeals court pick so far until last Wednesday. With Holly A. Thomas being almost a decade younger I had to move her up to #2.
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Precisely what part of Senator Kennedy’s questioning was despicable or, indeed, at all inappropriate given the nominee’s blatant insubordination and/or inability to answer a straightforward binary question about her own views?
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I will actually defend Senator Kennedy when it comes to his questioning of judicial nominees (I can’t find much else to defend him on). Senator Kennedy questioning of Sung was tough, but he was also tough on many of Trump’s judicial nominees including several white men. I do think he should let nominees answer the question instead of interrupting them but as he states he only has 5 minutes so there isn’t much time left if the nominee is stalling.
The bottom line is Jennifer Sung signed the statement in question because she (As I) believed it. It is completely in bounds to say Justice Kavanaugh (Or any supreme court justice) decisions could kill Americans. Decisions on guns, abortion & any number of other issues can lead to deaths. Nobody is saying a justice will go & directly kill somebody.
At the end of the day there were plenty of Trump nominees that directly (And not just signed on to a letter) said worse. The Republican senators had little issue with voting to confirm them so the Democrats should respond in kind. But senator Kennedy is being consistent with his tough questions when it comes to party of the president that appointed the nominee, race & sex.
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Well, it seems that Manchin as well as Sinema voted to discharge her for a vote. Does it make you all confident that they will vote to confirm her?
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I never had any reason to believe any would vote against her. Many of Trump nominees said or directly wrote much worse then what Sung signed on to. Republican’s voted for them in lock step. No reason to start a double standard now. I think Manchin would vote no on a nominee who continually wrote disparaging things like Tandeem.
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I agree with you that given how Sung only signed onto an opinion as opposed to writing disparaging things like Tanden, I think Manchin will vote to confirm her as well as Sinema, and I think it will be a party line vote.
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(https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/politics/after-success-in-seating-federal-judges-biden-hits-resistance/ar-AARtTCp?ocid=msedgdhp&pc=U531)
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Very proud of this nominee. Never apologized for calling Kavanaugh the morally bankrupt person (I would’ve went way further) that he is.
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Absolutely. If she didn’t mean it then that’s one thing. But if she did then just say it will have no barring on you abiding by Supreme Court precedent or any of the justices that rule on a particular case but do not apologize. I’m proud she stood her ground as well. Plenty of Trump nominees said worse.
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