Lew Sworn as 1st Chinese on Federal Bench in L.A.

A Chinese immigrant’s son who worked his way through law school in his father’s laundry has become the first Chinese-American to sit on the federal bench in Los Angeles.

Ronald Sing Wai Lew, a former city prosecutor and Superior Court judge, was sworn in Friday as the 22nd active judge in the U.S. District Court’s central district.

Lew, a native of Los Angeles and graduate of Loyola University and Southwestern University School of Law, is the first Asian-American to be recommended for appointment to the federal bench by U.S. Sen. Pete Wilson (R-Calif.).