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Congratulations to former ILCM board member, now Judge Adam C. Yang!
Posted on Mar 07 2019
At an investiture ceremony on January 17, 2019 Adam Yang was officially sworn in as a Ramsey County District Judge. He joins Judge Sophia Y. Vuelo and Judge P. Paul Yang as Minnesota’s third Hmong judge.
Yang is a former board member at ILCM. Before his election in November, Adam Yang served as a public defender in Hennepin County working in the Juvenile Justice Unit.
The ceremony began with “America the Beautiful” sung in three-part harmony by Neuchee, Mandy, and Jannie Chang. The opening remarks were given by The Honorable John H. Guthmann, Chief Judge, Second Judicial District. Comments were shared by Caryn Boisen, President of the Ramsey County Bar Association, and The Honorable Anne McKeig of the Minnesota Supreme Court, both of whom spoke of the strong feelings associated with “coming home.” McKeig noted, that home is “where our heart and soul always remain.”
“[Adam Yang] has the demeanor, he has the wisdom, he has the humanity, he has the people skills, and he understands the plight of those who come before the court,” said McKeig. “That itself is a gift to our legal community.”
Yang took his oath with two bibles, one in English and one in Hmong. His wife, Theresa, helped Yang into his robe and his daughter, Audrey held the bibles.
In his remarks, Yang echoed McKeig’s sentiment toward returning to the Second Judicial District. He said it is a “great place that echoes the voice of great judges past and present … I am home, in the place I started my legal profession.”
“I want people who come through my court … to know and feel that they’re being treated fairly,” he said. “That they are heard and respected.”
Yang ended his remarks by thanking his family and wife, “Behind a great man is a great woman. Behind a greater man is the greatest woman.”