Ep 187 | Karen Lin: Democratic Candidate for Civil Court Judge Talks About Her Career in the Legal Profession

May 30, 2022

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A note from Talking Taiwan host Felicia Lin:

Karen Lin is running as the Democratic candidate for Judge of the Civil Court in Queens, New York. Presently, Karen serves as Court Attorney-Referee in Kings County Surrogate's Court. She has also served as a Judge in the New York City Housing Court, adjudicating disputes between landlord and tenants in the Bronx and Manhattan.

We spoke about her current position as Surrogate Court Referee which involves estate settlement between family members and other matters such as guardianship, which was the central issue of the #FreeBritney movement involving Britney Spears.

Karen talked about what she loves about the legal profession and the challenges of working as a Judge in New York City's Housing Court, which is one of the busiest courts in the nation.

Karen also volunteers as Co-Chair of the Pro Bono and Community Service Committee of the Asian American Bar Association of New York (AABANY), she also spearheaded the Queens Pro Bono Clinic and helped to set up and manage AABANY's Remote Legal Clinic during the pandemic, to assist seniors and low-income families by phone.

Here's a little preview of what we talked about in this podcast episode:

Karen's connection to Taiwan
What Karen wanted to be when she grew up and how she got interested in law as a career
What Karen does in her current position as Surrogate Court Referee
The #FreeBritney movement and guardianship
What's been a challenging moment in Karen's career
What's have a highlight or high point in Karen's career
What it was like being a judge in housing court
The confirmation hearing for Supreme Court Justice Ketanji Brown Jackson
How the civil rights movement led to the Immigration and Naturalization Act (1965)
How landlord tenant law in New York is very tenant friendly and could be reformed to protect individual homeowner landlords who are renting out a space in their homes
The reform of landlord tenant law is an issue for lawmakers to address
How New York City's Housing Court is one of the busiest courts in the nation
How Karen's experience as a judge in New York City's Housing Court and Surrogate's Court has prepared her for being a civil court judge
How in the Anglo American system (or common law system) that we have in the United States, a judge's ruling or interpretation of the law can affect or create laws
Karen's pro bono work as Co-Chair of the Pro Bono and Community Service Committee of the Asian American Bar Association of New York (AABANY)
Karen's involvement in setting up AABANY's Remote Legal Clinic during pandemic
Her decision to step down as judge of the New York City Housing Court
What a civil court judge does and can accomplish during their 10-year term
How Karen would like to see greater access to legal advice and support for those who most need it
Karen's mentors and advice on finding them
If Karen would like to be a Supreme Court Judge
The difference levels of the U.S. court system
The importance of voting
In Queens, NY Asian Americans are 25% of the population
Karen is running in the Democratic primary, on June 28; only people registered as Democrats and who live in Queens can vote for Karen