Delbert Wong
Delbert Earl Wong was a significant figure in American history, born in 1920 in Hanford, California, to a family with Chinese roots. He grew up in Bakersfield, where his father co-owned a grocery store that supported the family during the Great Depression. Wong's academic journey began at Bakersfield College and continued at the University of California, Berkeley, where he graduated in 1942 just before joining the Army Air Corps during World War II. Throughout the war, he completed thirty combat missions and received multiple military honors.
After the war, Wong pursued a legal career, becoming the first Chinese American to graduate from Stanford Law School in 1948, despite initial family concerns regarding racial discrimination in law. His career achievements include being the first Asian American deputy attorney general in California and later, the first Chinese American judge in the continental United States in 1959. Wong's legacy includes his pivotal role in various landmark cases, his commitment to civil rights, and his contributions to ethical standards in public service. He passed away in 2006, leaving behind a lasting impact on the legal profession and Asian American representation in the judiciary.
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Subject Terms
Delbert Wong
Judge
- Born: May 17, 1920
- Birthplace: Hanford, California
- Died: March 10, 2006
- Place of death: Glendale, California
Delbert Wong was the first Chinese American to be appointed as a judge in the continental United States. He joined the Los Angeles Municipal Court in 1959 and the Superior Court in 1961.
Area of achievement: Law
Early Life
Delbert Earl Wong was born to Alice and Earl Quong Wong in Hanford, California, in 1920. Wong’s father was an immigrant from Guangdong, China, and his mother was from Weaverville, California. In 1921, the family settled in Bakersfield, California, in a community with approximately five hundred Chinese citizens. Wong’s younger brother, Ervin, was born in 1924; two other siblings passed away as infants. His father was co-owner of Lincoln Market, a grocery store that sustained his family throughout the Great Depression.
Wong graduated from Kern County Union High School and received an associate of arts degree from Bakersfield College. He was a business major at the University of California, Berkeley when Pearl Harbor was attacked on December 7, 1941. In 1942, Wong graduated from Berkeley and joined the Army Air Corps with his brother, Ervin. He was assigned as a navigator with the 401st Bomb Group, a unit that flew B-17 Flying Fortresses, due to his mathematical skills. Wong completed thirty mandatory combat missions.
Tragedy struck Wong’s family in 1944 when Ervin died in a flight accident and the family grocery store burned down in a fire. Wong went home on leave, then returned to the military to train as a statistical officer. By the end of World War II, he had received four Air Medals, the Distinguished Flying Cross, and two Presidential Distinguished Unit Citations.
While Wong was stationed in San Bernardino, California, the base legal officer encouraged him to become a lawyer. Wong’s parents objected because they feared he would experience discrimination as a Chinese lawyer. The GI Bill changed their minds, and Wong enrolled in Stanford Law School in 1945.
In 1948, Wong married Dolores Wing, whom he had met at Berkeley. That same year, he became the first Chinese American to graduate from Stanford Law School. The couple had four children: Kent, Shelley, Duane, and Marshall.
Life’s Work
Wong was hired as junior counsel by the Office of Legislative Counsel in Sacramento. In 1952, he joined the Los Angeles office of then–attorney general Edmund G. “Pat” Brown. He was the first Asian American deputy attorney general and endorsed Brown for California governor. On January 31, 1959, Wong was sworn in as the first Chinese American judge in the United States (excluding Hawaii, then a territory). In 1953, the Wongs played a role in diversifying the Silver Lake neighborhood of Los Angeles after a realtor rebuffed their attempt to purchase a lot because they were Chinese; Wong informed the property owner, who ordered the realtor to negotiate or be fired.
Wong’s career reflects a number of achievements for Asian Americans. As the first Asian American deputy attorney general in California, Wong represented the state in numerous cases. After Brown appointed him as a judge, Wong was assigned to arraignment court, traffic court, and trial court. He was inducted to the Los Angeles Superior Court in 1961 and reelected until his retirement.
In 1968, Wong joined the Appellate Department of the superior court. In the midst of the Vietnam War, Wong and two other judges reversed the ruling of People v. Cohen (1969), in which Paul Robert Cohen was convicted for wearing a profanity-laced jacket inside Los Angeles Municipal Court. The case reached the Supreme Court, which agreed with Wong’s appellate panel and released Cohen. The renamed Cohen v. California became a textbook case in constitutional law classes.
Wong presided over thousands of cases throughout his career. A decorated war hero, he dedicated his life to service to the judiciary and his country. After retiring in 1982, he became an arbitrator for legal disputes.
In 1986, Wong’s investigation of the Los Angeles Airport Police Bureau revealed racial discrimination in the promotion of Caucasian officers over minorities. His report resulted in advancement reforms within the bureau. Wong also played a role in writing the first ethics code for the City of Los Angeles when he was appointed to the Ethics Commission by then-mayor Tom Bradley in 1989. During the O. J. Simpson murder trial, Wong entered the media spotlight when he was designated as a special master by the court and asked to retrieve evidence from Simpson’s home in 1994. He was required to remain silent about the evidence for over two years.
Wong and his wife supported several organizations, including the Asian Pacific American Legal Center, Friends of the Chinatown Library, Chinese Historical Society of Southern California, and Asian Pacific American Friends of the Center Theater Group. Wong passed away at Glendale Memorial Hospital in 2006.
Significance
Following in the footsteps of You Chung Hong, the first Chinese American lawyer to practice in California, Delbert E. Wong helped to further pave the way for Chinese Americans in the field of law. His appointment as a judge was a first for Chinese Americans in the continental United States. He was also the first Asian American deputy attorney general in California and the first Chinese American to graduate from Stanford Law School.
Bibliography
Thurber, Jon. “Delbert E. Wong, 85; First Chinese American Judge in the Continental US.” Los Angeles Times 12 Mar. 2006: B14. Print. Wong’s obituary, chronicling his life and work as a judge.
Wong, Delbert Earl. “Reflections of a World War II Veteran.” Gum Saan Journal 23.2 (2000): 17–27. Print. Wong’s first-person account of his World War II experiences.
Wong, Marshall. Delbert Wong: First Chinese American Judge. Spec. issue of Gum Saan Journal (2004). Print. Written by Wong’s son, covering Wong’s life and career and featuring essays by Stewart Kwoh, Linda Wong Smith, and Phillip H. Lam.
---. “Delbert E. Wong, Pioneer Chinese American Judge.” Bridging the Centuries: History of Chinese Americans in Southern California. Ed. Susie Ling. Los Angeles: Chinese Historical Society of Southern California, 2001. 108–11. Print. A chapter on Wong’s career, written by his son.