Senate Resolution No. 46

Introduced by Senators Beall, Lieu, and Liu

May 15, 2014

Senate Resolution No. 46—Relative to Hong Yen Chang.

WHEREAS, Hong Yen Chang, reportedly the first Chinese
immigrant to earn a law degree in the United States and the first
to be licensed to practice law in any state, was denied entry to the
State Bar of California because of discriminatory state and federal
laws; and

WHEREAS, In 1872, 13-year-old Hong Yen Chang arrived in
the United States as part of the Chinese Educational Mission, a
program designed to teach Chinese youth about Western culture;
and

WHEREAS, Mr. Chang attended Hartford Public High School
in Connecticut and then the exclusive Phillips Academy in
Andover, Massachusetts, and after graduating in 1879, Mr. Chang
attended Yale College (now Yale University); and

WHEREAS, When the Chinese government canceled the
Chinese Educational Mission in 1881, Mr. Chang was forced to
suspend his studies at Yale and return to China but nevertheless,
Mr. Chang returned to the United States, enrolled in Columbia
Law School where he graduated in 1886, and reportedly became
the first Chinese lawyer educated in the United States; and

WHEREAS, After graduating from Columbia Law School, Mr.
Chang applied for admission to the New York State Bar
Association where Mr. Chang received high marks from the bar
examiners; and

WHEREAS, The New York Supreme Court rejected his
application on the ground that he was not a citizen. Undeterred,
Mr. Chang reapplied for admission and was successful; and

WHEREAS, In 1887, the New York Court of Common Pleas
issued him a naturalization certificate, and the state legislature
enacted a law permitting him to reapply to the bar and upon his
admission, Mr. Chang became the only regularly admitted Chinese
lawyer in the United States; and

WHEREAS, After his admittance to the New York State Bar
Association, Mr. Chang applied to the State Bar of California but
the California Supreme Court denied his admission in the
unanimous published decision In re Hong Yen Chang, 84 Cal. 163
(1890); and

WHEREAS, The California Supreme Court held that Mr.
Chang’s naturalization certificate was void and that, as a
noncitizen, he was ineligible for bar membership, despite Mr.
Chang otherwise satisfying the requirements for bar admission;
and

WHEREAS, Because federal law barred Chinese immigrants
from naturalizing, Mr. Chang could not become a citizen and was
thus ineligible to practice law in California; and

WHEREAS, Mr. Chang’s case came in an era of widespread
discrimination against people of Chinese ancestry and at a time
when the Chinese Exclusion Act, enacted by Congress in 1882,
banned Chinese immigration for 10 years and made Chinese
residents ineligible to naturalize; and

WHEREAS, Congress extended the Chinese Exclusion Act on
a number of occasions and the California Constitution in 1879
dedicated an entire article to restricting the rights of Chinese
residents; and

WHEREAS, Notwithstanding the discrimination he faced, Mr.
Chang went on to lead a distinguished career in banking and
diplomacy; now, therefore, be it

Resolved by the Senate of the State of California, That the Senate
calls for Mr. Hong Yen Chang’s admittance to the State Bar of
California posthumously to remedy the injustice he suffered and
to send a powerful message about the legal profession’s
commitment to justice, diversity, and inclusion; and be it further

Resolved, That the Secretary of the Senate transmit copies of
this resolution to the author for appropriate distribution.