Judge Hsieh is the only child of parents Crystal Sun and Mark Hsieh, immigrants from Taiwan. He was born in Indiana and grew up in Southern California. At 14 years old, he began college study at the California State University, Los Angeles through the Early Entrance Program, an accelerated college program for gifted young students. At 19, he began law school at the University of California, Los Angeles School of Law. While in law school, he interned at the Los Angeles County District Attorney’s Office, the Law Offices of Alan Forester, and Neighborhood Legal Services of Los Angeles County.

As an attorney, Judge Hsieh worked at a New Way of Life Reentry Project in South Central Los Angeles, the East Bay Community Law Center in Berkeley, the Public Defender’s Office in Contra Costa, and then the San Francisco Public Defender’s Office. During that time, he handled 41 jury trials, 7 juvenile contests, and an administrative hearing.

Previously, Judge Hsieh was a Commissioner on the Oakland Police Commission, working with city government, the police department, and the community to ensure that the Oakland Police Department’s policies, practices, and customs conformed to national standards of constitutional policing. He currently sits on the board of the Center for Youth Development through Law, a non-profit organization that offers programs that immerse East Bay youth in environments that might otherwise seem inaccessible to them: classes at U.C. Berkeley and internships in law, government, and social justice offices.