WASHINGTON —?Sens. Mazie K. Hirono and ?? ???Brian Schatz (both D-Hawaii) announced on Dec. 20 the nomination of well-respected, career prosecutor Jill Otake to be a judge on the U.S. District Court for the District of Hawaii.
Otake was among those recommended by Hirono, Schatz, and a merit-based Federal Judicial Selection Commission in 2015.
“Ms. Otake is a well-qualified nominee to serve on the U.S. District Court,” said Hirono. “As a member of the Judiciary Committee, I made clear to the White House that I would only give my consent to a qualified, impartial nominee, and look forward to supporting Ms. Otake’s nomination in the Senate.”
“Jill Otake is an experienced trial attorney whose legal knowledge and sound judgment make her an excellent choice to serve as U.S. District Court judge,” said Schatz. “Jill has broad support across the political spectrum, and I’m confident she will serve the federal court and Hawaii with integrity.”
Otake currently serves as an assistant U.S. attorney and as the acting chief of the Special Crimes Section in the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Hawaii, having previously served as deputy chief. Prior to joining the office three years ago, she spent nine years as an assistant U.S. attorney and deputy supervisor in the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Western District of Washington. During this period, she served as an adjunct professor of trial advocacy at Seattle University School of Law.
Before becoming an assistant U.S. attorney, Otake spent six years as a deputy prosecuting attorney for the King County Prosecuting Attorney’s Office in King County, Washington state.
Born and raised in Hawaii, she is a graduate of Iolani School and served as a law clerk to Associate Justice Simeon R. Acoba, Jr. of the Supreme Court of Hawaii. Otake earned her B.S., cum laude from Georgetown University and her J.D. from the University of Washington School of Law, where she was inducted into the Order of the Barristers.