Nagata Confirmed to Third Circuit District Court Role

Darien W.L. Ching Nagata has been confirmed to the District Court of the Third Circuit seat. Photo courtesy of Senate Communications.

Darien W.L. Ching Nagata has been confirmed by the State Senate on Thursday to serve on the Big Island as District Court judge of the Third Circuit.

Nagata was born and raised on Oahu and went on to graduate from Santa Clara University. She studied in Shanghai and Singapore before attending the William S. Richardson School of Law at the University of Hawai’i.

In 1998, Nagata joined the office of the Prosecuting Attorney on the Big Island. She currently oversees litigation in the district and family courts.

Nagata’s career has also included serving as the Violent Crimes Unit Litigator and Circuit Court Unit Supervising Attorney and Litigator. She has been cross-deputized since 2008 to serve as a Special Assistant to the United States Attorney’s Office to assist with their Project Safe Neighborhood initiative.

“Throughout her career as a prosecutor, Darien Ching Nagata has shown patience, compassion, diligence, and a willingness to put in the long hours necessary to seek justice for the people of the Big Island,” said Senator Gilbert Keith-Agaran, chair of the Senate Judiciary and Labor Committee. “I have no doubt that the Third Circuit Court as a whole and the district court to which she has been nominated will benefit greatly from her experience, energy and dedication.”

Nagata was appointed by Chief Justice Mark E. Recktenwald. She was fill the vacancy created by the retirement of District Court Judge Barbara T. Takase.