Sens. Hirono & Schatz Announce US District Court Nominee

Sens. Mazie Hirono and Brian Schatz announced the nomination of well-respected, career prosecutor Jill Aiko Otake to be a judge on the U.S. District Court for the District of Hawai‘i.

On Dec. 20, 2017, President Donald Trump nominated Otake to become a U.S. District Judge of the U.S. District Court for the District of Hawai‘i.

Otake was recommended to the White House by a merit-based Federal Judicial Selection Commission in 2015 and Sens. Hirono and Schatz to replace Chief Judge Susan Oki Mollway upon senior status.

“Ms. Otake is a well-qualified nominee to serve on the U.S. District Court,” said Sen. 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 Sen. Schatz. “Jill has broad support across the political spectrum, and I’m confident she will serve the federal court and Hawai‘i with integrity.”

Otake currently serves as an assistant United States attorney and as the acting chief of the Special Crimes Section in the United States Attorney’s Office for the District of Hawai‘i, having previously served as deputy chief.

Prior to joining the office three years ago, she spent nine years as an assistant United States attorney and deputy supervisor in the United States 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 United States attorney, Otake spent six years as a deputy prosecuting attorney for the King County Prosecuting Attorney’s Office in King County, Washington.

Otake was born and raised in Hawai‘i. 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 Hawai‘i.

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.