Jill Aiko Otake (born October 3, 1973) is a

United States district judge The United States district courts are the trial courts of the United States federal judiciary, U.S. federal judiciary. There is one district court for each United States federal judicial district, federal judicial district, which each cover o ...

of the United States District Court for the District of Hawaii.

Biography

Jill Otake was born on October 3, 1973, in

Honolulu Honolulu (; ) is the capital and largest city of the U.S. state of Hawaii, which is in the Pacific Ocean. It is an unincorporated county seat of the consolidated City and County of Honolulu, situated along the southeast coast of the island ...

. She graduated from the ʻIolani School and earned a

Bachelor of Science A Bachelor of Science (BS, BSc, SB, or ScB; from the Latin ') is a bachelor's degree awarded for programs that generally last three to five years. The first university to admit a student to the degree of Bachelor of Science was the University of ...

, ''cum laude'', from

Georgetown University Georgetown University is a private university, private research university in the Georgetown (Washington, D.C.), Georgetown neighborhood of Washington, D.C. Founded by Bishop John Carroll (archbishop of Baltimore), John Carroll in 1789 as Georg ...

, where she majored in the

Russian language Russian (russian: русский язык, russkij jazyk, link=no, ) is an East Slavic languages, East Slavic language mainly spoken in Russia. It is the First language, native language of the Russians, and belongs to the Indo-European langua ...

. Otake received her

Juris Doctor The Juris Doctor (J.D. or JD), also known as Doctor of Jurisprudence (J.D., JD, D.Jur., or DJur), is a graduate-entry professional degree in law and one of several Doctor of Law degrees. The J.D. is the standard degree obtained to practice law ...

from the

University of Washington School of Law The University of Washington School of Law is the law school of the University of Washington, located on the northwest corner of the main campus in Seattle, Washington. The 2023 '' U.S. News & World Report'' law school rankings place Washingt ...

in 1998 and was selected for

the Order of Barristers The Order of Barristers is an honor society for United States law school graduates. Membership in The Order of Barristers is limited to graduating law students and practicing lawyers who demonstrate exceptional skill in trial advocacy, oral advo ...

." President Donald J. Trump Announces Ninth Wave of Judicial Nominees and Tenth Wave of United States Attorney Nominees " White House, December 20, 2017
After graduating from law school, Otake clerked for Associate Justice Simeon R. Acoba Jr. of the Hawaii Supreme Court. She worked for five years as a deputy prosecuting attorney in

King County, Washington King County is located in the U.S. state of Washington. The population was 2,269,675 in the 2020 census, making it the most populous county in Washington, and the 13th-most populous in the United States. The county seat is Seattle, also the st ...

. Otake then spent nine years as a supervisor and as an

assistant United States attorney An assistant United States attorney (AUSA) is an official career civil service position in the U.S. Department of Justice composed of lawyers working under the U.S. Attorney of each U.S. federal judicial district. They represent the federal gove ...

for the

Western District of Washington The United States District Court for the Western District of Washington (in case citations, W.D. Wash.) is the federal district court whose jurisdiction comprises the following counties of the state of Washington: Clallam, Clark, Cowlitz, Grays ...

. Immediately before becoming a judge, Otake was Special Counsel to the United States Attorney and Acting Chief of the Special Crime section as an assistant United States attorney for the

District of Hawaii The United States Attorney for the District of Hawaii — also known as the United States Attorney and U.S. Attorney — is the chief law enforcement officer representing the federal government in the United States District Court for the Di ...

. She was deputy chief of that office from 2014 to 2018. Otake is a recipient of the

Federal Bureau of Investigation The Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) is the domestic intelligence and security service of the United States and its principal federal law enforcement agency. Operating under the jurisdiction of the United States Department of Justice, ...

Certificate of Recognition,

Internal Revenue Service The Internal Revenue Service (IRS) is the revenue service for the United States federal government, which is responsible for collecting U.S. federal taxes and administering the Internal Revenue Code, the main body of the federal statutory ta ...

Excellence Award, and numerous

U.S. Department of Justice The United States Department of Justice (DOJ), also known as the Justice Department, is a federal executive department of the United States government tasked with the enforcement of federal law and administration of justice in the United State ...

Performance Awards. Otake was an instructor for the inaugural Hawaii Federal Trial Academy, sponsored by the Federal Bar Association and the United States District Court for the District of Hawaii. Otake is co-chair of the

Hawaii State Bar Association The Hawaii State Bar Association (HSBA) is the integrated (mandatory) bar association of the U.S. state of Hawaii Hawaii ( ; haw, Hawaii or ) is a state in the Western United States, located in the Pacific Ocean about from the U.S ...

's Professionalism and Risk Management Committee and was also a volunteer attorney for Volunteer Legal Services Hawaii. She is also a mentor for Hawaii women lawyers. Otake has taught trial advocacy at Seattle University Law School; served as co-president of the Asian Bar Association of Washington; and served on the United States District Court for the District of Hawaii's Chief Probation Officer Selection Committee. She was a

fellow A fellow is a concept whose exact meaning depends on context. In learned or professional societies, it refers to a privileged member who is specially elected in recognition of their work and achievements. Within the context of higher education ...

of the 2016 Hawaii State Bar Association's Leadership Institute. She currently serves on the 'Iolani School Board of Governors.

Federal judicial service

On December 20, 2017, President

Donald Trump Donald John Trump (born June 14, 1946) is an American politician, media personality, and businessman who served as the 45th president of the United States from 2017 to 2021. Trump graduated from the Wharton School of the University of Pe ...

announced his intent to nominate Otake to serve as a United States District Judge of the United States District Court for the District of Hawaii. Otake was recommended to the White House by

U.S. Senators The United States Senate is the upper chamber of the United States Congress, with the House of Representatives being the lower chamber. Together they compose the national bicameral legislature of the United States. The composition and power ...

Mazie Hirono Mazie Keiko Hirono (; Japanese name: , ; born November 3, 1947) is an American lawyer and politician serving as the junior United States senator from Hawaii since 2013. A member of the Democratic Party, Hirono previously served as a member of the ...

and

Brian Schatz Brian Emanuel Schatz (; born October 20, 1972) is an American educator and politician serving as the senior United States senator from Hawaii, a seat he has held since 2012. A member of the Democratic Party, Schatz served in the Hawaii House o ...

. On December 21, 2017, her nomination was sent to the

United States Senate The United States Senate is the upper chamber of the United States Congress, with the House of Representatives being the lower chamber. Together they compose the national bicameral legislature of the United States. The composition and pow ...

. She was nominated to the seat vacated by Judge Susan Oki Mollway, who assumed

senior status Senior status is a form of semi-retirement for United States federal judges. To qualify, a judge in the Federal judiciary of the United States, federal court system must be at least 65 years old, and the sum of the judge's age and years of servi ...

on November 6, 2015. The

American Bar Association The American Bar Association (ABA) is a voluntary bar association of lawyers and law students, which is not specific to any jurisdiction in the United States. Founded in 1878, the ABA's most important stated activities are the setting of acad ...

's Standing Committee on the Federal Judiciary rated Otake unanimously "Well Qualified." On March 7, 2018, a hearing on her nomination was held before the Senate Judiciary Committee. On April 12, 2018, her nomination was reported out of committee by

voice vote In parliamentary procedure, a voice vote (from the Latin ''viva voce'', meaning "live voice") or acclamation is a voting method in deliberative assemblies (such as legislatures) in which a group vote is taken on a topic or motion by responding vo ...

. On August 1, 2018, her nomination was confirmed by

. She received her judicial commission on August 3, 2018.

Personal life

Otake's younger brother is Thomas "Tommy" Otake, a defense attorney practicing in Hawaii.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Otake, Jill 1973 births Living people 20th-century American lawyers 21st-century American lawyers 21st-century American judges American jurists of Japanese descent Assistant United States Attorneys ʻIolani School alumni Georgetown University alumni Lawyers from Hawaii Lawyers from Seattle Judges of the United States District Court for the District of Hawaii Seattle University faculty State attorneys United States district court judges appointed by Donald Trump University of Washington School of Law alumni Washington (state) lawyers 20th-century American women lawyers 21st-century American women lawyers 21st-century American women judges Asian conservatism in the United States

Biography

Federal judicial service

Personal life

See also

References

External links