Ka Wai Ola - Office of Hawaiian Affairs, Volume 29, Number 12, 1 December 2012 — Hawaiian attorney nominated for federal judgeship [ARTICLE]

Hawaiian attorney nominated for federal judgeship

President Obama has nominated a Kamehameha Schools graduate to serve as a U.S. District Court judge in Hawai'i. If confirmed, assistant U.S. attorney Derrick Kahala Watson would be the only Native Hawaiian federal judge currently serving. Watson was nominated Nov. 14 to fill the vacancy left by U.S. District Judge David Ezra, who became a senior federal judge in June. If confirmed by the Senate, Watson would be the second Native Hawaiian to serve as a federal judge. The late Samuel King served on the federal bench for almost four decades. U.S. Sen. Daniel Inouye issued a statement saying Watson "eonsistently displayed exemplary legal aeumen, integrity and fairness during his decade as a federal prosecutor in Northern California and Hawai'i and that will serve him well on the federal bench. I urge my eolleagues in the Senate to join me in supporting his timely confirmation and I applaud Derrick's willingness to serve Hawai'i and our nahon." U.S. Sen.-elect Mazie Hirono also issued a statement of support. "It is important to see that qualified individuals from diverse eommunities are able to serve our nation in a variety of ways," she said. Watson received his law degree in 1991 from Harvard Law School, his A.B. in 1988 from Harvard College, and is a 1984 graduate of Kamehameha Schools. He began his legal career at the law firm of Landels, Ripley & Diamond in San Lrancisco and has served as an assistant U.S. attorney in Hawai'i since 2007, becoming chief of its civil division in 2009.

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