Jill Otake shakes hands with Sen. Jeff Flake (R-AZ) as Sen. Mazie Hirono looks on.

(BIVN) – The nomination of Jill Otake to the U.S. District Court for Hawaiʻi went before the Senate Judiciary Committee in Washington on March 7.

Senator Mazie K. Hirono served as the lead Democrat during the hearing.

“Ms. Otake’s upbringing, education, and career experience all speak to her qualifications to serve on the federal bench,” Sen. Hirono said. “She has tried a large number of cases to verdict, has navigated difficult legal situations, and understands the plight of victims as well as the duties of attorneys. She will continue to serve our state and our nation with integrity.”

According to Sen. Hirono, Trump-nominee Otake “is the kind of nominee that this president – or any president – should be sending to the senate for confirmation for every court vacancy.”

Otake also had the support of Sen. Brian Schatz, who introduced Otake to the Senate Committee.

According to Sen. Hirono:

Jill 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 Hawaii, having previously served as Deputy Chief. Prior to joining the office in 2014, 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, where she also served as Co-Supervisor of the General Crimes Unit and Deputy Supervisor of the Terrorism and Violent Crimes Unit. 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, Ms. Otake spent six years as a Deputy Prosecuting Attorney for the King County Prosecuting Attorney’s Office in King County, Washington. Ms. Otake was 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. Ms. Otake earned her B.S., cum laude from Georgetown University and her J.D. from the University of Washington School of Law.

The Senate Judiciary Committee will vote on Otake’s nomination in the coming weeks.