Susan Oki Mollway

Susan Oki Mollway (born November 6, 1950) is a Senior United States District Judge of the United States District Court for the District of Hawaii and the first Asian woman ever appointed to the federal bench.[1]

Susan Oki Mollway
Senior Judge of the United States District Court for the District of Hawaii
Incumbent
Assumed office November 6, 2015
Chief Judge of the United States District Court for the District of Hawaii
In office June 16, 2009 – November 6, 2015
Preceded by	Helen Gillmor
Succeeded by	John Michael Seabright
Judge of the United States District Court for the District of Hawaii
In office August 4, 1998 – November 6, 2015
Appointed by	Bill Clinton
Preceded by	Harold Fong
Succeeded by	Jill Otake
Personal details
Born	Susan Oki (1950-11-06) November 6, 1950 Honolulu, Territory of Hawaii
Spouse(s)	Daniel J. Mollway
Education	University of Hawaii (B.A., M.A.) Harvard Law School (J.D.)

Early life and education

Born in Honolulu, Hawaii, Susan Oki earned a Bachelor of Arts degree in English literature from the University of Hawaii in 1971 and a Master of Arts degree in English literature from the University of Hawaii in 1973.[2] She graduated cum laude from Harvard Law School with a Juris Doctor in 1981,[2] where she was the Editor in Chief of the Harvard Civil Rights-Civil Liberties Law Review[3]

Personal

She and her husband, Daniel have a son.[4][5][6]

Professional career

Mollway taught English and worked at an English-language publisher in Tokyo from 1975-77.[7] After law school, she worked in private legal practice at Cades Schutte Fleming & Wright in Honolulu from 1981 until 1998, when she joined the federal bench. She became a partner at that law firm in 1986.[2][8] She served as an adjunct instructor at the University of Hawaii William S. Richardson School of Law from 1988-89.[7]

Mollway has received a number of awards, including:

• 1987 Outstanding Woman Lawyer of the Year Award, Hawaii Women Lawyers Association;[8]
• 1998 Trailblazer Award, National Asian Pacific American Bar Association;[9]
• 1999 Edith House Lecturer, University of Georgia School of Law;[10]
• 2000 Heroes 2000, Harvard Asian American Intercollegiate Conference;[8]
• 2004 Outstanding Judicial Achievement Award, Hawaii Women Lawyers;[8]
• 2005 Distinguished Service Award, Asian American Justice Center.[11]

Federal judicial service

Mollway was first nominated in December 1995 by President Bill Clinton to serve on the United States District Court for the District of Hawaii to fill the vacancy created by the 1995 death of Judge Harold Michael Fong.[12] After her nomination lapsed without action by the United States Senate, she was renominated on January 7, 1997, to the same seat. She was confirmed by the Senate on June 22, 1998, and received commission on June 23, 1998. She served as Chief Judge from 2009 to 2015. She assumed senior status on November 6, 2015.[13][14]

Judge Mollway served on the 9th Circuit Pacific Islands Committee and the 9th Circuit Circuit Conference Executive Committee.[15][16] Judge Mollway is currently the chairperson of the 9th Circuit Jury Instructions Committee.[17] Judge Mollway helped to oversee the $121-million renovation of the federal district court facilities in Honolulu[18] and worked on creating a Re-Entry program in the United States District Court, District of Hawaii.[19]

References

1. "Seeking APA Judges - Asian American Bar Association of the Greater Bay Area". aaba-bay.com. Retrieved 2015-12-01.
2. "BloombergBusiness". Retrieved February 25, 2017.
3. "Redirecting..." heinonline.org. Retrieved 2015-12-01.
4. Matsuda, Mari J. (1992). Called from Within. ISBN 9780824814489.
5. "State ethics enforcer remains undaunted". The Honolulu Advertiser. July 7, 2003.
6. "IMDB trivia". Retrieved February 25, 2017.
7. "Just The Beginning".
8. "U.S. District Court for District of Hawaii biodata" (PDF). Retrieved February 25, 2017.
9. "DANIEL K INOUYE TRAILBLAZERS PAST RECIPIENTS - National Asian Pacific American Bar Association". napaba.org. Retrieved 2015-12-01.
10. "The Edith House Lecture Series". law.uga.edu. Retrieved 2015-12-01.
11. "Past Recipients of the Distinguished Service Award". advancingjustice-aajc.org. Retrieved 2015-12-01.
12. "Honolulu Star-Bulletin Local News". archives.starbulletin.com. Retrieved 2015-12-01.
13. "Mollway, Susan Oki - Federal Judicial Center". www.fjc.gov.
14. "U.S. District Court for the District of Hawaii Press Release" (PDF). Retrieved February 25, 2017.
15. Wasby, Stephen (September 2015). "Judging and Administration for Far-Off Places: Trial, Appellate, and Committee Work in the South Pacific". Golden Gate University Law Review. Retrieved November 30, 2015.
16. "Organizers: 2014 Ninth Circuit Judicial Conference". ca9.uscourts.gov. Retrieved 2015-12-01.
17. (PDF) https://web.archive.org/web/20161227074638/http://www.ce9.uscourts.gov/publications/AnnualReport2013.pdf. Archived from the original (PDF) on December 27, 2016. Retrieved February 25, 2017. Missing or empty |title= (help)
18. "U.S. District Court for the District of Hawaii Press Release" (PDF). December 22, 2014. Retrieved December 1, 2015.
19. "7 former inmates find hope in new program - Honolulu Star-Advertiser". Honolulu Star-Advertiser. Retrieved 2015-12-01.

Sources

• Susan Oki Mollway at the Biographical Directory of Federal Judges, a public domain publication of the Federal Judicial Center.

Legal offices
Preceded by Harold Michael Fong	Judge of the United States District Court for the District of Hawaii 1998–2015	Succeeded by Jill Otake
Preceded by Helen Gillmor	Chief Judge of the United States District Court for the District of Hawaii 2009–2015	Succeeded by John Michael Seabright