WASHINGTON, D.C. — Senator Brian Schatz announced Wednesday that the U.S. Senate voted 57-41 to confirm Micah Smith to serve on the U.S. District Court for the District of Hawai‘i.
Smith was recommended to President Biden by Schatz, Sen. Mazie Hirono and a merit-based Federal Judicial Selection Commission.
“Throughout his career, Micah Smith has proven to be a fair and impartial jurist,” Schatz said. “It’s the reason he was confirmed with broad bipartisan support. He has the legal acumen, as well as the character and temperament to serve on the federal bench. We were proud to support his nomination and look forward to him serving Hawai‘i, and the nation with integrity.”
Hirono, in a statement from her office, supported two nominees to serve as federal judges on the U.S. District Court — Smith and Shanlyn A.S. Park.
“Mr. President, I’m glad that later today, the Senate will vote to confirm Micah Smith, and tomorrow, Shanlyn Park, as judges on the U.S. District Court for the District of Hawai‘i,” Hirono said on the Senate Floor.
“Shanlyn Park, who currently serves as a Hawai‘i Circuit Court judge, was born and raised in Hawai‘i where her career has been spent almost entirely in public service. After graduating from Chaminade University and the William S. Richardson School of Law, Judge Park served as a Federal Public Defender in Hawai‘i for 20 years.
“As a judge, she has earned high marks for her evenhanded approach and well-reasoned decisions. Importantly, if confirmed, Judge Park would make history as the first Native Hawaiian woman to serve as a federal district court judge. It’s high time and long overdue. Representation matters.”
Similar to Judge Park, Micah Smith, a graduate of Kaua‘i High School, has had an impressive legal career.
“After graduating from Lock Haven University and Harvard Law School, Micah clerked on the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit, and then on the Supreme Court for Justice David H. Souter,” Hirono said. “He went on to become a federal prosecutor, a job he has held for the last 12 years.”
Smith has served as an Assistant United States Attorney in the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Hawai‘i since 2018. He is currently Deputy Chief of the Criminal Division and Criminal Civil Rights Coordinator in that office.
He has also been the office’s Chief of Appeals and Legal Strategy since 2022. Previously, Smith served as an Assistant U.S. Attorney in the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of New York from 2012 to 2018.
From 2008 to 2012, Smith was an associate and counsel at O’Melveny & Myers LLP in Washington, D.C. He served as a law clerk for Justice Souter on the U.S. Supreme Court from 2007 to 2008, and Judge Guido Calabresi on the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit from 2006 to 2007.
“I believe both nominees’ experience, temperament and demonstrated commitment to public service, along with their deep roots in Hawai‘i, will make them excellent judges on Hawai‘i’s District Court,” Hirono said. “I look forward to voting to confirm them.”
