STATEMENT OF SENATOR DANIEL K. AKAKA IN SUPPORT OF SUSAN OKI MOLLWAY June 22, 1998 Mr. President, it is with great pleasure that I take to the floor today to speak in behalf of Ms. Susan Oki Mollway, the President's nominee to the U.S. District Court for the District of Hawaii. I wholeheartedly support Ms. Mollway, who if confirmed, would fill the fourth seat on the Hawaii court. I also want to join with the remarks of my senior Senator, who eloquently and passionately spoke about Susan Oki Mollway and her family. He also spoke about our interviewing her for this position and how impressed we were with the kind of person that she is. I also want to thank chairman Orrin Hatch of Utah for his support and for reporting this out of committee, and also Senator Pat Leahy, the ranking member from Vermont on the committee, as well as the members of the committee for reporting this nominee to the floor. Also want to thank our majority leader, Trent Lott of Mississippi, for permitting it to be on the floor today. This has been a long journey for us. This position has been vacant since the untimely passing of Judge Harold Fong in April 1995. As the senior Senator from Hawaii noted, the case load in the District of Hawaii continues to increase. The recently adjusted 1997 Federal Court Management Statistics report found that the U.S. District Court District of Hawaii is the eighth busiest district court out of 91 in the country, and the third busiest in the Ninth Circuit. It is critical that the vacancy on the Hawaii court is filled. Senator Inouye and I believe that Susan Oki Mollway is the most qualified candidate for this position. Ms. Mollway enjoys the highest rating of "well qualified" from the majority of the American Bar Association's Standing Committee on the Federal Judiciary. To quote some of her colleagues in Hawaii, "We have come to know her as a highly ethical, careful, dedicated, intelligent, articulate, caring, and energetic lawyer." Ms. Mollway is known for her professional skills, her sense of ethics, and her moral compassion--qualities needed for service on the federal bench. Senator Inouye has already recounted Ms. Mollway's education, professional, and family background. However, I do wish to point out that as a Harvard law school graduate, she could have stayed on the mainland like so many of Hawaii's young people. Instead she returned to Hawaii, the home of her parents, where she joined one of Honolulu's best known law firms--Cades Schutte Fleming & Wright. As a specialist in civil litigation, Ms. Mollway handles a wide range of cases and has appeared before every level of the state and federal courts, including a successful appearance before the United States Supreme Court in 1994. Ms. Mollway has fully responded to those who have questioned her former position on the Board of Directors of the Hawaii chapter of the American Civil Liberties Union. Prior to her board membership, the ACLU-Hawaii filed an friend of the court brief in support of the plaintiffs in the Hawaii same-sex marriage case. Although she was aware of ACLU-Hawaii’s position and activities in the same-sex marriage case, as a board member Susan Mollway was never called on to play an active role. Furthermore, Ms. Mollway understands that her personal opinions are not relevant to the decisions she would make as a federal judge. She has stated that she recognizes the authority of the Constitution, federal statutes as passed by the Congress, and case precedent from higher courts as the judicial guidelines to follow in court deliberation. I believe my colleagues will agree with me that Susan Mollway's credentials are impressive. She is an individual of the highest integrity, whose dedication to her profession is admired by all. I am pleased to lend my support to Ms. Mollway and urge my colleagues to vote in favor of this nominee whose confirmation would bring the U.S. District Court in Hawaii to its full complement.