--- title: "Jill Aiko Otake | KnowJudges" canonical: "https://knowjudges.com/kyj/judge/jill-a-otake" page_type: "judge_profile" updated: "2026-10-09" --- # Jill Aiko Otake U.S. District Court for the District of Hawaii · U.S. District Judge ## Profile - Court: U.S. District Court for the District of Hawaii - State: Hawaii - Role: U.S. District Judge - Service status: active - Last verified: 2026-07-25 ## Summary Official judge-specific and circuitwide procedural guidance has been located for this profile. ## Biography ### Professional career - Judge, District Court, D. Hawaii, 2018-present - Current role: Judge, U.S. District Court for the District of Hawaii (2018–present) - Adjunct professor, Seattle University School of Law, 2007-present - U.S. District Judge for the District of Hawaii, appointed by President Donald Trump in 2018 and confirmed by the Senate on August 1, 2018 - Assistant U.S. attorney, District of Hawaii, 2014-2018 - Assistant U.S. attorney, Western District of Washington, 2005-2014 - Deputy prosecuting attorney, King County, WA, 2002-2005 - Law Clerk, Hawaii Supreme Court, 2001-2002 - Deputy prosecuting attorney, King County, WA, 1998-2001 ### Education - University of Washington-Seattle Campus — J.D. (1998) - University of Washington School of Law — J.D. (1998) - Georgetown University — B.S. (1995) ### Additional information - Instructor, Oregon Sexual Assault Task Force, 2012-present - acting chief, Special Crimes Section, 2017-2018 - Commissioned: August 3, 2018 She succeeded Judge Susan Oki Mollway, who took senior status in 2015 - deputy chief, Special Crimes Section, 2016-2017 - co-supervisor, General Crimes Unit, 2013-2014 - deputy supervisor, Terrorism and Violent Crimes Unit, 2011-2013 - Date of birth: 1973-01-01 - She has also taught trial advocacy at Seattle University Law School, served on the Hawaii State Bar Association’s Professionalism and Risk Management Committee, and was a mentor to Hawaii women lawyers - Otake has received the FBI Certificate of Recognition, IRS Excellence Award, and multiple U.S. Department of Justice Performance Awards. - She is also active in professional organizations and community service, including serving on the ʻIolani School Board of Governors - Birth place: Honolulu, HI ## Before you appear - Read the judge-specific standing order first when one is listed. - Check the docket and case orders for requirements that supersede broader guidance. - Confirm current remote-access and courtroom technology arrangements before the proceeding. ## Courtroom Rules ### presentation procedure Scope: judge specific Judge-specific source Evidence excerpt: C. Use of Electronic Devices Pursuant to the Order Adopting Electronic Device Policy, effective March 18, 2014, any person may bring into the courthouse an electronic device, such as a cellular phone, smartphone, laptop, tablet, or similar device having wireless communications capability. Any such device is subject to security inspection. [2026%20General%20Civil%20Procedures.pdf](https://www.hid.uscourts.gov/cms/assets/4a14e549-6790-4f0f-abaa-f33f9ec74fbf/2026%20General%20Civil%20Procedures.pdf) Source checked: 2026-07-24 ### civil remote testimony Scope: courtwide In federal district-court civil proceedings, testimony is ordinarily taken in open court; remote contemporaneous testimony requires good cause in compelling circumstances and appropriate safeguards. Evidence excerpt: For good cause in compelling circumstances and with appropriate safeguards, the court may permit testimony in open court by contemporaneous transmission from a different location. [Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 43(a), Testimony in Open Court](https://www.uscourts.gov/forms-rules/current-rules-practice-procedure/federal-rules-civil-procedure) Source checked: 2026-07-26 ### criminal recording and broadcasting Scope: courtwide Federal district courts may not permit courtroom photography or broadcasting during criminal judicial proceedings unless a statute or another federal rule provides an exception. Evidence excerpt: Except as otherwise provided by a statute or these rules, the court must not permit the taking of photographs in the courtroom during judicial proceedings or the broadcasting of judicial proceedings from the courtroom. [Federal Rule of Criminal Procedure 53, Courtroom Photographing and Broadcasting Prohibited](https://www.uscourts.gov/court-records/access-court-proceedings/remote-public-access-proceedings/history-cameras-broadcasting-and-remote-public-access-courts) Source checked: 2026-07-26 ## Sources - [Official profile](https://www.fjc.gov/node/5019306) - [Official roster](https://www.fjc.gov/node/5019306) - [Federal Judicial Center biography](https://www.fjc.gov/node/5019306) - [CourtListener judicial biographical directory](https://www.courtlistener.com/person/8618/jill-aiko-otake/) - [2026%20General%20Civil%20Procedures.pdf](https://www.hid.uscourts.gov/cms/assets/4a14e549-6790-4f0f-abaa-f33f9ec74fbf/2026%20General%20Civil%20Procedures.pdf) - [Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 43(a), Testimony in Open Court](https://www.uscourts.gov/forms-rules/current-rules-practice-procedure/federal-rules-civil-procedure) - [Federal Rule of Criminal Procedure 53, Courtroom Photographing and Broadcasting Prohibited](https://www.uscourts.gov/court-records/access-court-proceedings/remote-public-access-proceedings/history-cameras-broadcasting-and-remote-public-access-courts) - [CourtListener judicial biographical directory](https://www.courtlistener.com/person/8618/jill-aiko-otake/) - [Wikidata: Jill Otake](https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q46074778) ## JSON-LD ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "WebPage", "@id": "https://knowjudges.com/kyj/judge/jill-a-otake", "url": "https://knowjudges.com/kyj/judge/jill-a-otake", "name": "Jill Aiko Otake | KnowJudges", "description": "Jill Aiko Otake, U.S. District Court for the District of Hawaii. 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Section-specific exceptions, waivers, later amendments and case orders remain applicable. This is a source excerpt, not an exhaustive statement of the rule. [Official source](https://www.uscourts.gov/sites/default/files/document/federal-rules-of-civil-procedure.pdf). Collected 2026-10-27. - [Federal Rules of Criminal Procedure, December 1, 2025](https://knowjudges.com/courtroom-rules/national-shared-set-8721a344fececced2257fe1d) — Criminal proceedings in United States District Courts; this conservative mapping does not distribute appellate-specific provisions to appellate judges. Section-specific exceptions, waivers, later amendments and case orders remain applicable. This is a source excerpt, not an exhaustive statement of the rule. [Official source](https://www.uscourts.gov/sites/default/files/document/federal-rules-of-criminal-procedure.pdf). Collected 2026-10-27.