--- title: "Susan Oki Mollway | KnowJudges" canonical: "https://knowjudges.com/kyj/judge/susan-oki-mollway" page_type: "judge_profile" updated: "2026-10-09" --- # Susan Oki Mollway 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: senior - Last verified: 2026-07-25 ## Summary Official statewide and applicable court procedural guidance applies to this judge. ## Biography ### Professional career - Judge, District Court, D. Hawaii, 1998-present - Chief Judge of the District of Hawaii from 2009 to 2015 - Before joining the federal bench, Mollway worked in private legal practice in Honolulu (1981–1998), becoming a partner at Cades Schutte Fleming & Wright in 1986. - Adjunct professor of law, University of Hawaii School of Law, 1988-1989 - Susan Naomi Oki Mollway is a Senior Judge of the United States District Court for the District of Hawaii and the first woman of East Asian descent and Japanese-American woman appointed to a lifetime federal judicial position ### Education - In 2020, she received an LL.M. in judicial studies from Duke University School of Law - Harvard University — J.D. (1981) - Mollway obtained a B.A. and M.A. in English literature from the University of Hawaiʻi (1971, 1973) before teaching English literature and language at the University of Hawaiʻi and Takushoku University in Tokyo. - University of Hawaiʻi System ### Additional information - Mollway has received multiple awards, including the Outstanding Woman Lawyer of the Year (Hawaii Women Lawyers Association, 1987), Trailblazer Award (National Asian Pacific American Bar Association, 1998), and Outstanding Judicial Achievement Award (Hawaii Women Lawyers, 2004) - Private practice, Honolulu, HI, 1981-1998 - She graduated cum laude from Harvard Law School in 1981, serving as editor-in-chief of the Harvard Civil Rights–Civil Liberties Law Review. - Born November 6, 1950, in Honolulu, Hawaii. - Date of birth: 1950-01-01 - 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 ### 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/1390756) - [Official roster](https://www.fjc.gov/node/1390756) - [Federal Judicial Center biography](https://www.fjc.gov/node/1390756) - [CourtListener judicial biographical directory](https://www.courtlistener.com/person/2279/susan-oki-mollway/) - [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/2279/susan-oki-mollway/) - [Wikidata: Susan Oki Mollway](https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q7648248) ## JSON-LD ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "WebPage", "@id": "https://knowjudges.com/kyj/judge/susan-oki-mollway", "url": "https://knowjudges.com/kyj/judge/susan-oki-mollway", "name": "Susan Oki Mollway | KnowJudges", "description": "Susan Oki Mollway, 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.