Senate Committee Advances Nomination of Clare Connors for U.S. District Court

WASHINGTON – Today, U.S. Senator Brian Schatz (D-Hawai‘i) commended the Senate Judiciary Committee’s vote to approve Clare Connors to fill the vacancy on the U.S. District Court for the District of Hawai‘i. Senator Schatz recommended Connors’ nomination to President Obama in June of last year.

“This is an important step forward, and I congratulate the Senate Judiciary Committee for recognizing Clare Connors as a strong candidate for the U.S. District Court for Hawai‘i,” said Senator Schatz. “Clare’s knowledge, fair-mindedness, and dedication to justice will make her an exemplary district court judge. I look forward to voting for her when her nomination reaches the Senate floor.”

Clare Connors’ nomination will now head to the Senate floor for a final vote. In January, Senator Schatz delivered testimony in support of Ms. Connors at her nomination hearing before the Judiciary Committee.

Ms. Connors is a trial attorney who began her legal career in 2001 with the Tax Division of the U.S. Department of Justice. In 2002, she served as a clerk for the Honorable Judge David Ezra, in his capacity as a federal district court judge. She returned to Hawai‘i to serve as an Assistant United States Attorney. She continues to practice law as an associate at Davis Levin Livingston in Hawai‘i.

A graduate of Punahou School, Ms. Connors has a Bachelor’s of Arts degree from Yale College and a Juris Doctor degree from Harvard Law School.  Ms. Connors has served on the faculty of the William S. Richardson School of Law as a Lecturer in Law for the Small Business & Entrepreneurship Clinic. In 2014, she was appointed to be a Lawyer Representative for the District of Hawaii to the Ninth Circuit Judicial Conference and previously served as a Lawyer Delegate to the Hawaii District Conference. 

The U.S. District Court judge position became available following Chief Judge Susan Oki Mollway’s retirement from active service.