Senate D 45I 2R 53House D 214I 1R 218Governors D 24R 26Election Day Tue, Nov 3Seats as of Oct 28

Derrick Kahala Watson

Judge, U.S. District Court for the District of Hawaii. Born 1966.

Federal judicial service

Newest first

Judge, U.S. District Court for the District of Hawaii

Appointed by: Barack Obama (Democratic)
Nominated: Jan 4, 2013
Senate vote: 94 to 0
Confirmed: Apr 18, 2013
Commissioned: Apr 23, 2013

Education

A.B., Harvard University, 1988
J.D., Harvard Law School, 1991

Career

Private practice, San Francisco, California, 1991-1995, 2000-2007
Assistant U.S. attorney, Northern District of California, 1995-2000
deputy chief, Civil Division, 1999-2000
U.S. Army Reserve captain, JAG Corps, 1998-2006
Assistant U.S. attorney, District of Hawaii, 2007-2013
chief, Civil Division, 2009-2013

Other nominations

Nominated to U.S. District Court for the District of Hawaii, November 14, 2012; no Senate vote

DataSources: Federal Judicial Center, Biographical Directory of Article III Federal JudgesData as of Oct 29, 2026

A work of the U.S. government, not under copyright (17 U.S.C. 105).