[Congressional Record Volume 169, Number 196 (Wednesday, November 29, 2023)]
[Senate]
[Page S5656]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]



         Nominations of Micah W.J. Smith and Shanlyn A.S. Park

  Madam President, on another note, I am glad that, later today, the 
Senate will vote to confirm Micah Smith and, tomorrow, Shanlyn Park, to 
be judges of the U.S. district court for the State of Hawaii.
  Shanlyn Park, who currently serves as a Hawaii circuit court judge, 
was born and raised in Hawaii, where her career has been spent almost 
entirely in public service. After graduating from Chaminade University 
and the William S. Richardson School of Law, Judge Park served as a 
Federal public defender in Hawaii for 20 years. As a judge, she has 
earned high marks for her even-handed approach and well-reasoned, fair 
decisions.
  Importantly, if confirmed, Judge Park would make history as the first 
native Hawaiian woman to serve as a Federal district court judge. It is 
high time and long overdue. Representation matters.
  Like Judge Park, Micah Smith has also had an impressive legal career. 
After graduating from Lock Haven University and Harvard Law School, he 
clerked on the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit and then on 
the Supreme Court for Justice Souter. He went on to become a Federal 
prosecutor--a job he has held for the last 12 years. He began at the 
U.S. Attorney's Office for the Southern District of New York and, in 
2018, returned home to Hawaii to join the U.S. Attorney's Office in 
Honolulu.
  I believe both nominees' experience, temperaments, and demonstrated 
commitment to public service, along with their deep roots in Hawaii, 
will make them excellent judges on Hawaii's district court. I look 
forward to voting to confirm them.
  I know that we have also voted on cloture on Micah Smith. I thank my 
Republican colleagues for voting for Micah in a bipartisan way, and I 
look forward to their support for Shanlyn Park.
  I yield the floor.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. The Senator from West Virginia.