David Alan Ezra

David Alan Ezra (born 1947) is a Senior District Judge of the United States District Court for the District of Hawaii.

Early life and education

Born in Columbus, Ohio, Ezra received a B.B.A. from St. Mary's University in 1969, followed by a J.D. from St. Mary's University School of Law in 1972, where he graduated first in his class. He was a commissioned officer in the United States Army Reserve from 1971 to 1977, and was a law clerk in the Office of the Corporation Counsel for the City and County of Honolulu, Hawaii in 1972.

Career

Ezra was in private practice in Honolulu from 1972 to 1988 becoming a partner in the law firm of Anthony, Hoddick, Reinwald, and O'Connor in 1980. Ezra became the Managing Partner of the law firm of Ezra, O'Connor, Moon and Tam in 1981. Adjunct professor of law at the William S. Richardson School of Law since 1978, the school awarded him the UH Alumni Association Lifetime Achievement Award in 2013. In 2007 St. Mary's University Awarded Ezra their Rosewood Gavel Award and in 2013 St. Mary's University School of Law awarded him their Lifetime Achievement Award.

Judicial service

On November 18, 1987, Ezra was nominated by President Ronald Reagan to a seat on the United States District Court for the District of Hawaii vacated by Samuel Pailthorpe King. Ezra was confirmed by the United States Senate on May 19, 1988, and received his commission on May 20, 1988. He served as chief judge from 1999 to 2005. Ezra was the youngest federal judge ever appointed to the District of Hawaii and the only federal judge from Hawaii to be elected to the Judicial Conference of the United States. Ezra also served as Secretary, Vice President, and President of the District Judges Association of the Ninth Circuit and served multiple terms on the Ninth Circuit Judicial Council. He also served as Vice President of the Federal Judges Association and remains a member of the Board of Directors. Ezra was appointed and served on the Judicial Conference Committee on the Administration of the Bankruptcy System and was its long range planning chairman. In 2010 Ezra was appointed to the Council on Budget and Finance of the Judicial Conference of the United States. Ezra continues to be designated to serve on federal courts both within and outside the Ninth Circuit, particularly in complex cases, and is often designated to sit on the Court of Appeals. In 2013 Ezra was awarded both the University of Hawaii and St. Mary's University School of Law Lifetime Achievement Awards. He assumed senior status on June 27, 2012 having served as an active judge in regular service longer than any other judge in Hawaii history. Ezra continues to carry a full caseload.

In January, 2013, Ezra was designated by the Chief Justice of the U.S. Supreme Court to the Western District of Texas, San Antonio Division, to help ease the heavy workload for the federal judges in that state.

Sources

• David Alan Ezra at the Biographical Directory of Federal Judges, a public domain publication of the Federal Judicial Center.

Notes

Legal offices
Preceded by Samuel Pailthorpe King	Judge of the United States District Court for the District of Hawaii 1988–2012	Succeeded by Derrick Kahala Watson