NAPABA Applauds the Nomination of Judge Mustafa Kasubhai and Judge Shanlyn A. S. Park

For Immediate Release: 
Date: September 7, 2023

NAPABA Applauds the Nomination of Judge Mustafa Kasubhai and Judge Shanlyn A. S. Park to the U.S. District Court

WASHINGTON - President Joe Biden announced the nomination of Judge Mustafa Kasubhai to the U.S. District Court for the District of Oregon and Judge Shanlyn A. S. Park to the U.S. District Court for the District of Hawai’i.

“Judges Mustafa Kasubhai and Shanlyn Park are exceptionally well qualified and represent the Biden Administration’s commitment to diversifying our federal judiciary,” said Sandra Leung, President of NAPABA. “If confirmed, Judge Kasubhai, a 2018 NAPABA trailblazer, will be the first American Muslim on the Ninth Circuit. If confirmed, Judge Park, a Sacred Hearts Academy graduate, would be the first Native Hawaiian woman to serve as an Article III judge.”

“President Biden, in his first term, has nominated 31 Asian American, Native Hawaiian, and Pacific Islanders to the Federal judiciary, more than any previous administration,” said Priya Purandare, Executive Director of NAPABA. “President Biden’s confirmation rate of 22 members from the AANHPI community matches President Obama’s total confirmed over two terms.”

Judge Mustafa Kasubhai has been a United States Magistrate Judge for the District of Oregon since 2018. Previously, Judge Kasubhai served as a Circuit Court Judge in Lane County, Oregon, from 2007 to 2018. Prior to his appointment to the state bench, Judge Kasubhai served on the Oregon Workers’ Compensation Board from 2003 to 2007. From 1997 to 2003, Judge Kasubhai worked in three different private practice roles—as a solo practitioner, as a partner at Kasubhai & Sanchez, and as an associate at Rasmussen, Tyler & Mundorff. Judge Kasubhai received his J.D. from the University of Oregon School of Law in 1996 and his B.S. from the University of California, Berkeley in 1992.

Judge Shanlyn Park has been a state court judge on the First Circuit Court on Oʻahu, Hawaiʻi, since 2021. Previously, Judge Park worked from 2017 to 2021 at the Honolulu law firms McCorriston Miller Mukai MacKinnon, L.L.P., and Gallagher Kane Amai & Reyes. From 1997 to 2017, Judge Park served as an assistant federal public defender in the Office of the Federal Public Defender for the District of Hawaiʻi. Prior to her service in that office, Judge Park was in private practice at Hisaka Stone & Goto from 1996 to 1997. She served as a law clerk for Judge Francis I. Yamashita, U.S. Magistrate Judge for the District of Hawaiʻi from 1995 to 1996. Judge Park received her J.D. from the University of Hawaiʻi William S. Richardson School of Law in 1995 and her B.A., cum laude, from Chaminade University of Honolulu in 1991.

NAPABA thanks Senators Wyden and Merkley of Oregon and Senators Hirono and Schatz of Hawaii for recommending and supporting their nominations. 

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The National Asian Pacific American Bar Association (NAPABA), represents the interests of over 60,000 Asian Pacific American (APA) legal professionals and nearly 90 national, state, and local APA bar associations. NAPABA is a leader in addressing civil rights issues confronting Asian American, Native Hawaiian, and Pacific Islander communities. Through its national network, NAPABA provides a strong voice for increased diversity of the federal and state judiciaries, advocates for equal opportunity in the workplace, works to eliminate hate crimes and anti-immigrant sentiment, and promotes the professional development of people of all backgrounds in the legal profession.