President Barack Obama has nominated Assistant U. S. Attorney Derrick K. Watson to serve as a U.S. District Court judge in Hawaii.

Watson would become Hawaii’s fourth full-time federal district judge and would fill the vacancy left by U. S. District Judge David Ezra, who became a senior federal judge this year.

U.S. Sen. Dan Inouye praised the nomination of the graduate of Kamehameha Schools and said Watson is a “strong selection.”

“He consistently displayed exemplary legal acumen, integrity and fairness during his decade as a federal prosecutor in North California and Hawaii and that will serve him well on the federal bench,” Inouye said in a statement this morning. “I urge my colleagues in the Senate to join me in supporting his timely confirmation and I applaud Derrick’s willingness to serve Hawaii and our nation.”

The nomination to the lifetime position requires Senate approval.