Draft:Kenechukwu Onyemaechi Okocha

Kenechukwu Onyemaechi "Kene" Okocha (born July 25, 1981) is an American lawyer who is the nominee to serve as an associate judge of the Superior Court of the District of Columbia.

Education
Okocha earned a Bachelor of Science degree from the University of Wisconsin–Madison in 2004 and a Juris Doctor from the University of Wisconsin Law School in 2007.

Career
After graduating from law school, Okocha worked for the Greenlining Institute. From 2008 to 2010, he served as an assistant district attorney in the Dane County District Attorney's Office. Since 2011, he has served as an assistant United States attorney for the District of Columbia. Since 2019, Okocha has been deputy chief for the Sex Offense and Domestic Violence Division in that office.

Nomination to D.C. superior court
On June 7, 2023, President Joe Biden announced his intent to nominate Okocha to serve as an associate judge of the Superior Court of the District of Columbia. On June 8, 2023, his nomination was sent to the Senate. President Biden nominated Okocha to the seat vacated by Judge William W. Nooter, who retired on February 25, 2023. A hearing on his nomination before the United States Senate Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs was held on September 7, 2023. On September 12, 2023, his nomination was reported out of the committee by a 7–5 vote. On January 3, 2024, his nomination was returned to the president under Rule XXXI, Paragraph 6 of the United States Senate. He was renominated on January 11, 2024. On January 31, 2024, his nomination was reported out of the committee by a 8–5 vote. His nomination is pending before the United States Senate.

Personal life
In 2017, Okocha married Cherri Barksdale. He is Nigerian-American.