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Hawaii Supreme Court justice vacancy (March 2023)
| Hawaii Supreme Court |
|---|
 |
| Wilson vacancy |
| Date: March 31, 2023 |
| Status: Seat filled |
| Nomination |
| Nominee: Lisa M. Ginoza |
| Date: October 23, 2023 |
Hawaii governor Joshua Green (D) appointed Lisa M. Ginoza to the Hawaii Supreme Court on October 23, 2023. She was confirmed on November 21, 2023.[1]
Ginoza succeeded Justice Michael D. Wilson, who retired on March 31, 2023, due to reaching Hawaii's mandatory retirement age. Wilson's replacement was Governor Green's (D) first nominee to the five-member supreme court.
In Hawaii, state supreme court justices are selected through assisted appointment with a hybrid judicial nominating commission. Justices are appointed by the governor with the assistance of a commission who has no majority of members selected either by the governor or the state Bar Association. There are 10 states that use this selection method. To read more about the assisted appointment of judges, click here.
Ballotpedia has compiled the following resources on the process to fill the Hawaii Supreme Court vacancy:
- An overview of the appointee.
- A list of finalists recommended to the governor.
- A list of candidates who applied to the vacancy.
- An overview of the selection process.
- An overview of the court following the vacancy.
- An overview of the justice who left office.
- A list of other state supreme court appointments in 2023.
The appointee
- See also: Lisa M. Ginoza
After law school, Ginoza clerked for Senior Judge Samuel P. King, U.S. District Court for the District of Hawaii. She then entered private practice with the law firm of McCorriston Miller Mukai MacKinnon LLP, where she later became a partner. Ginoza was appointed first deputy attorney general for the state of Hawaii in 2005 and served in this position until her appointment to the Intermediate Court of Appeals in 2010.[2][3]
Appointee candidates and nominations
Because the vacancies occurred so close, the Hawaii Judicial Selection Commission released a list of candidates double its usual size, expecting Governor Joshua Green to select two candidates for the two open positions.
Finalists
On September 27, 2023, the Hawaii Judicial Selection Commission announced the six finalists to fill the two Hawaii Supreme Court vacancies.[4]
Finalists are listed in alphabetical order by last name:
- Attorney Vladimir Devens
- Hawaii Intermediate Court of Appeals Chief Judge Lisa M. Ginoza
- First Circuit District Court Judge Summer M. M. Kupau-Odo
- Hawaii Intermediate Court of Appeals Judge Karen T. Nakasone
- First Circuit District Court Judge Catherine H. Remigio
- Hawaii Intermediate Court of Appeals Judge Clyde J. Wadsworth
Applicants
On February 10, 2023, the Hawaii Judicial Selection Commission released a list of 13 candidates to fill the two Hawaii Supreme Court vacancies.[5]
Applicants are listed in alphabetical order by last name:
- Attorney Rebecca A. Copeland
- Attorney Vladimir Devens
- Attorney David M. Forman
- Hawaii Intermediate Court of Appeals Chief Judge Lisa M. Ginoza
- Hawaii Intermediate Court of Appeals Judge Kimberly Tsumoto Guidry
- Attorney Kendra K. Kawai
- First Circuit District Court JudgeSummer M. M. Kupau-Odo
- Former Hawaii Deputy Attorney General Deirdre Marie-Iha
- Hawaii Intermediate Court of Appeals Judge Sonja M. P. McCullen
- Hawaii Intermediate Court of Appeals Judge Karen T. Nakasone
- First Circuit District Court Judge Catherine H. Remigio
- Hawaii Intermediate Court of Appeals Judge Clyde J. Wadsworth
- Attorney Thomas Yamachika[5]
The selection process
- See also: Judicial selection in Hawaii
If a midterm vacancy occurs, the position is filled just as it would be if the vacancy occurred at the end of a justice's term. The governor appoints a successor from a list provided by a nominating commission, and the appointee faces confirmation from the state Senate. Newly appointed justices serve full 10-year terms.[6]
Makeup of the court
- See also: Hawaii Supreme Court
Justices
Following Wilson's retirement, the Hawaii Supreme Court included the following members:
| ■ Mark Recktenwald | Appointed by Gov. Linda Lingle (R) in 2010 | |
| ■ Sabrina S. McKenna | Appointed by Gov. Neil Abercrombie (D) in 2011 | |
| ■ Paula Nakayama | Appointed by Gov. John D. Waihee III (D) in 1993 | |
| ■ Todd Eddins | Appointed by Gov. David Ige (D) in 2020 |
About the court
Founded in 1959, the Hawaii Supreme Court is the state's court of last resort and has five judgeships. The current chief of the court is Mark Recktenwald.[7]
As of September 2021, four judges on the court were appointed by a Democratic governor and one judge on the court was appointed by a Republican governor.
The Hawaii Supreme Court meets in the meets in Aliʻiōlani Hale building in Honolulu, Hawaii.[7]
In Hawaii, state supreme court justices are selected through assisted appointment with a hybrid judicial nominating commission. Justices are appointed by the governor with the assistance of a commission who has no majority of members selected either by the governor or the state Bar Association. There are 10 states that use this selection method. To read more about the assisted appointment of judges, click here.
About Justice Wilson
- See also: Michael D. Wilson (Hawaii Supreme Court)
Wilson received an undergraduate degree from the University of Wisconsin-Madison and a J.D. from the Antioch School of Law.[8][3]
Before becoming a judge, Wilson was a partner at Pavey Wilson & Glickstein and Hart Wolff & Wilson. He was the director of the Department of Land and Natural Resources and chaired the Board of Land and Natural Resources. Wilson also chaired the State Water Commission and was a trustee of the Kahoolawe Island Reserve Commission. He served as a judge on the O'ahu First Circuit Court from 2000 to 2014.[8][3][9]
Wilson was a founding member of the Global Judicial Institute on the Environment.[3]
Other state supreme court appointments in 2023
- See also: State supreme court vacancies, 2023
The following table lists vacancies on state supreme courts that opened in 2023. Click the link under the Court column for a particular vacancy for more information on that vacancy.
Click here for vacancies that opened in 2022.
See also
External links
Footnotes
- ↑ Honolulu Civil Beat, "Senate Confirms Ginoza, Devens To Hawaii Supreme Court," November 21, 2023
- ↑ Cite error: Invalid
<ref>tag; no text was provided for refs namedfree - ↑ 3.0 3.1 3.2 3.3 Hawai'i State Judiciary, "Associate Justice Michael D. Wilson," accessed June 25, 2021
- ↑ Star Advertiser, "Nominees announced for Hawaii State Supreme Court vacancies," accessed September 28, 2023
- ↑ 5.0 5.1 Hawai'i State Judiciary, "Request for Public Comments – Applicants for two (2) Associate Justice, Supreme Court, State of Hawai’i (Release Date: 02/10/2023)," accessed June 8, 2023
- ↑ Cite error: Invalid
<ref>tag; no text was provided for refs namedHIgen - ↑ 7.0 7.1 Hawaii State Judiciary, "Hawaii Supreme Court," accessed September 14, 2021
- ↑ 8.0 8.1 Hawaii State Legislature, "STAND. COM. REP. NO. 2870 Honolulu, Hawaii, 2000 RE: GOV. MSG. NO. 208," January 22, 2009
- ↑ Star-Advertiser, "Governor names Michael Wilson to state Supreme Court," February 18, 2014
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Federal courts:
Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals • U.S. District Court: District of Hawaii • U.S. Bankruptcy Court: District of Hawaii
State courts:
Hawaii Supreme Court • Hawaii Intermediate Court of Appeals • Hawaii Circuit Courts • Hawaii District Courts • Hawaii Family Courts
State resources:
Courts in Hawaii • Hawaii judicial elections • Judicial selection in Hawaii
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