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Kathleen N.A. Watanabe
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2025
Kathleen N.A. Watanabe is a judge for the Kaua`i Fifth Circuit of Hawaii. She was appointed to the court on February 19, 2005, by former Governor Linda Lingle. Watanabe was then unanimously approved by the Hawaii Senate to replace former Judge Clifford Nakea. She assumed office on August 17, 2005.[1][2][3][4] Watanabe was retained for another term on July 2, 2015, which expired on August 16, 2025.[5]
Education
Watanabe received her undergraduate degree in sociology and psychology from the University of Puget Sound, and a J.D. from the University of Hawai'i William S. Richardson School of Law.[1][2]
Career
Early in Judge Watanabe's career, she worked as a private practice lawyer specializing in administrative and employment law. She also previously served as a law clerk for the Hawaii House of Representatives, as a tutor, a guidance counselor, a state social worker and a hearings officer for the Hawaiian Homelands Commission.
Later on, Watanabe worked as a deputy attorney general in the Individual Crimes Unit and the Employment Law Division. She was then named head of the Employee Relations Division of the Department of Human Resources Development until January 2003, when she became the director of the entire department. She held this position until her judicial appointment in 2005.
Watanabe also previously worked as an attorney for Kauai County from 1990 to 1994, as a per diem judge for the Fifth Circuit, and as a solo practitioner from 1995 to 1998.[1][2]
Awards and associations
Past associations include:
- Member, Hawai`i State Bar Association
- Vice chair, The Hawai`i Employer-Union Trust Fund
- Chair, The State of Hawai`i Deferred Compensation Board of Trustees
- Board member, The Judiciary’s Center for Alternative Dispute Resolution [2]
Noteworthy cases
Father punishes son by making him walk home from school, sentenced to year's probation
In May 2014, Judge Kathleen Watanabe sentenced Robert Demond to a year's probation, a $200 fine, and ordered him to attend parenting classes. Demond was charged with a misdemeanor in the second-degree for endangering the welfare of a minor, after he had made his son walk a mile home from school when the child refused to answer his questions. Demond argued that this was a common form of punishment for him as a child and did not feel, at that time, that it was wrong or could be considered a crime.[6]
Judge Watanabe felt differently, stating: "These are different times. It's understandable you became upset with your son, but it's dangerous for children to walk along the highway, and there are predators out there."[7]
The prosecution argued that though Demond had not acted in anger and only sought to make his child think about his actions and teach him a lesson, the punishment chosen was not appropriate, and, according to even Demond's defense attorney, was not considered acceptable in that community.[6]
See also
External links
- Hawaii State Judiciary, "Judge Kathleen N. A. Watanabe"
- Hawaii State Courts, "Fifth Circuit Judges Telephone Listing"
- Hawai'i Governor's Office, "Press Release: Governor Lingle Appoints Kathleen Watanabe to the Circuit Court," February 19, 2005
- Hawaii Senate Committee, "Senate report on Kathleen Watanabe," accessed June 3, 2014
Footnotes
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 Hawaii State Judiciary, "Judge Kathleen N. A. Watanabe," accessed June 3, 2014
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 2.2 2.3 Hawai'i Governor's Office, "Press Release: Governor Lingle Appoints Kathleen Watanabe to the Circuit Court," February 19, 2005
- ↑ Hawaii State Courts, "Fifth Circuit Judges Telephone Listing," accessed June 3, 2014
- ↑ Hawaii State Legislature, "2005 Legislative Session: GM 377," accessed June 3, 2014
- ↑ Hawaii State Judiciary, "Judge Kathleen Watanabe Retained for Fifth Circuit Court," July 2015
- ↑ 6.0 6.1 The Garden Island, "Father punished for ‘old school’ discipline," May 29, 2014
- ↑ NY Daily News, "Hawaiian man fined $200 for making son walk mile home from school as punishment," May 30, 2014
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
