Sabrina S. McKenna
2025 - Present
0
Sabrina S. McKenna is the acting chief justice of the Hawaii Supreme Court. She assumed office on October 1, 2025.
McKenna first became a member of the court by appointment. She was appointed on January 25, 2011, by Gov. Neil Abercrombie (D). The nomination was unanimously confirmed by the Hawaii Senate in February 2011. McKenna filled the vacancy created when Mark Recktenwald was appointed chief justice.[1] She was retained in March 2021.[2][3][4] To read more about judicial selection in Hawaii, click here.
In 2020, Ballotpedia published Ballotpedia Courts: State Partisanship, a study examining the partisan affiliation of all state supreme court justices in the country. As part of this study, we assigned each justice a Confidence Score describing our confidence in the degree of partisanship exhibited by the justices' past partisan behavior, before they joined the court.[5] McKenna received a confidence score of Mild Democrat.[6] Click here to read more about this study.
McKenna was appointed chief justice of the Hawaii Supreme Court by Governor of Hawaii Joshua Green (D) on October 1, 2025, to succeed Justice Mark Recktenwald.[7]
McKenna is a former judge of the O'ahu First Circuit.
Biography
McKenna earned her undergraduate degree from the University of Hawaii, Manoa. She earned her J.D. from the University of Hawaii William S. Richardson School of Law in 1982. She was editor-in-chief of the Law Review.[8]
McKenna spent her early legal career in private practice. She was also a law professor. In 1993, she became a state district judge, then joined the O'ahu First Circuit in 1995.[9] She was senior judge of the Family Court of the First Circuit. In 2010, the Hawaii Judicial Selection Commission recommended McKenna to Gov. Linda Lingle (R) for a seat on the Intermediate Court of Appeals.[10] In 2011, Abercrombie appointed McKenna to the Hawaii Supreme Court.[8]
Appointments
Hawaii Supreme Court chief justice (2025)
Governor of Hawaii Joshua Green (D) appointed McKenna chief justice of the Hawaii Supreme Court on October 1, 2025 to replace Mark Recktenwald (nonpartisan).[11]
Hawaii Supreme Court (2021)
The Hawaii Judicial Selection Commission retained McKenna in March 2021.[2]
Hawaii Supreme Court (2011)
Gov. Abercrombie appointed McKenna to the Hawaii Supreme Court. She was sworn in on March 3, 2011.[8]
Analysis
Ballotpedia Courts: State Partisanship (2020)
Last updated: June 15, 2020
In 2020, Ballotpedia published Ballotpedia Courts: State Partisanship, a study examining the partisan affiliation of all state supreme court justices in the country as of June 15, 2020.
The study presented Confidence Scores that represented our confidence in each justice's degree of partisan affiliation. This was not a measure of where a justice fell on an ideological spectrum, but rather a measure of how much confidence we had that a justice was or had been affiliated with a political party. The scores were based on seven factors, including but not limited to party registration.[12]
The five resulting categories of Confidence Scores were:
- Strong Democrat
- Mild Democrat
- Indeterminate[13]
- Mild Republican
- Strong Republican
This justice's Confidence Score, as well as the factors contributing to that score, is presented below. The information below was current as of June 2020.
Sabrina
McKenna
Hawaii
- Partisan Confidence Score:
Mild Democrat - Judicial Selection Method:
Assisted appointment through governor controlled judicial nominating commission - Key Factors:
- Appointed by a Democratic governor
- State was a Democratic trifecta at time of appointment
Partisan Profile
Details:
McKenna was appointed by Gov. Neil Abercrombie (D) while Hawaii was a Democratic trifecta.
Other Scores:
In a 2012 study of campaign contributions, McKenna received a campaign finance score of -0.85, indicating a liberal ideological leaning.
Bonica and Woodruff campaign finance scores (2012)
In October 2012, political science professors Adam Bonica and Michael Woodruff of Stanford University attempted to determine the partisan ideology of state supreme court justices. They created a scoring system in which a score above 0 indicated a more conservative-leaning ideology, while scores below 0 were more liberal.
McKenna received a campaign finance score of -0.85, indicating a liberal ideological leaning. This was more liberal than the average score of -0.29 that justices received in Hawaii.
The study was based on data from campaign contributions by the judges themselves, the partisan leaning of those who contributed to the judges' campaigns, or, in the absence of elections, the ideology of the appointing body (governor or legislature). This study was not a definitive label of a justice, but an academic summary of various relevant factors.[14]
State supreme court judicial selection in Hawaii
- See also: Judicial selection in Hawaii
The five justices of the Hawaii Supreme Court are selected through the assisted appointment method. The Hawaii Judicial Selection Commission is responsible for screening candidates and submitting a shortlist to the governor. The commission is made up of nine members: two appointed by the governor, two appointed by the state Senate president, two appointed by the state House speaker, two appointed by the Hawaii Bar Association, and one appointed by the chief justice of the supreme court. The governor must appoint a judge from the commission's shortlist and the appointee must then be confirmed by the Hawaii State Senate.[15]
Justices serve for 10 years after their appointment. To continue to serve on the court, they must receive a majority vote of the selection commission.[15]
Qualifications
To serve on this court, a judge must be:[15]
- a U.S. resident and citizen;
- a resident and citizen of the state;
- a practicing attorney in the state for at least ten years; and
- under the age of 70 (retirement by 70 is mandatory retirement).
Chief justice
In Hawaii, the position of chief justice is a specific seat on the court (similar to the Supreme Court of the United States) rather than a peer-selected leadership position. The chief justice is appointed in the same manner as the other justices on the court.[15]
Vacancies
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.[15]
The map below highlights how vacancies are filled in state supreme courts across the country.
See also
External links
Footnotes
- ↑ Pacific Business News, "Senate committee confirms Sabrina McKenna for Hawaii Supreme Court seat," February 4, 2011
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 Hawai'i State Judiciary, "Notice of Petition for Retention – The Honorable Sabrina S. McKenna (Release Date: 09/11/2020)," September 11, 2020
- ↑ Star Advertiser, "McKenna confirmed for high court," February 17, 2011
- ↑ Star Advertiser, "McKenna is named to state's high court," January 26, 2011
- ↑ We calculated confidence scores by collecting several data points such as party registration, donations, and previous political campaigns.
- ↑ The five possible confidence scores were: Strong Democrat, Mild Democrat, Indeterminate, Mild Republican, and Strong Republican.
- ↑ Hawaii News Now, "Hawaii Supreme Court set for upcoming leadership transition," September 25, 2025
- ↑ 8.0 8.1 8.2 Hawai'i State Judiciary, "Associate Justice Sabrina S. McKenna," accessed June 30, 2021
- ↑ Hawaii.gov, "GM521_Testimony_JDL_02-04-11.pdf," accessed June 30, 2021
- ↑ Pacific Business News "Appeals, circuit judge nominees named," January 22, 2010
- ↑ Hawaii News Now, "Hawaii Supreme Court set for upcoming leadership transition," September 25, 2025
- ↑ The seven factors were party registration, donations made to partisan candidates, donations made to political parties, donations received from political parties or bodies with clear political affiliation, participation in political campaigns, the partisanship of the body responsible for appointing the justice, and state trifecta status when the justice joined the court.
- ↑ An Indeterminate score indicates that there is either not enough information about the justice’s partisan affiliations or that our research found conflicting partisan affiliations.
- ↑ Stanford University, "State Supreme Court Ideology and 'New Style' Judicial Campaigns," October 31, 2012
- ↑ 15.0 15.1 15.2 15.3 15.4 Hawai'i State Judiciary, "Overview of the Hawai`i Judicial System," accessed April 18, 2025
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
