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Simeon Acoba
Simeon R. Acoba, Jr. is a former associate justice of the five member Hawaii Supreme Court. He was first appointed to the court in the state's Commission-selection, political appointment method of judicial selection on May 19, 2000 by Governor Ben Cayetano. His current term was to expire on May 18, 2020, however, Acoba retired from the court at the end of March 2014, when he reached the mandatory retirement age of 70.[1][2][3]
Education
Justice Acoba earned his undergraduate degree from the University of Hawai`i in 1966. He then earned his J.D. from Northwestern University Law School in 1969.[2][4]
Career
- 2000-2014: Justice, Hawaii Supreme Court
- 1994-2000: Judge, Hawaii Intermediate Court of Appeals
- 1980-1994: Judge, O`ahu First Circuit Court, Hawaii
- 1979-1980: Per Diem Judge, Hawaii First District Court
- 1975-1979: Special Counsel for OSHA, Campaign Spending Commission, and the Public Utilities Commission
- 1970-1975: Special Assistant, University of Hawai`i
- 1969-1970: Law clerk, Hawaii Supreme Court[2]
Awards and associations
- 2013: Dwight D. Opperman Award for Judicial Excellence from the American Judicature Society[5]
Political outlook
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.
Acoba received a campaign finance score of -0.83, 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.[6]
See also
- Court in Hawaii
- Hawaii Supreme Court
- Judicial selection in Ohio
External links
- Supreme Court of Hawai`i website
- Asian Journal, "Justice Simeon R. Acoba, Jr.: The 3rd Filipino-American appointed to Hawaii's Supreme Court," June 29, 2010
- Honolulu Advertiser, "Justices' tense relationship 'needs some work'," November 25, 2003
- Star Bulletin, "Nothing but praise for a 'regular guy'"
Footnotes
- ↑ Star-Advertiser, "Star-Advertiser sues governor over disclosure of names of judicial candidates," August 23, 2011
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 2.2 Biography of Simeon Acoba
- ↑ CT Post, "Governor to make 3rd appointment to Supreme Court," January 28, 2014
- ↑ ECONOMIC expert.com, "Simeon R. Acoba, Jr."
- ↑ American Judicature Society, "News Release - Justice Simeon Acoba of Hawaii to Receive National Award," September 4, 2013
- ↑ Stanford University, "State Supreme Court Ideology and 'New Style' Judicial Campaigns," October 31, 2012
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
