Vladimir P. Devens

Vladimir P. Devens

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Nonpartisan

Hawaii Supreme Court

Tenure

2024 - Present

Term ends

2034

Years in position

1

Predecessor

Paula Nakayama

Compensation

Base salary

$239,688

Vladimir P. Devens is a judge of the Hawaii Supreme Court. He assumed office on January 12, 2024. His current term ends on January 11, 2034.

Devens was nominated to be a member of the Hawaii Supreme Court through an appointment by Gov. Joshua Green on October 23, 2023 and confirmed by the Hawaii State Senate on November 21, 2023 with a vote of 21-0. He was first appointed to the court in 2023 to the seat vacated by Paula Nakayama. He was sworn in on January 12, 2024. To read more about judicial selection in Hawaii, click here.

Education

Devens received his J.D. from the University of California, Berkeley School of Law. To read more about judicial selection in Hawaii, click here.

Career

Devens was the principal at Law Offices of Vladimir P. Devens, LLC and had been a partner at Meheula, Devens & Winer and Meheula & Devens. He is a former Corporal in the Honolulu Police Department and remains a volunteer reserve police officer.

Elections

See also: Hawaii Supreme Court justice vacancy (April 2023)

On December 20, 2024, Governor Sarah Huckabee Sanders (R) appointed Nicholas Bronni to the Arkansas Supreme Court. Bronni replaced Justice Karen R. Baker, who ascended to the Chief Justice position on January 1, 2025, following her election win in the November 2024 nonpartisan election. Bronni was Governor Sanders' third nominee to the seven-member supreme court.

In Arkansas, state supreme court justices are elected in nonpartisan elections. There are 13 states that use this selection method. To read more about the nonpartisan election of judges, click here.

In the event of a midterm vacancy, an interim judge is selected by the governor to fill the empty seat. If the open seat would have been filled at the next general election if the vacancy did not occur, the appointed justice will serve the remainder of the unexpired term. If the open seat would not have been regularly filled at the next general election, the appointee will serve until the next general election if the vacancy occurred more than four months prior to the election. If the vacancy occurs less than four months prior to the next general election, then the justice will serve until the second succeeding general election. A justice appointed by the governor to serve an unexpired term is ineligible to run for re-election to their seat.

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.

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.

Qualifications

To serve on this court, a judge must be:

• 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.

Vacancies

See also: How vacancies are filled in state supreme courts

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.

The map below highlights how vacancies are filled in state supreme courts across the country.

External links

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Footnotes

Hawaii courts

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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