HONOLULU, HI – Chief Justice Mark E. Recktenwald has appointed Dakota K.M. Frenz to the District Family Court of the Third Circuit (Island of Hawaiʻi). Frenz will fill the vacancy created by the retirement of Judge Lloyd X. Van De Car.

Ms. Frenz served as a deputy prosecuting attorney in the County of Hawaiʻi from 2006-2012 handling cases in the district, family, and circuit courts; and since 2012 has been in private practice, including criminal law, family law, and civil litigation/collections.

Ms. Frenz is currently a member of the Board of Directors of the Kuikahi Mediation Center and an arbitrator with the Court Annexed Arbitration Program. She also volunteers with the Friends of Drug Court and the Self-Help Center in East Hawaiʻi.

Frenz is a graduate of Whittier Law School and was admitted to the Hawaiʻi State Bar in 2006.

The Chief Justice appoints District Court judges from a list of not less than six nominees submitted by the Judicial Selection Commission. If confirmed by the State Senate, Frenz will serve a term of six years.