Sonja M.P. McCullen was sworn in as an Associate Judge of the Intermediate Court of Appeals on October 1, 2021.

Prior to being appointed to her current position, she served as a Deputy Prosecuting Attorney in the Appellate Division of the Department of the Prosecuting Attorney, City and County of Honolulu, for a combined 11 years. She also worked as an investigator for the Crime Victim Compensation Commission, a staff attorney for the United Public Workers, and a judicial education specialist for the State of Hawaiʻi, Judiciary.

In addition, she clerked for the Honorable Paula A. Nakayama of the Hawaiʻi Supreme Court after earning a law degree from the William S. Richardson School of Law.

Judge McCullen graduated from St. Joseph’s High School in Hilo and prior to her legal career, Judge McCullen taught at Waiʻanae High School after earning her undergraduate degree and professional diploma from the University of Hawaiʻi at Mānoa.