Kelsey T. Kawano was sworn in as Judge of the District Court of the Second Circuit (County of Maui) on August 29, 2008. He had been a solo practitioner, who handled cases involving family, business, employment and real estate law since 1994 and had been in private practice since 1984. He served as a part-time district court judge since 2006.

Judge Kawano received his law degree from the University of Washington School of Law in 1984.