Archive of Current and Past Members of Judicial Selection

Forms

• Judicial Selection Commission Forms

JSC Archives

The Judicial Selection Commission reviews and evaluates applications for all judicial vacancies, and vote, by secret ballot, to select qualified nominees. Established by a 1978 state constitutional amendment, the Commission is governed by the Judicial Selection Commission Rules (157 KB PDF file).

The names of the nominees are then forwarded to the appropriate appointing authority. The governor is the appointing authority to nominate judges of the Supreme Court, Intermediate Court of Appeals, and Circuit Court for an initial ten-year term. The governor selects appointees from a list of not less than four and not more than six names submitted by the Judicial Selection Commission. The commission submits a list of at least six names to the chief justice who nominates judges for district and district family court to six-year terms. All nominations are subject to confirmation by the state senate.

The Commission also determines whether a justice or judge shall be retained in office. The Commission publicizes the fact that a justice or judge is seeking retention so that all persons who might have an interest in the matter be informed of the opportunity to comment.

Comments about justices and judges seeking appointment or retention should be submitted to:

Contact Information:

Judicial Selection Commission
417 South King Street
Honolulu, Hawai`i 96813-2902
Telephone: (808) 538-5200
Fax: (808) 538-5205

The Commission is composed of nine members, no more than four of whom may be lawyers. The members, who serve staggered six-year terms, are selected or elected as follows:

Member	Term	Appointing/Electing Authority
Trudy K. Senda	04/02/17 – 04/01/23	Senate President
Paul M. Ueoka	04/02/17 – 04/01/23	House Speaker
Jeffrey S. Portnoy	04/02/21 – 08/02/24	Bar
Nadine Y. Ando, Chair	04/02/19 – 04/01/25	Bar
Dawn P.N. Mahi, Secretary	04/02/19 – 04/01/25	Governor
Francine Dudoit, Vice Chair	09/09/20 – 04/01/26	Senate President
Kamani B. Kualaʻau	04/02/21 – 04/01/27	House Speaker
David McEwan	04/02/21 – 04/01/27	Governor
Sylvia Yuen	04/02/22 – 04/01/28	Chief Justice

 

Press Release Notices and Announcements

Notice of Judicial Vacancy

• Notice of Anticipated Judicial Vacancy – District Family Judge, First Circuit (Release Date: 03/04/2022) (Release Date 03/04/2022)

Notice of Petition for Retention

• Notice of Petition for Retention – The Honorable Dean E. Ochiai (Release Date: 05/06/2022) (Release Date 05/06/2022)
• Notice of Petition for Retention – The Honorable Blaine J. Kobayashi (Release Date: 04/14/2022) (Release Date 04/14/2022)
• Notice of Petition for Retention – The Honorable Peter T. Cahill (Release Date: 03/04/2022) (Release Date 03/04/2022)

JSC Press Releases

• Judicial Selection Commission Press Release – District Family Judge, Third Circuit Nominees (Release Date: 04/25/2022) (Release Date 04/25/2022)
• Judicial Selection Commission Press Release – District Family Judge, Third Circuit Nominees (Release Date: 04/25/2022) (Release Date 04/25/2022)
• Judicial Selection Commission Press Release – District Judge, District Court of the Fifth Circuit Nominees (Release Date: 04/25/2022) (Release Date 04/25/2022)
• Notice of Anticipated Judicial Vacancy – District Family Judge, First Circuit (Release Date: 03/04/2022) (Release Date 03/04/2022)
• Notice of Petition for Retention – The Honorable Peter T. Cahill (Release Date: 03/04/2022) (Release Date 03/04/2022)
• Judicial Selection Commission Press Release – District Judge, District Court of the First Circuit Nominees (Release Date: 02/18/2022) (Release Date 02/18/2022)
• Judicial Selection Commission Press Release – District Family Judge, First Circuit Nominees (Release Date: 02/18/2022) (Release Date 02/18/2022)