Judiciary Team Honored with 2023 HJF Spirit of Justice Award
Posted on Nov 1, 2023 in Featured News, News & Reports
Chief Justice Mark E. Recktenwald (right) congratulates Judiciary personnel who received the Hawaii Justice Foundation’s 2023 Spirit of Justice Award on October 25. From left: Karen Takahashi, Lori Rutherford, Gary Teramae, Tom Mick, Brandon Kimura, and Rodney Maile.
The Hawaii Justice Foundation (HJF) honored six from the Hawaiʻi State Judiciary with its prestigious Spirit of Justice Award, for the work they do with HJF to administer Hawaiʻi’s Indigent Legal Assistance Fund (ILAF).
“The Spirit of Justice Award is given to individuals who have shown consistent and meaningful contributions to expanding access to justice in civil cases for Hawaiʻi’s people,” said HJF President William S. Hunt at HJF‘s annual meeting on Oct. 25 in the Hawaiʻi Supreme Court courtroom. “The six members of the Judiciary receiving this year’s award have demonstrated a true commitment to the ideals and implementation of justice. They have worked closely with the Hawaii Justice Foundation to manage the Indigent Legal Assistance Program, which has been awarding approximately $1 million each year to nine eligible legal service providers in Hawaiʻi.”
The Judiciary recipients are Administrative Director of the Courts Rodney Maile, Deputy Administrative Director of the Courts Brandon Kimura, Policy & Planning Department Head Tom Mick, Budget Administrator & Deputy Department Head Gary Teramae, Special Projects Coordinator Karen Takahashi, and Legislative Coordinating Office Assistant Lori Rutherford.
Ashley Ching, who works with HJF Executive Director Robert J. LeClair through the Justice Foundation, also received the Spirit of Justice Award for her contributions to the administration of the ILAF.
The ILAF was created by the Legislature in 1996, and has played a critical role in providing funding to address the unmet civil legal needs of low- and moderate-income people throughout the state. Since its inception, the ILAD has distributed nearly $18 million to legal service providers assisting Hawaiʻi residents who cannot afford a lawyer in their civil (non-criminal) cases.
The HJF is an independent, tax-exempt grantmaking organization whose sole purpose is to achieve justice for Hawaiʻi’s people. The Foundation was established in 1969 as a vehicle for philanthropic law-related projects in Hawaiʻi. Its membership is made up of lawyers, lay advocates, social scientists, judges, volunteer mediators and arbitrators, paralegals, notaries public, guardians ad litem, social workers, court clerks, court reporters, and others who believe in reasoned problem-solving and the rule of law.
For more information on the HJF, visit: