The Hawaii State Senate unanimously confirmed the nominations of Mark E. Recktenwald for Chief Justice and Blaine J. Kobayashi for Maui District Court.

Recktenwald succeeds Chief Justice Ronald T.Y. Moon to become Hawaii’s fifth Chief Justice.  He will serve an initial 10-year term as the head of the State’s highest court, while overseeing the Hawaii State Judiciary.

Recktenwald joined the Supreme Court last May when Governor Lingle appointed him to replace retired Associate Justice Steven Levinson.

He served for two years (2007-2009) as chief judge of the Intermediate Court of Appeals and was previously director of the Department of Commerce and Consumer Affairs. He was an assistant United States Attorney, partner with the law firm of Marr Jones and Wang and is a graduate of Harvard University and the University of Chicago Law School.

Kobayashi, a partner with the Carlsmith Ball law firm on Maui, has represented individual and corporate clients in various legal matters involving land use, litigation and administrative law since 2003. He previously served as a Deputy Corporation Counsel on Maui, as well as Deputy County Attorney and Deputy Prosecuting Attorney on Kauai. He received his law degree from the University of Oregon Law School in 1991.