Chief Justice Ronald T. Y. Moon announced today that he is seeking public comment on judicial nominees for one vacancy at the District Court of the First Circuit and three vacancies at the District Family Court of the First Circuit (island of Oahu).  The vacancies occurred upon the elevation of the Honorable Edwin Nacino and the Honorable R. Mark Browning to the Circuit Court of the First Circuit on January 28, 2010 and May 6, 2010, respectively, and the retirement of the Honorable Karen Radius and the Honorable Kenneth Enright on December 31, 2009 and March 31, 2010, respectively.

The names submitted for these vacancies by the Judicial Selection Commission, in alphabetical order, are:

Cecelia C.Y. Chang

Tracy S. Fukui

James H. Hershey

Sherri-Ann L. Iha

Cindy S. Inouye

Shirley M. Kawamura

Katherine E.K.P. Kealoha

Lanson K. Kupau

Lynette J. Lau

Lenore H. Lee

Linda S. Martell

Trish K. Morikawa

William J. Nagle, III

Steven M. Nakashima

Karen T. Nakasone

Dean E. Ochiai

Catherine H. Remigio

Renee R. Sonobe Hong

Michael K. Tanigawa

Matthew J. Viola

Wayson W.S. Wong

Inasmuch as the Chief Justice has the discretion to assign judges to the district or district family court calendar, any comments about the qualifications and character of any of the nominees with regard to both calendar assignments may be sent, in writing, to:

The Honorable Ronald T. Y. Moon
Chief Justice, Supreme Court of Hawaii
417 S. King Street
Honolulu, HI  96813
Fax: 539-4703
Email:  ronald.t.moon@courts.state.hi.us

WRITTEN comments must be post-marked, emailed, faxed, or hand delivered no later than WEDNESDAY, JUNE 30, 2010.  ALL COMMENTS WILL BE CONFIDENTIAL.

The individuals selected by the Chief Justice for the vacancies are subject to Senate confirmation.