Chief Justice Mark E. Recktenwald announced today that he is seeking written comment on judicial nominees for two vacancies at the District Court of the First Circuit (island of Oahu), that occurred upon the retirement of the Honorable William Cardwell and the Honorable Russel Nagata on December 31, 2011.

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

Brian A. Costa
Paula Devens
Nelson W.S. Goo
Shirley M. Kawamura
James S. Kawashima
Stephen H. Levins
Linda S. Martell
Alvin K. Nishimura
Maura McDermott Okamoto
Kevin A. Souza
Paul B.K. Wong

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

Chief Justice Mark E. Recktenwald
Supreme Court of Hawai`i
417 S. King Street
Honolulu, HI  96813
Fax:  808-539-4703
Email: chiefjustice@courts.hawaii.gov

Written comments must be post-marked, emailed, faxed, or hand delivered no later than Friday, March 2, 2012.  All comments will be confidential.

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