Rosa Flores, the newest addition to the Kaua‘i county prosecutor’s office, has been cutting her teeth in Kaua‘i courtrooms for nearly a year. But the 26-year-old Punahou School and 2003 University of Hawai‘i at Manoa Richardson School of Law graduate
Rosa Flores, the newest addition to the Kaua‘i county prosecutor’s office, has been cutting her teeth in Kaua‘i courtrooms for nearly a year.
But the 26-year-old Punahou School and 2003 University of Hawai‘i at Manoa Richardson School of Law graduate said she still gets nervous before facing a judge.
Flores, who moved to Kaua‘i from O‘ahu last November to take the job as a deputy prosecutor, has been spotted handling cases from Hanalei District Court to Koloa, gaining valuable experience, both in the courtroom and with the victims she tries to protect.
“I like trying to help victims,” said Flores recently, on what she likes about her job.
And considering she says she got into law to protect human rights, it stands to reason that the victims of crime on Kaua‘i have a new supporter.
That’s why, she said, the hardest part of her job are “people who disrupt and disrespect the court and people intimidating my witnesses.” And she loves “the pace of life” on Kaua‘i and the chili-pepper chicken at the Village Snack Shop in Hanalei, she said.
The Philippines-born Flores still has family on O‘ahu, but it’s “the shopping and the abundance of eateries” she misses the most.
In her free time, she said, she likes to kayak and do arts and crafts. She also used to write fiction, but her job is too time-consuming for that right now, she said. Sorry guys, but while this Lihu‘e resident is still single, she does have a boyfriend.
Tom Finnegan, staff writer, can be reached at 245-3681 (ext. 226) or tfinnegan@pulitzer.net
