Gov. Linda Lingle yesterday nominated former Kaua‘i County Councilmember Randal Grant Bolosan Valenciano to serve as a judge of the Circuit Court of the Fifth Circuit which presides over Kaua‘i. He will fill a vacant position that was created by
Gov. Linda Lingle yesterday nominated former Kaua‘i County Councilmember Randal Grant Bolosan Valenciano to serve as a judge of the Circuit Court of the Fifth Circuit which presides over Kaua‘i.
He will fill a vacant position that was created by the retirement of Judge George Masuoka.
Valenciano’s nomination is subject to Senate confirmation.
“Randal Valenciano’s well-rounded background as a private attorney, prosecutor, public defender, as well as his service as a councilmember will give him a broad perspective as a judge,” said Lingle, in a press release. “I am glad that Randal has chosen to return to the public sector to continue serving the people of Kaua‘i.”
Valenciano served on the Kaua‘i County Council from 1990 to 2002 and is currently a private practice attorney in Lihu‘e. He has owned his own law firm since 1996, and was previously a general partner with the law firm Valenciano & Zenger. Valenciano also served as a deputy prosecuting attorney for the county of Kaua‘i and was a deputy public defender for the City and County of Honolulu.
He is a current member of the Hawai‘i State Bar Association and the Kaua‘i Bar Association, and a past member of the State of Hawai‘i Public Defender Council. He also serves as an arbitrator for the Fifth Circuit Court. He is the president of Friends of Kaua‘i Drug Court, secretary of the Kaua‘i Officials Association and a member of the Pua Loke Community Association.
Valenciano also received the Kaua‘i Filipino Centennial Award last year.
He earned his law degree from the University of Washington School of Law in Seattle and his bachelor’s degree from the University of Oregon.
He is a graduate of Waimea High School.
Lingle selected Valenciano from a list of six candidates that was submitted to her by the Judicial Selection Commission on March 1. The Governor made the list available to the public to solicit public comments on the six candidates.
Valenciano is Lingle’s second appointee to the Kaua‘i Circuit Court bench (Judge Kathleen Watanabe was appointed in 2005) and the 10th circuit court appointee statewide.
The Governor has also appointed three judges to the Intermediate Court of Appeals and one justice to the Hawai‘i Supreme Court.
