Gov. Linda Lingle released a list of judicial nominees that was provided to her by the Judicial Selection Commission to fill the seat on the Intermediate Court of Appeals which was previously held by the Honorable Judge John S.W. Lim,
Gov. Linda Lingle released a list of judicial nominees that was provided to her by the Judicial Selection Commission to fill the seat on the Intermediate Court of Appeals which was previously held by the Honorable Judge John S.W. Lim, who passed away in June.
One of the nominees, Michael Tanigawa, is from Kaua‘i.
As she has done since first taking office, Lingle is making the list available to the public to encourage public comment on the nominees.
The list of six nominees is the product of the Judicial Selection Commission’s review of the background and qualifications of all applicants and its evaluation of each applicant. The Commission does not rank the candidates.
Nominees to fill the vacancy of Associate Judge of the Intermediate Court of Appeals include:
• Randal K. O. Lee — Current position: judge, Circuit Court of the First Circuit. Prior experience: deputy prosecuting attorney, Department of the Prosecuting Attorney, City and County of Honolulu; Office of the Public Defender.
• Katherine G. Leonard — Current position: attorney, Carlsmith Ball LLP; American Judicature Society. Prior experience: law clerk, Hawai‘i Supreme Court and First Circuit Court.
• Sabrina S. McKenna — Current position: judge, Circuit Court of the First Circuit. Prior Experience: judge, District Court of the First Circuit; assistant professor of law, University of Hawai‘i William S. Richardson School of Law; instructor in business law, University of Hawai‘i College of Business; corporate secretary and general counsel, Otaka, Inc.; associate, Goodsill Anderson Quinn & Stiffel.
• Steven M. Nakashima — Current position: attorney, Marr Hipp Jones & Pepper. Prior experience: judge, district court of the First District; attorney, Goodsill Anderson Quinn & Stifel; law clerk, U.S. Court of Appeals, 9th Circuit.
• Michael K. Tanigawa — Current position: director, Char Sakamoto Ishii Lum & Ching; Prior experience: partner, Tanigawa & Tanigawa; adjunct professor, University of Hawai‘i William S. Richardson School of Law; Office of the Public Defender.
• Frances Q. F. Wong — Current position: judge, Circuit Court of the First Circuit. Prior experience: judge, District Family Court; private practice attorney.
The governor has 30 days from receipt of the list on Sept. 19 to make her selection.
