GOVERNOR APPOINTS CRABTREE, KURIYAMA TO FIRST JUDICIAL CIRCUIT
News Release from Office of the Governor October 8, 2014
HONOLULU – Gov. Neil Abercrombie today announced the appointments of Jeffrey P. Crabtree and Christine E. Kuriyama to the Circuit Court of the First Circuit. The judicial appointees are subject to state Senate confirmation.
Crabtree and Kuriyama fill two judicial vacancies left by the recent retirement of Judge Patrick W. Border and the elevation of Judge Michael D. Wilson to Associate Justice of the Hawaii Supreme Court.
“Both Jeff and Christine have been involved with Hawaii’s judicial system for more than 30 years and will bring an extensive and diverse background to serve as effective judges,” said Gov. Abercrombie. “I am confident that they will serve honorably and bring a well-rounded perspective to the First Judicial Circuit.”
Jeffrey Crabtree
Jeffrey P. Crabtree, 60, is currently a private attorney with a concentration in civil cases, including consumer protection, arbitration, professional negligence, personal injury, and end-of-life medical decision-making. Licensed to practice law in Hawaii since 1983, he previously worked as a full-time attorney in Massachusetts and New York. Crabtree is a member of the Hawaii State Bar Association (HSBA) and served on its board of directors from 1995-1998. He is also the National Association of Consumer Advocates Hawaii State Coordinator. Crabtree received a bachelor’s degree from the University of San Francisco and his Juris Doctor degree from New York University School of Law.
Christine Kuriyama
District Family Court Judge Christine E. Kuriyama, 60, has served on the First Circuit Family Court Bench since 2004 and on a per diem basis since 1995. Prior to her full-time judicial appointment, she was a private attorney, Hawaii deputy attorney general, administrator for the Hawaii Department of Commerce & Consumer Affairs and staff attorney for Sen. Daniel Inouye and the Hawaii House of Representatives Majority Office. Kuriyama has been licensed to practice law in Hawaii since 1979. A member of the HSBA, she is also president of the Hawaii State Trial Judges Association (HSTJA). Kuriyama earned her bachelor’s degree from the University of Hawaii at Manoa and a Juris Doctor degree from Hastings College of Law.
Circuit Court judges are appointed to 10-year terms by the governor from a list of not less than four and not more than six nominees provided by the Judicial Selection Commission.
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