Chief Justice Appoints Costa, Lendio Heim, and Morikawa as Oahu District Court Judges

News Release from Hawaii Judiciary March 16, 2017

HONOLULU, HI – Chief Justice Mark E. Recktenwald has appointed Brian A. Costa, Darolyn H. Lendio Heim, and Trish K. Morikawa to the District Court of the First Circuit (Island of Oahu) to fill the vacancies created by the retirements of Judges Gerald H. Kibe, David W. Lo, and Barbara P. Richardson.

Brian A. Costa is currently the sole member/owner of the law firm Costa & DeLacy, LLLC, where he has extensive experience representing defendants in district court and in appellate matters involving criminal, civil, and family law.  He also serves as a per diem judge of the District Family Court of the First Circuit, presiding over matters involving divorce, annulment, paternity, and petitions for protective orders.  He previously worked as a Deputy Prosecuting Attorney for the City and County of Honolulu, and as an associate at Goodsill Anderson Quinn & Stifel.

Costa is a member of the Hawaiʻi Access to Justice Commission’s Administration Committee and Pro Bono Initiatives Task Force.

He is a Magna Cum Laude graduate of the University of Hawaiʻi William S. Richardson School of Law and was admitted to the Hawaiʻi State Bar in 2001.

Darolyn Lendio Heim is currently a partner at the law firm of McCorriston Miller Mukai MacKinnon LLP.  She previously served as Vice President for Legal Affairs and University General Counsel for the University of Hawaiʻi System.  She also served as the University of Hawaii’s Interim Executive Administrator and Secretary of the Board of Regents.

Earlier in her career, Lendio Heim was the Director of the Department of the Corporation Counsel for the City & County of Honolulu, and was recognized as Outstanding City Administrator.

Throughout her career, Lendio Heim has served on numerous committees, boards, and commissions, and is currently a member of the Judicial Council, the Permanent Committee on Rules of Civil Procedure and Circuit Court Civil Rules, and the Court Annexed Arbitration Program, serving as both an arbitrator and an arbitrator mentor.  In addition, she is an active member of Hawaiʻi Women Lawyers, the Hawaiʻi Filipino Lawyers Association, and the American Inns of Court, James S. Burns Aloha Chapter.

She is a graduate of the University of California at Berkeley, Boalt Hall School of Law and was admitted to the Hawaiʻi State Bar in 1984.

Trish K. Morikawa is currently an associate with the firm of Gallagher, Kane & Amai, representing businesses and individual clients in commercial, automobile, and homeowner insurance litigation.  She also serves as a per diem judge of the District Family Court of the First Circuit presiding over temporary restraining order and protective order hearings and trials, petitions for guardianships and adoptions, and juvenile case proceedings.

She previously served as a County Housing Coordinator with the City and County of Honolulu Office of Housing, assisting with the Honolulu Affordable Housing Preservation Initiative as well as the Pathways Project, a housing program for the disabled and chronically homeless.

Morikawa also has extensive experience as a Deputy Prosecuting Attorney with the City and County of Honolulu.  She also served as a Deputy Attorney General in the Criminal Justice Division.

In the community, Morikawa serves as a Steering Committee member in the Alignment Hawaii Initiative, a Board Member of the Partners in Development Foundation,  and a member of the Daughters of Hawaiʻi.

Morikawa is a graduate of the University of Hawaiʻi William S. Richardson School of Law and was admitted to the Hawaiʻi State Bar in 1995.

The Chief Justice appoints District Court judges from a list of not less than six nominees submitted by the Judicial Selection Commission.  If confirmed by the State Senate, Costa, Lendio Heim, and Morikawa will each serve a term of six years.

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