Notice of Anticipated Judicial Vacancy – Associate Justice, Supreme Court, State of Hawai’i (Release Date: 10/28/2022)

EDITOR’S NOTE: This JSC announcement seeks a replacement for Associate Justice Paula Nakayama who turns 70 next October.  It is separate from the October 14, 2022, JSC notice seeking a replacement for Associate Justice Michael Wilson.  The Hawaii State Constitution requires Justices to retire at age 70.

News Release from Judicial Selection Commission, Oct 28, 2022

The Judicial Selection Commission is accepting applications and nominations to fill the following anticipated judicial vacancy in the State of Hawaiʻi:

Associate Justice, Supreme Court, State of Hawai‘i

The Constitution of the State of Hawaiʻi requires that the persons selected by the Commission be residents and citizens of the State of Hawaiʻi and of the United States, and have been licensed to practice law by the Hawaiʻi Supreme Court.  An associate justice of the Supreme Court shall have been licensed for a period of not less than ten years preceding nomination.  No judge shall, during the term of office, engage in the practice of law, or run for or hold any other office or position of profit under the United States, the State or its political subdivisions.

The term of office of an associate justice shall be ten years.  The annual salary in Hawaiʻi of an associate justice is $229,668.¹

The Judicial Selection Commission will be publishing the list of all applicants to the Judicial Selection Commission website as provided under Judicial Selection Commission Rule 5, Section Two:  Confidentiality A.

When the names of all the applicants are published, the public will be invited to provide comments to the Judicial Selection Commission for a specific period of time.

Full-time justices also receive employer contributions to premiums for enrollment in the state-sponsored medical, drug, vision and dental plans, a free life insurance policy, state retirement benefits, a deferred compensation supplemental retirement savings plan, 13 paid holidays annually (14 days during election years), 21 vacation and 21 sick leave days per year.  Benefits are subject to modification or termination due to changes in statutes, pertinent rules and regulations.  Associate justices shall be retired upon attaining the age of seventy years.

The Commission invites anyone who meets the constitutional requirements and is interested in the position to apply directly to the Commission.

Applicants:

Prior to submitting your application, submit a letter with a contact phone number and an e-mail address specifying the vacancy for which you are applying.

The Commission also invites persons to nominate qualified individuals for the position.  Nominators: Mail your nomination to the address below with the nominee’s full name and mailing address as soon as possible and not later than the nomination deadline of Monday, December 12, 2022.

TO APPLY: Please visit the Commission’s website and fill out the form JS-P-084, the Application for Judicial Office Form.  The application must be postmarked or delivered to the address below on or before the application deadline of Thursday, January 26, 2023.

Commission Chair Nadine Y. Ando, Esq. 
Judicial Selection Commission 
State of Hawaiʻi 
417 South King Street 
Honolulu, Hawaiʻi 96813

¹The salary is current as of the press release date and is subject to change.  The salary is determined by the Commission on Salaries pursuant to Article XVI, Section 3.5, of the Constitution of the State of Hawaiʻi and Section 26-56, of the Hawaiʻi Revised Statutes, and any subsequent action taken by the Legislature.

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