The Judicial Selection Commission has released a list of nominees for the upcoming judicial vacancy in the Circuit Court of the First Circuit, located on the island of Oʻahu, Hawaiʻi. This announcement follows Article VI, Section 3 of the State Constitution, which outlines that the governor must appoint a judge from a list provided by the commission.
This vacancy arises due to the retirement of Circuit Judge Dean E. Ochiai, scheduled for June 2025. The commission's nominees are Earl Edward L. Aquino, Russ S. Awakuni, Harvey M. Demetrakopoulos, Karin L. Holma, Taryn R. Tomasa Gifford, and Rochelle I. Vidinha (Cusumano).
Governor Josh Green now has 30 days to select one nominee from this list.
The selection process saw participation from 22 applicants: seven females and fifteen males. Among them were ten government attorneys, ten private attorneys, two judges, and five per diem judges. Applicants ranged in age from 31 to 70 years old and had between 11 to 38 years of legal experience.
Two candidates withdrew before meeting with the commission and are not reflected in these statistics.
The decision was made during meetings held in March 2025 with seven commissioners present.