Hawaii will be getting a new U.S. district judge as a result of David Ezra’s move to senior judge status in late June.
U.S. Sen. Daniel Inouye’s office said Monday the nine-member Hawaii Federal Judicial Selection Commission will begin screening applicants and making recommendations to fill the vacancy.
Inouye’s office said he and U.S. Sen. Daniel Akaka will make selections from the recommendations to send to the White House, which will appoint the new judge.
The lifetime appointment is subject to U.S. Senate confirmation.
Ezra will technically retire on his 65th birthday June 27 but will continue to handle cases as a senior judge here.
"It’s time," Ezra said Monday about taking senior status.
"It opens up the opportunity for our district to fill my vacancy with another active judge, therefore giving the district a full complement of four active judges and three senior judges to assist with our workload."
Although senior judges are not required to take as many cases, Ezra said he plans on handling a full caseload.
"The public will see no difference whatsoever," he said.
Ezra will join Alan Kay and Helen Gillmor as senior U.S. district judges here.
The active U.S. district judges are Susan Oki Mollway, Michael Seabright and Leslie Kobayashi.
Under U.S. law, federal judges who are appointed for life can take senior status at age 65 and receive the same pay as long as they have served 15 years on the bench.
Known as the "Rule of 80," it allows judges to take senior status when older if their age and years of service equal at least 80 years, according to the federal judiciary.
Ezra was nominated by President Ronald Reagan in 1987 and confirmed by the Senate the following year.
He was the youngest person to be named a U.S. district judge here and now has served longest as an active federal district judge in Hawaii.
"Judge Ezra has done a fine job on the federal bench over the past 24 years," Akaka said in a statement. "He has served with integrity, and has thoughtfully interpreted and upheld the rule of law."
As a federal judge, Ezra handled hundreds of criminal and civil cases. They include the landmark cases that provided appropriate education for special-education students in the Felix consent decree proceedings and improving dismal conditions at the Hawaii State Hospital under his federal oversight.
Inouye’s office said Honolulu attorney Larry Okinaga will serve as chairman of the commission. The other members are Bennette Misalucha Evangelista, Lynn Fallin, Allen Hoe, Donavan Kealoha, Janice Kim, Marie Milks, Jeff Sia and Tony Takitani.
The commission, established by the Hawaii senators in 2006, screened candidates and made recommendations that included Kobayashi, whose name was forwarded by the senators to the White House.
Kobayashi was appointed by President Barack Obama and confirmed by the Senate in 2010.
"The purpose of the commission is to help ensure a strong, independent and qualified federal judiciary, and to provide a fair process for selecting nominees with the highest professional qualifications and attributes," Inouye said.
Nomination and application forms will be available next week at the senators’ websites and that of the Hawaii State Bar Association, Inouye’s office said.
The commission will also have nomination and application forms.
Names and completed applications must be delivered or mailed by April 2 to Chairman, Hawaii Federal Judicial Selection Commission, Suite 2100, ASB Tower, 1001 Bishop St., Honolulu, HI 96813.
