Kauai attorney under fire from deputy prosecutor confirmed as state judge

The Hawaii Senate voted unanimously Tuesday to confirm Kauai attorney Gregory Meyers as a state judge after a Kauai County deputy prosecutor lodged a criminal complaint against the nominee.

Senate President Ron Kouchi (D, Kauai-Niihau) praised Meyers for displaying what he called exemplary character under the circumstances described by supporters of Meyers as an unfounded attack.

“He certainly carried himself with class, dignity and in a very professional way while going through this process,” Kouchi said on the Senate floor after the 20-0 vote.

Sen. Kurt Fevella, a member of the Senate Judiciary Committee that held a confirmation hearing for Meyers on Thursday during which the allegations were discussed, said he was disturbed by what in his opinion was character defamation.

“Nobody should have to go through that,” said Fevella (R, Ewa Beach-Iroquois Point) in a floor speech.

Meyers, a defense attorney and former managing attorney for the Legal Aid Society of Hawaii on Kauai, is now a district judge for Family Court on the Garden Island.

Kauai County Deputy Prosecuting Attorney Robert Christensen filed the criminal complaint against Meyers last week, which was conveyed to the committee and involved an allegation that Meyers interviewed a prosecution witness as part of defending a client in December. Several attorneys on Kauai, including some who have been prosecutors, told the Judiciary Committee that there is nothing illegal, much less unethical, about what Meyers did and that it is part of effective defense work.