Hawaii Supreme Court applicants to be made public

For the first time, the names of applicants to sit on the Hawaii Supreme Court will be made public when the Judicial Selection Commission considers who will replace retiring Associate Justice Michael D. Wilson.

Commissioners agreed earlier this year to make public the list of applicants for seats on the high court and the state’s Intermediate Court of Appeals in a move toward greater transparency — long pushed by the public and advocates for open government.

“There was a concern that there was … a need for increased transparency as to the commission’s processes,” Nadine Y. Ando, commission chair, told the Honolulu Star-Advertiser. “We are in the process of figuring how we are going to do that (release the names) and what period of time we are going to receive any comment (from the public).”

Commissioners declined to discuss details of how the change came about, citing confidentiality rules. However, the JSC’s rules are regularly reviewed to determine whether changes should be made.

Wilson was appointed to the Hawaii Supreme Court on April 17, 2014, having served as a 1st Circuit Court judge since 2000, according to his biography on the Hawaii State Judiciary website.

“Justice Wilson has written significant opinions on important subjects ranging from criminal procedure to environmental law,” said Chief Justice Mark E. Reck­tenwald, in a statement to the Star-Advertiser. “He also chaired a major task force on correctional system reform and played an integral part in the development of Hawaii’s environmental court. He is a valued colleague and friend and will be missed when he retires.”

Wilson declined a Star-­Advertiser request for an interview about his time on the bench.

As a Circuit Court judge, Wilson presided over adult drug court, adult mental health court and the felony criminal trial court. Wilson is a former director of the Department of Land and Natural Resources, chair of the Board of Land and Natural Resources, chair of the State Water Commission and a trustee of the Kahoolawe Island Reserve Commission.

He is one of three justices who will face mandatory retirement at the age of 70 in the next four years. Associate Justice Paula A. Naka­yama turns 70 next year and Recktenwald makes 70 in 2025.

To serve on the Hawaii Supreme Court, applicants must be Hawaii residents, U.S. citizens and licensed to practice law in Hawaii for at least 10 years.

The term of office of an associate justice is 10 years and the the annual salary is $229,668.

House Speaker Scott Saiki, an attorney, told the Star-­Advertiser that the public wants the judicial selection process to be more transparent.

In 2014, voters overwhelmingly approved a constitutional amendment requiring the commission to disclose the names of finalists upon submission to the governor or chief justice, Saiki said, and the amendment passed easily with 82% of the vote. The commission took a huge step by disclosing the names of applicants for appellate positions, he said.

“This will definitely increase public confidence because it will depoliticize the selection process. The JSC will not be in a position to secretly exclude candidates,” said Saiki. “With disclosure, the JSC will need to make merit-based decisions because the public will know whether highly qualified applicants were left out. Disclosure protects all applicants because it ensures that their consideration will be based on merit, and not politics. The JSC should be commended for taking this bold step.”

State Sen. Karl Rhoads, an attorney and chair of the state Senate Committee on the Judiciary, told the Star-Advertiser that he supports greater transparency, but releasing the names of applicants might not improve the process.

“My normal default is to greater transparency and I support the move because I think people have the right to know what the choices for the JSC and the governor were,” said Rhoads. “Having said that, it’s going to lead to more second guessing and comparisons that may or may not be accurate. For a JSC chair, in some ways it makes things harder because the alternatives are visible and the Senate will get pressure to reject someone in the hopes that a preferred candidate might be chosen.”

In addition to the Supreme Court, there’s an upcoming vacancy on the appeals court as well, but the timetable for disclosure of the names of applicants has not yet been determined.