Lingle Taps Recktenwald to Be Chief Justice
Gov. Linda Lingle wasted little time in naming her second choice to be Supreme Court chief justice.
On Friday, one week after Appeals Court Judge Katherine Leonard was rejected by the Hawaii Senate on the grounds that she was unqualified to be the leader of an independent third branch of government, Lingle tapped Associate Supreme Court Justice Mark Recktwenwald for the promotion.
“I’ve always tried to be fair and impartial in my decisions,” Recktenwald said at an introductory press conference where he talked about improving the judiciary’s technology and working with a tight budget while maintaining the quality of justice for Hawaii citizens. “I look forward to taking on that challenge if I’m confirmed by the Senate.”
Recktenwald is a fellow Republican whom Lingle brought into her cabinet as director of the Department of Commerce and Consumer Affairs and later appointed to the intermediate court and ultimately the high court.
Recktenwald nomination, if successful, likely means the state’s next governor will select his replacement. Lingle may not have time to push another slate of candidates through the Hawaii Judicial Selection Commission before her term expires in early December. The commission had enough difficulty scraping together the six candidate field that led to Leonard’s nomination.
