Hawaii Senate Confirms New Judges For Kauai, Big Island
Attorney Gregory Meyers’ nomination survived questionable allegations from a Kauai deputy prosecutor.
Kauai is set to get a new district court judge while the Big Island will soon see two new family court judges after the Senate voted unanimously Tuesday to appoint three judicial nominees.
One of the nominees, attorney Gregory Meyers of Kauai, faced accusations of witness tampering last week stemming from a case in December. His nomination had the support of Chief Justice Mark Recktenwald, the Hawaii State Bar Association’s board of directors and a panel of senators, who on Monday also voted unanimously in favor of Meyer’s appointment.
Senate Judiciary Chairman Karl Rhoads said he recommended that the Senate approve Meyers’ nomination in part because the late filing of a complaint with the Office of Disciplinary Counsel by Kauai Deputy Prosecutor Robert Christensen appeared intended to sway votes on Meyers’ confirmation.
The case the complaint stems from ended in April, Rhoads said, but Christensen only filed a complaint on June 13, after Meyers’ nomination was scheduled for a hearing in the Senate.
Christensen couldn’t be reached for comment.
Rhoads also said that Kauai Prosecutor Rebecca Like informed him that her office does not oppose Meyers’ nomination and would not pursue the witness tampering case. Like also told Rhoads that she did not authorize Christensen to publicly disclose his complaint against Meyers.
Meyers received a round of applause in the Senate after the vote on his confirmation.
“He certainly carried himself with class and dignity while going through this process,” said Senate President Ron Kouchi.
The Senate also confirmed Jill Hasegawa and Joanna Sokolow to family court positions on the Big Island. They replace Judges Mahilani Hiatt and Wendy DeWeese.
