David C. Farmer vs. Harmon - Exhibit: Connecting the Dots to the Hawaii Judicial Selection Commission

Connecting the dots to the...

Hawaii Judicial Selection Commission

A Sighting from The Catbird Seat

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March 9, 2008

Selection panel limits judgeship picks

Duffy might have been "a lesser of evils,"
one Republican believes

By Ken Kobayashi, Honolulu Star-Bulletin

In her first year in office, Gov. Linda Lingle named Honolulu lawyer Jim Duffy to the Hawaii Supreme Court.

Some were surprised by the Republican governor's selection of Duffy, a respected lawyer who has close ties to many isle Democrats, including his friend former Gov. Ben Cayetano.

Over the years, Duffy developed a reputation as a moderate, with some legal observers suggesting he often aligns himself with Simeon Acoba, considered one of the court's most liberal members.

Last year, Duffy wrote the unanimous opinion that declared the state erred in not requiring an environmental assessment for the Superferry, a project that Lingle supports.

Republican state Sen. Fred Hemmings said he does not see any irony in the Republican governor appointing Duffy.

He said Lingle's hands were tied by the Judicial Selection Commission, whose members include appointees by the former Democratic governor and Democratic state Senate president and speaker of the House.

"She might have appointed a lesser of evils there," Hemming said.

Duffy's appointment highlighted the significant role played by the state Judicial Selection Commission, one of the most powerful and secretive panels in the state.

Created by a 1978 constitutional amendment, the commission submits four to six names to the governor for each vacancy on the Hawaii Supreme Court, the Intermediate Court of Appeals and the Circuit Courts.

The governor must make her appointments from the lists.

In addition to Duffy, the other five names submitted were labor attorney Lowell Chun-Hoon and Circuit Judges Eden Hifo, Sabrina McKenna, Richard Perkins and Richard Pollack -- all four appointed by Democratic governors.

Lingle said it was a "tough" list. "It really wasn't a very diverse group of potentials."

But the governor said she does not second-guess her appointments and that she thinks Duffy is doing his best.

Lingle said she did not agree with the Superferry decision and did not like it. "But it doesn't reduce my opinion of him as a person who brought a new attitude on the court that I felt was very important at the time," she said.

The governor names two members to the commission to six-year terms, and Lingle appointed Philip Hellreich in 2003 and Shelton Jim On in 2005.

Hellreich is former president of the Hawaii Medical Association and husband of Miriam Hellreich, Hawaii GOP national committeewoman. Jim On was a Lingle campaign supporter.

Lingle said her appointments made a difference.

"It's no question that it's a more diverse group that I get," Lingle said.

The other commissioners include Rosemary Fazio, the chairwoman, and Susan Ichinose, who were elected by the Hawaii State Bar Association.

The others are Frederick Okumura, who was appointed by the chief justice; Melvin Chiba and Sheri Sakamoto, appointed by the Senate president; and Ralph LaFountaine and Thomas Fujikawa, appointed by the speaker of the House of Representatives.

The commission meets privately and the panelists refrain from discussing their work because the state Constitution mandates that the "deliberations of the commission shall be confidential."

Fazio said she could not discuss whether more prosecutors are applying for the judgeships or whether more are ending up on the lists submitted to the governor. She also would not say whether a candidate's prosecutorial background enhances the person's qualifications.

"You want somebody with solid experience, somebody who is a leader in his or her field, whether it is as a prosecutor or a public defender or someone in private practice," she said. "You want someone who has merit."

LINGLE'S JUDICIAL APPOINTMENTS

Gov. Linda Lingle appointed 15 of the 44 judges on the Hawaii Supreme Court, the Intermediate Court of Appeals and the Circuit Courts around the state. (The chief justice appoints district judges, the lowest tier in the judicial system.)

A look at her appointments (and the year of appointment):

HAWAII SUPREME COURT

James Duffy (2003)

INTERMEDIATE COURT OF APPEALS

Mark Recktenwald (2007)
Katherine Leonard (2007)
Craig Nakamura (2004)
Alexa Fujise (2004)

CIRCUIT COURT (HONOLULU)

Glenn Kim (2007)
Randal Lee (2005)
Patrick Border (2004)
Bert Ayabe (2004)
Rhonda Nishimura (2003)

CIRCUIT COURT (MAUI)

Richard Bissen (2005)

CIRCUIT COURT (BIG ISLAND)

Elizabeth Strance (2005)
Glenn Hara (2004)

CIRCUIT COURT (KAUAI)

Randal Valenciano (2005)
Kathleen Watanabe (2005)

http://archives.starbulletin.com/2008/03/09/news/story02.html

THE UNITED STATES DEPARTMENT OF JUSTICE

OFFICE OF THE U.S. TRUSTEE

David C. Farmer, Successor Trustee
vs.
Bobby N. Harmon

(Formerly Mary Lou Woo vs. Harmon and James Nicholson vs. Harmon)

CV05-00030 DAE/KSC

United States District Court, District of Hawaii

Judges: David A. Ezra; Kevin S. Chang

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DEFENDANT’S EXHIBIT

—

A few words of explanation regarding this case:

In his "MEMORANDUM IN OPPOSITION TO DEBTOR'S MOTION FOR ORDER TO DISAPPROVE APPOINTMENT OF DAVID C. FARMER AS SUCCESSOR TRUSTEE", filed with the Court on August 24, 2007, the Trustee's attorney, Steven Guttman, Esq., of the law firm, Kessner Duca Umebayashi Bain & Matsunage, stated to the Court:

"... Harmon is once again attempting to create issues of conflict where none exist by attempting to draw connections between phantom dots."...

Mr. Guttman does not elaborate beyond this statement of HIS PERSONAL OPINION, as to which of the thousands of connections I have cited that he wishes the Court to accept, without question, as being merely "phantom dots".

In other court filings, Mr. Guttman has characterized my Motions as only consisting of “political opinions” and "conspiracy theories" -- again with no specific references.

Despite these unnamed "phantom dots", “political opinions” and "conspiracy theories", the Court has blithely and unquestionably gone along with Mr. Guttman's unsubstantiated opinions and has repeatedly denied all Motions that I have made.

In fact, both Courts involved have ruled that the Court Clerk shall not accept any future filings from me without the Courts' prior approval - which it has repeatedly declined to give.

Therefore, due to the fact that I continue to discover new, material FACTS, and new evidence of fraud and conspiracy to commit fraud almost daily, I am preparing a set of NEW EXHIBITS in which I intend to document the financial, professional, personal, and political connections – and conflicts of interests – between the many various entities involved in this case.

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Judicial Selection Commission

The Judicial Selection Commission reviews and evaluates applications for all judicial vacancies, and vote, by secret ballot, to select qualified nominees. Established by a 1978 state constitutional amendment, the Commission is governed by the Judicial Selection Commission Rules.

The names of the nominees are then forwarded to the appropriate appointing authority. The governor is the appointing authority to nominate judges of the Supreme Court, Intermediate Court of Appeals, and Circuit Court for an initial ten-year term. The governor selects appointees from a list of not less than four and not more than six names submitted by the Judicial Selection Commission. The commission submits a list of at least six names to the chief justice who nominates judges for district and district family court to six-year terms. All nominations are subject to confirmation by the state senate.

The Commission also determines whether a justice or judge shall be retained in office. The Commission publicizes the fact that a justice or judge is seeking retention so that all persons who might have an interest in the matter be informed of the opportunity to comment.

Comments about justices and judges seeking appointment or retention should be submitted to:

Contact Information:
Judicial Selection Commission
417 South King Street
Honolulu, Hawai`i 96813-2902
Telephone: (808) 538-5200

The Commission is composed of nine members, no more than four of whom may be lawyers. The members, who serve staggered six-year terms, are selected or elected as follows:

Chairperson
Rosemary T. Fazio	Chairperson
Philip Hellreich	Vice-Chairperson
Shelton G.W. Jim On	Secretary

Member	Term	Appointing/Electing Authority
Susan Ichinose	04/02/07 - 04/01/13	(Bar)
Frederick T. Okumura	04/02/07 - 04/01/13	(CJ)
George Masuoka	04/02/08 - 04/01/14	(Senate)
Rosemary T. Fazio	04/02/03 - 04/01/09	(Bar)
Thomas Fujikawa	04/02/03 - 04/01/09	(House)
Philip Hellreich	04/02/03 - 04/01/09	(Governor)
Shelton G.W. Jim On	04/02/05 - 04/01/11	(Governor)
Ralph R. LaFountaine	04/02/05 - 04/01/11	(House)
Sheri N. Sakamoto	04/02/05 - 04/01/11	(Senate)

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Friday, December 5, 2008

6 recommended for Honolulu judge post

Pacific Business News (Honolulu) - by Linda Chiem

The Hawaii Judicial Selection Commission has sent Gov. Linda Lingle its list of six recommended judicial candidates to fill a vacancy in 1st Circuit Court in Honolulu.

Lingle will choose a candidate from one of the following six names:

• Cecelia Choi Yuk Chang of the Department of the Prosecuting Attorney, City & County of Honolulu.

• Douglas A. Crosier, divorce attorney.

• Stephen Levins, executive director of the Hawaii Office of Consumer Protection.

• Edwin C. Nacino, district judge, Honolulu District Court.

• Steven Masanobu Nakashima, a partner with the law firm Marr Jones & Wang.

• Rom Alex Trader, deputy prosecuting attorney for the City & County of Honolulu.

The governor, who has 30 days to make her selection, is asking for public comments on the nominees by Dec. 12.

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The following is a listing of some of the named witnesses in this case who have factual connections, past and present, with the Hawaii Judicial Selection Commission.

Each underlined name has been linked to a detailed description of that witness to enable the reader to more easily CONNECT THE DOTS TO . . .

THE HAWAII JUDICIAL
SELECTION COMMISSION

Michael Heihre

William S. Richardson

Gerard Jervis

President George Bush

President Bill Clinton

Governor John Waihee

Governor Ben Cayetano

Governor Linda Lingle

Hugh Jones

Richard Wong