STAND. COM. REP. NO. 3969

 

Honolulu, Hawaii

                  

 

RE:    JUD. COM. NO. 23

 

 

 

Honorable Ronald D. Kouchi

President of the Senate

Thirty-First State Legislature

Regular Session of 2022

State of Hawaii

 

Sir:

 

     Your Committee on Judiciary, to which was referred Judiciary Communication No. 23, submitting for study and consideration the appointment of: 

 

District Court of the First Circuit

 

J.C. No. 23

SHELLIE K. PARK-HOAPILI,

for a term to expire in 6 years,

 

begs leave to report as follows:

 

     Your Committee reviewed the personal history, resume, and statement submitted by Shellie K. Park-Hoapili for service as a Judge of the District Court of the First Circuit.

 

     Your Committee received testimony in support of the appointment of Shellie K. Park-Hoapili from Ota & Hara, LLLC; Case Lombardi & Pettit; Olson & Sons; Representative Jerry L. Chang-retired; and forty-four individuals.  Your Committee received comments on the appointment of Shellie K. Park-Hoapili from the Hawaii State Bar Association.

 

     The Hawaii State Bar Association Board of Directors found the appointee to be qualified for the position of District Court Judge of the First Circuit based on established criteria for determining the qualifications of judicial appointments generally using the American Bar Association Guidelines for Reviewing Qualifications of Candidates for State Judicial Office.  Specifically, the Board uses the following criteria in its deliberations:  integrity and diligence, legal knowledge and ability, professional experience, judicial temperament, financial responsibility, public service, health, and ability to perform the responsibilities and duties required of the position for which the applicant has been appointed.  The Board's rating system includes the categories of "qualified" and "not qualified".

 

     Ms. Park-Hoapili received her Bachelor of Arts degree in Political Science from the University of Hawaii at Mānoa.  She later received her Juris Doctor degree from the William S. Richardson School of Law at the University of Hawaii at Mānoa, during which time she worked as a judicial extern at the Hawaii Supreme Court and contributed to publications in the University of Hawaii Law Review and Asian-Pacific Law and Policy Journal.

 

     After law school, Ms. Park-Hoapili worked as a law clerk for Alston, Hunt, Floyd, & Ing; the Hawaii Civil Rights Commission; and finally for Justice Nakayama of the Hawaii Supreme Court.  She subsequently worked as an associate attorney at Alston, Hunt, Floyd, & Ing, where her practice included a wide variety of civil litigation and complex legal issues.

 

     Beginning in 2012, Ms. Park-Hoapili served as a Staff Attorney for the Hawaii Supreme Court, where she conducted research and prepared legal analysis and recommendations for the Court.  In addition, she prepared statewide and circuit-specific orders in response to the coronavirus disease 2019 pandemic, including operational orders, rule suspension or temporary modification orders, and entry restriction orders.  In 2021, she became the Court Staff Attorney for the Hawaii Supreme Court and her responsibilities expanded to include providing legal advice to Justices and to the Court, as well as supervising other staff attorneys, and other administrative and specialized legal duties.

 

     Ms. Park-Hoapili has been licensed to practice law in the State of Hawaii since 2003, and has been active in the legal community throughout her career.  She has served on the Board of Bar Examiners of the Hawaii Supreme Court since 2013, and has been a Director of the Hawaii Women's Legal Foundation during the same period.  She was named a Hawaii State Bar Association Leadership Institute Fellow in 2011 and was selected to be a delegate for the Annual United States District Court Judicial Conference in 2012.

 


     Testimony submitted in support of Ms. Park-Hoapili's appointment commends her extensive legal expertise and experience with complex issues of law, as well as her fluency in many aspects of litigation.  Testimony additionally demonstrates that she is highly respected throughout the legal community and has earned a reputation for fairness and integrity.  Numerous testifiers also praised her professional temperament and dedication to the ethical pursuit of justice.

 

     Your Committee finds that, based on the testimony submitted on her behalf, responses to questions asked by the members of your Committee, and your Committee's review of information about her and her qualifications, Shellie K. Park-Hoapili has the experience, dedication, and other competencies to be a District Court Judge of the First Circuit, and she has the legal expertise, integrity, and demeanor to fully and faithfully discharge the duties associated with that judicial office.

 

     As affirmed by the record of votes of the members of your Committee on Judiciary that is attached to this report, your Committee, after full consideration of the background, experience, and qualifications of the appointee, has found the appointee to be qualified for the position to which appointed and recommends that the Senate consent to the appointment.

 

Respectfully submitted on behalf of the members of the Committee on Judiciary,

 

 

 

____________________________

KARL RHOADS, Chair