The state Senate Judiciary Committee gave its unanimous approval Wednesday to the confirmation of Margaret Masunaga as a district judge in Kona, despite a negative rating by the Hawaii State Bar Association.
The full Senate, in special session to hold the confirmation hearings on Masunaga and two Oahu judicial nominations, is scheduled to vote at 11 a.m. today.
Sen. Malama Solomon, a Democrat representing North Hawaii from Kona to Hilo, and the sole Big Island lawmaker on the seven-member committee, praised Masunaga after the committee hearing held in Honolulu.
“I know her personally,” Solomon said. “I think she has a lot of integrity.”
Solomon said the Senate’s considerations are different from those of the Bar Association, which she said looks at specific areas when determining whether a nominee is qualified.
“They don’t look into community service and your integrity. We take everything into consideration,” Solomon said. “That’s the difference between us and them.”
Bar Association President Calvin Young had told the committee on Monday that he was limited in how much he could say, to protect the confidentiality of those who gave input on Masunaga’s qualifications. The primary concerns, he said, were whether Masunaga could handle the rigors of a busy court calendar.
His written testimony to the committee, based on a vote of the board of the association, said the board “seriously” questioned Masunaga’s legal knowledge, diligence, ability to fulfill the responsibilities and duties of the position, and professional experience in legal practice and in civil and criminal proceedings and trials.
“The Senate is going to make their decision based on the information they have, and we made our decision based on the information we have,” Young told West Hawaii Today on Wednesday.
U.S. Sen. Mazie Hirono, U.S. Rep. Colleen Hanabusa, retired District Court Judge Joseph Florendo, Hawaii County Mayor Billy Kenoi, County Prosecutor Mitch Roth and 58 other people testified in person or submitted written testimony to the committee, all in support of Masunaga’s confirmation. The Bar Association and a Kona attorney supplied the only negative testimony.
Masunaga currently is deputy corporation counsel for Hawaii County. She previously served as deputy director of the Hawaii County Planning Department, as a deputy attorney general and as an associate at Goodsill Anderson Quinn &Stifel.
Judiciary Committee Chairman Clayton Hee, in a five-page report submitted to the full Senate, extolled Masunaga for her work and noted she’s won several prestigious awards, including the American Bar Association Nelson Award for outstanding contributions to the ABA by a government lawyer.
“All of the actors in the appointment process, including the Judicial Selection Commission, HSBA, Governor, and Senate, are essential in assuring that the individual who ultimately assumes the weighty mantle of judicial responsibility has been thoroughly vetted, is qualified for the position, and possesses the requisite qualities to fairly, intelligently, and impartially interpret and apply the law that governs our society,” Hee said in the committee report.
Hawaii Supreme Court Chief Justice Mark E. Recktenwald on Oct. 10 appointed Masunaga as a district court judge for the 3rd Circuit for a six-year term, for a position left vacant when District Court Judge Joseph Florendo retired earlier this year. She was one of six finalists the judiciary named in September to replace Florendo.
Masunaga told the committee she’d wanted to be a judge since a very young age and had applied for a judgeship six times since 1994. She did not return messages left via voice mail or email by press time Wednesday.
