Chief Justice Mark E. Recktenwald has appointed Dakota K.M. Frenz to the District Family Court of the Third Circuit (Hawaii Island). Frenz will fill the vacancy created by the retirement of Judge Lloyd X. Van De Car.
Frenz served as a deputy prosecuting attorney in the County of Hawaii from 2006-2012 handling cases in the District, Family, and Circuit courts; and since 2012 has been in private practice, including criminal law, family law and civil litigation/collections.
Frenz is currently a member of the Board of Directors of the Kuikahi Mediation Center and an arbitrator with the Court Annexed Arbitration Program. She also volunteers with the Friends of Drug Court and the Self-Help Center in East Hawaii.
Frenz is a graduate of Whittier Law School and was admitted to the Hawaii State Bar in 2006.
If confirmed by the state Senate, Frenz will serve a term of six years.