Chief Judge Ronald Ibarra’s first experience in a courtroom was when he was 16 years old battling a negligent driving ticket.
He said the reason he fought it was because he was stubborn and he believed he was right.
“I was not guilty,” Ibarra said, reflecting in his chambers at the Kona courthouse earlier this week.
Ultimately, the judge before whom a young Ibarra appeared agreed and ruled in his favor.
Even as a teenager, Ibarra respected the law. And when he later received a speeding ticket, he said, he pleaded guilty — because he knew he had committed the infraction.
“I take responsibility when I’m wrong,” Ibarra said.
After facing those citations as a young man, Ibarra’s path led him to a lifetime career in law in his hometown — 11 years as an attorney and 28 years on the bench.
At 69 years old, Ibarra will retire as chief judge from Hawaii Island’s 3rd Circuit Court. His last day is Friday.
“He is, in my mind, the epitome of a judge,” said former Chief Justice Ronald Moon. “You rule in accordance to law and facts.”
Ibarra describes himself as a Kona boy — born and raised. He said the most rewarding part of becoming a judge was the opportunity to make his community better.
The beginnings
Ibarra is known to many in the community as a fair, professional, compassionate man and a public servant. However, before the judge donned the black robe, his early beginnings started on a coffee farm in Kealakekua.
Ibarra grew up on the farm and attended Konawaena High School. His father, an immigrant from the Philippines, had a second-grade education and his mother had an eighth-grade education.
As a teenager, Ibarra said, a professional career was the farthest thing from his mind. His first loves were cars and racing.
It was his mother who instilled in him the importance of education.
After graduating from Konawaena in 1965, Ibarra went on to graduate from the University of Hawaii at Manoa as a second lieutenant through the school’s ROTC program.
The judge went on to serve active duty in the Army in Colorado and Thailand.
When he returned to Kona, Ibarra got a job at the Sheraton as a dishwasher, also known as a steward. He later moved on to relief dining room manager.
Ibarra also became commander at the Kealakekua Armory for the Hawaii National Guard.
“I firmly believe you can affect what you want to do through your choices,” Ibarra said.
That said, in 1976, Ibarra left the hotel industry to attend law school at Santa Clara University in California.
“Finally, when I went to law school, I knew it was what I wanted to do,” he said.
And after graduating, he pursued his new-found passion out East and attended Georgetown University in Washington, D.C., where Ibarra earned a second law degree, believing one day he might teach law.
Lawyer then judge
In 1977, Ibarra returned to Kona after graduating from Georgetown. He was soon hired by the prosecutor’s office in Hilo to open an office in Kona that covered West Hawaii.
The judge also ended up working for a private law firm then as corporation counsel for the county. He was also managing director under Hawaii Mayor Dante Carpenter.
When Carpenter wasn’t re-elected, Ibarra went back to the prosecutor’s office in 1988. In 1989, Hawaii Gov. John Waihee appointed Ibarra as a circuit judge in Kona. He was 41 years old.
“I feel like I’m doing something for the community without running for office,” Ibarra said of his service from the bench.
Ibarra went into Army reserves when he became a circuit court judge and resigned as a lieutenant colonel after 16 years of military service.
During his years as a judge, Ibarra presided over high profile cases such as farmers’ lawsuits against DuPont Co. and Hokulia, where he temporarily halted development.
A case that sticks with him the most is one that involved a woman from Honokaa who sued the county for violating the Sunshine Law when they failed to provide adequate public notice to a rezoning amendment.
The case was a bench trial and the plaintiff represented herself. Ultimately, Ibarra said, he believed the law was on her side.
“It wasn’t a big case but it stuck with me,” he said as he reflected on the cases throughout his career. “It showed you don’t have to be a lawyer to prevail in my court.”
Ibarra is a courageous judge, Moon said. He isn’t afraid to make an unpopular ruling.
“The guy is an intellect,” the former chief justice described him. “He knows the law.”
When a lawyer like Ibarra could’ve chosen private practice, Moon said, the Kona man chose to be judge.
“His legacy is his commitment to public service,” he said.
Legacy on the bench and beyond
Ibarra’s influence has rippled through Hawaii’s judicial system, impacting those serving in the 3rd Circuit Court for years to come.
“Chief Judge Ronald Ibarra is the epitome of a selfless public servant and leader,” said Hawaii Chief Justice Mark E. Recktenwald. “He has dedicated his life to serving his community, and his enthusiastic and tireless work has brought many improvements to Hawaii Island, the Judiciary, and the State of Hawaii as a whole.
“Judge Ibarra has been a mentor and role model to many lawyers and judges, including me, and I am grateful to have had the opportunity to serve with him,” he added.
Ibarra is responsible for bringing Big Island Drug Court and Big Island Veterans Treatment Court to the island as well as a Foreclosure Mediation Pilot Project.
Drug court has programs for adults and juveniles. The adult program, started in 2002, has enrolled 479 individuals with a 68 percent graduation rate. Of those graduates, 91 percent have not been convicted of a new felony, according to Grayson Hashida, drug court coordinator.
The juvenile program started in 2004 and has served 94 youths. Thirty-seven of those individuals have graduated the program and have successfully transitioned into young adulthood, Hashida said.
The veterans treatment court started in 2014. It serves 26 veterans, exceeding the program’s goal of 24. As of June 2017, there have been six graduations.
“They’ve made the ultimate sacrifice for our country and we need to take better care of our veterans,” he said.
And Ibarra is also responsible for the construction of the Kona courthouse. It’s one of his greatest accomplishments, he said.
Groundbreaking was in the fall and completion for the $90 million facility is slated for spring of 2019.
“He’s been the bedrock of the judiciary in Kona,” said Deputy Prosecutor Mark Disher, who said Ibarra has helped mold sitting judges and has influenced young attorneys as well as fostered an atmosphere of mutual respect between prosecutors and defense attorneys.
“He does that through his professionalism,” Disher said. “He’s very good at being a neutral arbiter, which is how a judge should be.”
Defense attorney Brian De Lima clerked for Ibarra in the late ‘70s when he was a prosecutor. He said he has a lot of admiration for Ibarra’s work ethics and integrity.
“I consider him a role model for my work as a lawyer,” De Lima said.
The lawyer described Ibarra’s decisions as well thought out, fair and equitable.
“His rulings are consistent with the law and are evenhanded to the party litigants,” he said.
He added people recognize the judge cares about his community.
“You can be born, raised, educated in Kona and achieve the pinnacle of any profession,” De Lima said. “He’s an example people can point to.”
Lani Ng started working as Ibarra’s clerk the day he took the bench in 1989. She said the judge loves what he does.
“What people don’t see is his compassion,” she said. “And he’s very fair.”
Ng thinks his lasting legacy will be access to justice. She said the judge believes everybody deserves a chance.
“I don’t know of any other judge who enforces the law like he does,” Ng said. “There’s that compassionate side of him that allows him to see the bigger picture.”
Lester Oshiro, chief court administrator for 3rd Circuit Court, has known Ibarra since the judge was a prosecuting attorney.
Oshiro said Ibarra has broad background of criminal and civil law as well as administrative experience.
“It’s hard to find judges with that broad base of experience,” he said. “He turned out to be quite an extraordinary judge.”
Oshiro said Ibarra is leaving the 3rd Circuit Court better than when he came to it.
“He really gave his heart and soul trying to improve judiciary services and facilities on the island,” Oshiro said.
Ibarra’s impact to community
As Ibarra reflected on his career in his chambers earlier this week, he said he’s never had his life threatened in the 28 years he’s been on the bench.
Employees within the court and those who have gone through the system believe it’s because he’s fair.
Ibarra said being a judge in a small community can sometimes be difficult because everybody knows everybody.
“Criminal cases are hard,” Ibarra said. “Sometimes I know more about the defendants than their counselors.”
However, that never stopped the judge from doing his job.
Sixty-five-year-old Vietnam veteran Eddie Schoeppner recently graduated from Big Island Veterans Treatment Court. For 40 years, he said, he had been in and out of the court system.
Schoeppner had appeared before Ibarra several times where he was sentenced to jail.
“For many years, I couldn’t stand this man,” Schoeppner recalled.
However, two years ago, the judge decided to take a chance and put Schoeppner in veterans drug court.
“He gave me a second chance at life,” Schoeppner said. “I always came up with excuses and he would see right through me.”
Schoeppner said Ibarra has done a lot to keep the community safe.
“Even after he sentences someone, he says something that’s inspirational,” he said, adding Ibarra is like a mentor to him. “If he didn’t come up with vets court I’d still be in jail.”
Ibarra also helped many people in civil cases. A Kona woman, who wished to be identified only as Mary due to the sensitivity of the subject matter, said she benefited from the foreclosure mediation program in 2013.
“I’m a single mom and I fell behind on the mortgage,” Mary said. “Like any other family out there, I was working with the mortgage company to figure out a reasonable monthly payment.”
Eventually, Mary said, the bank wanted to foreclose on her home. Through the program Ibarra had established, she filed a request for mediation.
“It makes the banks accountable,” Mary said of the program. “It forces them to listen to the small people.”
Mary appeared before Ibarra in her case without an attorney. The program made it possible to stop the foreclosure process.
“I believe things would’ve turned out differently,” Mary said if she didn’t have the program.
The next life chapter
For Ibarra, he said, the retirement is bittersweet.
“I like the job and I like the people,” he said. “I’m not retiring. I’m moving on. I’m going to do other things.”
Some of those things include staying on two committees: Hawaii Board of Bar Examiners and Access to Justice Commission.
The judge intends to travel and spend time with family.
Ibarra also plans to get reacquainted with the Hilo racetrack and take his 1971 Pontiac GTO to the start line.