HONOLULU, HI – On Friday, Chief Justice Mark E. Recktenwald appointed Mahilani E.K. Hiatt and Wendy M. DeWeese to the District Family Court of the 3rd Circuit.
Mahilani E.K. Hiatt is currently a partner at Hiatt &Hiatt, where she concentrates on commercial litigation and employment law. She also serves as a per diem judge in the District and District Family Courts of the 3rd Circuit. She previously served as Human Resources administrator at Hawaii Electric Light Co., and was an associate attorney at Bays Deaver Hiatt Lung &Rose in Honolulu. Hiatt is a graduate of the William S. Richardson School of Law and was admitted to the Hawaii State Bar in 1993.
Wendy M. DeWeese has been a deputy public defender in Kealakekua for the past 11 years. Prior to that, she served as a law clerk for retired Judge Ronald Ibarra. Before moving to Hawaii, DeWeese worked for 11 years in private practice in California handling personal injury, civil, and family law cases. She is a Magna Cum Laude graduate of Southwestern University School of Law, a member of the California State Bar since 1993, and was admitted to the Hawaii State Bar in 2006.
The Chief Justice appoints District Court judges from a list of not less than six nominees submitted by the Judicial Selection Commission. If confirmed by the State Senate, Shimozono, Yoo, Hiatt, and DeWeese will each serve a term of six years.
Recktenwald also appointed Friday Kenneth J. Shimozono to the District Family Court of the 1st Circuit and Kristine Y. Yoo to the District Court of the 1st Circuit.