The Judicial Selection Commission has submitted a list of six nominees for a vacancy on the Intermediate Court of Appeals. The judicial office has been vacant since the retirement of Associate Judge Derrick H. M. Chan in October.
The nominees are Lance D. Collins, Daniel M. Gluck, Summer M. M. Kupau-Odo, Sonja M.P. McCullen, Malia E. Schreck and Taryn R. Tomasa Gifford.
Collins has been an attorney in private practice since 2005. Previously, he was an instructor for the Legal Clerk Certificate Program, Office of Continuing Education at the University of Hawaii Maui College, and a lecturer with the university’s Indo-Pacific Languages and Literature Department (Ilokano). He earned his associates degree from Maui Community College, and his bachelor’s, master’s and Juris Doctor degree and Ph.D. from the University of Hawaii.
Gluck is currently executive director and general counsel of the Hawaii State Ethics Commission. Prior to that he served as the legal director for ACLU of Hawaii, an adjunct professor, Civil Rights Seminar at the University of Hawaii William S. Richardson School of Law, an associate attorney in private practice and law clerk for U.S. District Court and the Hawaii Supreme Court. He earned his bachelor’s degree in industrial and labor relations from Cornell University and his Juris Doctor degree from Harvard Law School.
Kupau-Odo is an Oahu District Court judge. Previously, she was co-litigation director/staff attorney for the Native Hawaiian Legal Corporation, an associate attorney/senior associate attorney for Earthjustice, a deputy public defender for the state and a law clerk for the Hawaii Supreme Court. Kupau-Odo earned her bachelor’s degree in English at Pepperdine University and her Juris Doctor degree from the University of Hawaii.
McCullen is a deputy prosecuting attorney for the City and County of Honolulu. Her previous positions include being an investigator with the Crime Victim Compensation Commission, a staff attorney with the United Public Workers union, a judicial education specialist, and a law clerk for the Hawaii Supreme Court. McCullen earned her Juris Doctor degree from the University of Hawaii.
Schreck has been an attorney in private practice since she graduated from law school in 2005. She also teaches a Pre-Trial Litigation seminar at the University of Hawaii William S. Richardson School of Law. Schreck earned a bachelor’s degree in policy analysis and master’s degree in public administration from Cornell University.
Tomasa Gifford is a deputy public defender. In addition, she was an associate attorney in private practice and a law clerk for the Intermediate Court of Appeals. She earned a bachelor’s degree in history and her Juris Doctor degree from the University of Hawaii at Manoa.
Public comment can be submitted online at https://governor.hawaii.gov/contact-us/contact-the-governor.
Ige has 30 calendar days, or until July 9 to make his selection, which is subject to Senate confirmation.