For your information, the HSBA Board submitted the testimony below to the
Senate Judiciary Committee. 

AMENDED
Testimony of the
HAWAII STATE BAR ASSOCIATION
relating to the nomination of
 
RANDAL K.O. LEE
Associate Judge, Intermediate Court of Appeals
                                   
To:                  Senate Committee on Judiciary and Labor
                        The Honorable Brian T. Taniguchi, Chair
                        The Honorable Clayton Hee, Vice-Chair
 
Hearing:         Thursday, October 25, 2007, 9:00 a.m.
                        Conference Room 229
                        State Capitol

The Board of Directors of the Hawaii State Bar Association appreciates the opportunity to comment on the qualifications of Randal K.O. Lee for the position of Associate Judge, Intermediate Court of Appeals.
 
In evaluating judicial nominees, the HSBA Board utilizes a modified version of the American Bar Association Guidelines for Reviewing Qualifications of Candidates for State Judicial Office.  These Guidelines include the following criteria: integrity, legal knowledge and ability, professional experience, judicial temperament, diligence, financial responsibility, and public service, collegiality and writing ability.  The HSBA Board's rating system includes the categories of "highly qualified," "qualified," and "not qualified."
 
The HSBA Board has recently reviewed the policies and procedures utilized in developing its positions on judicial nominees and has included in its procedures the use of a standing subcommittee of HSBA Board members to review materials presented by the nominee and input from members; the subcommittee is also tasked with checking references and contacting others who have knowledge of the nominee’s experience and qualifications.  The full Board reviews the materials prepared by this subcommittee, the complete materials submitted by the nominee and members and conducts an interview of the nominee.  These revised procedures are available for review on the HSBA website at <HSBA.org>.
 
Taking into consideration all of the information presented by and about the nominee and an interview with the nominee, the vote of the Board of Directors of the Hawaii State Bar Association resulted in an equal split between qualified or better, and not qualified. 

email: info@hsba.org
voice: (808) 537-1868
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