HONOLULU — The State Judicial Selection Commission voted to amend its rules to authorize the release of names of candidates for judicial office. According to JSC Chair Susan Ichinose, newly revised rules allow the names of nominees to be released
HONOLULU — The State Judicial Selection Commission voted to amend its rules to authorize the release of names of candidates for judicial office.
According to JSC Chair Susan Ichinose, newly revised rules allow the names of nominees to be released at the same time they are transmitted to the Governor or Chief Justice. It will permit disclosure of statistical and historical information that summarizes patterns and trends in judicial selection.
The JSC stated that the judicial selection process is strengthened by new rules that make its work more easily accessible and so will be more readily evaluated by the public.
According to the JSC, it will continue to keep confidential information, communications and votes of commissioners.
This is considered “deliberations” that the Hawai‘i Constitution requires to be confidential.
The amendment to JSC rules became effective Nov. 15.
State of Hawai‘i Attorney General David Louie responded that his office recognizes the right of the Commission to change its rules and decide upon its own authority to publicize the names on the list. However, he said it does not change the 1993 Hawai‘i Supreme Court ruling on public access to lists of judicial nominees.
In Pray vs. Judicial Selection Commission, the Court ruled that the JSC’s confidentiality rule was valid, and that the rule did not apply to the governor or to the Chief Justice after JSC had submitted its list of nominees for consideration.
“We recognize the right of the Judicial Selection Commission to change its rules and decide upon its own authority whether to publicize the names on the list,.” Louie said. “But this does not change the holding in the Pray vs. Judicial Selection Commission case that provided the governor with discretion to release the names, contrary to Judge Sakamoto’s ruling against the state in the recent case filed by the Star-Advertiser.”
Louis added that until his office has the opportunity to review and evaluate the written decision issued by Judge Sakamoto, no decision has been made on whether to pursue further legal review in the Star-Advertiser’s case.
“With respect to releasing the names of future nominees, if the commission publicizes the names of final judicial candidates when they provide those names to the governor, the practical effect moving forward is that the names are available to the public regardless of who releases them,” Louis said.
“This does not necessarily mean, however, that an appeal will not be taken in the present case, which was decided prior to the Judicial Selection Commission’s rule change.”
