Judging Ezra: Ambition and ability

By Dan Nakaso
Advertiser Staff Writer

When David Ezra joined the federal bench in 1988, cases in Hawai'i were assigned to judges by a deck of cards.

Federal Judge David Ezra in his courtroom at the Prince Kuhio Federal Building. Bruce Asato • The Honolulu Advertiser

Today, computers randomly assign the 500 cases that each of the three active federal judges handle each year. And Ezra has ruled on some of the biggest issues of our times: ordering a ban on long-line fishing in Hawaiian waters; putting the state departments of health and education under court supervision for their handling of children with mental disabilities; ruling in favor of Hawaiians-only voting for the Office of Hawaiian Affairs (a decision later overturned by the U.S. Supreme Court); holding state officials accountable for the performance of the state mental hospital.

Coming up: a challenge to the constitutionality of OHA.

During the statewide teachers' strike in April, Ezra also met privately with negotiators for both sides and warned them that he had the power to intervene.

After 19 days, negotiators reached an agreement the night before they were to appear in Ezra's court.

The big cases of the past few years didn't all come to Ezra by chance. As the chief judge, Ezra said he sometimes stepped in when the original judges excused themselves for one reason or another.

People who regularly deal with Ezra insist it's no accident that he places himself at the center of so many high-profile issues. He does it, they say, because he enjoys the spotlight and dreams of higher office, particularly a permanent appointment to the 9th Circuit Court of Appeals.

	David Alan Ezra
•	Position: Chief judge, U.S. District Court for the District of Hawai'i. Appointed by President Reagan in 1988.
•	Age: 53
•	Born: Columbus, Ohio.
•	Schools: St. Louis; University of Hawai'i; Chaminade University; St. Mary's University; graduated No. 1 in his class from St. Mary's University Law School.
•	Military Service: Army.
•	Affiliations: Vice president of the U.S. Federal Judges Association; member of the Judicial Council of the 9th Circuit; member of the Board of Trustees of St. Louis School; first federal judge from Hawai'i to serve as president of the 9th Circuit U.S. District Judges Association.
•	Other: Has taught courses in legal remedies and federal courts at UH law school since 1978.

No matter how he came to preside over the cases, Ezra is following a long line of federal judges who show "a fair amount of guts and courage," said Neal Milner, a University of Hawai'i political science professor. "His decisions will have far-reaching consequences in Hawai'i."

Jeff Portnoy has been Ezra's friend since they both took the bar exam in 1972. In 1994, Ezra appointed Portnoy to oversee the state's handling of children with special needs in the so-called Felix consent decree.

"When they write the history books," Portnoy said, "Judge Ezra will go down as the author of some significant decisions for this state. I think he relishes his job and the opportunity to make a difference. It might have been the luck of the draw or some other reason, but he's clearly had more high-profile cases than others."

In 1988, President Reagan made the then 40-year-old Ezra the youngest federal judge in the history of Hawai'i. Ezra, a Republican, believes he attracted the attention of the party when he won a reapportionment case for his Republican clients.

Suddenly, he went from private practice to the judge's seat in a federal courtroom.

By some accounts, when Ezra first became a judge, he could be irascible, combative and tough on both defendants and lawyers.

"Since then, he's really grown into the job and become a top-rate judge," said Rustam Barbee, a federal criminal defense attorney and former federal public defender. "He's very capable of handling these high-profile cases. He does exhaustive research, and I've often seen him coming out of the courthouse late at night. So I know he's a hard-working guy."

Although Ezra was a Reagan appointee, he doesn't fit the mold of a conservative judge, said Ira Rohter, a UH associate political science professor specializing in Hawai'i politics.

"In many ways, Ezra seems rather liberal. He's not your typical Ronald Reagan-type person," Rohter said. "There's also an attempt to paint Ezra as this really far-out character who's going beyond the normal bounds of jurisprudence. He's not. He's part of an honorable tradition of the federal courts choosing to engage in policy making."

Ezra, 53, has a reputation for showing up in court better prepared than the lawyers, and for keeping proceedings running smoothly. He's quick to chastise lawyers who veer off point and often makes his feelings known through scowling eyes that peer from below thick, dark eyebrows.

But Ezra also shows compassion for non-violent offenders and has been known to impose the minimal prison term allowed under strict federal sentencing guidelines.

"He's very conscious of family," Barbee said. "And he's very conscious of defendants' families. He seems to take that into account if it's a first-time offense and there was no violence involved."

Ezra was reluctant to grant an interview to talk about himself, although he has given several to local media outlets.

"I don't want people to think I'm doing this for publicity," he said. "I'm not. I just believe in openness."

In an interview in his koa-lined chambers on the fourth floor of the federal court building, Ezra would not say much about himself or the experiences of his life that have brought him to his own place in Hawai'i history.

Ezra's heroes include Frank M. Johnson Jr., a civil rights-era federal judge who drew death threats and hatred by helping to desegregate the South.

When Ezra became chief judge nearly three years ago, he ordered the Hawai'i flag to stand in the court rooms.

"There's no question we're a federal court," he said. "But we are in Hawai'i, and we can't forget that we're part of the community."

Ezra believes that state officials have an obligation to perform their duties. If they fail, it is the federal court's responsibility to step in.

That philosophy was born in history and government classes at St. Louis High School, the University of Hawai'i, Chaminade University and St. Mary's University in Texas.

He uses terms such as "an unflagging obligation to the law and the Constitution" to describe the mission of the bench. "You can't duck tough cases just because they'll be controversial," Ezra said.

He's a student of history, especially Hawaiian history, the Civil War and World War II. The mementos that line his bookshelves include a replica of the Statue of Liberty made out of material from the original statue, and mahogany models of World War II-era planes that were stationed in Hawai'i.

"It's important to understand where we've been in the past," Ezra said. "Human nature doesn't change a lot, and we need to learn from what's happened before."

Ezra runs four to five miles nearly every day. He often uses the miles to go over research with his law clerks who join him for jogs.

Lunch is often spent at his desk, reading cases with nothing more than the fuel from half a sandwich and an apple or banana.

His corner office comes with a gorgeous view of Honolulu Harbor and Aloha Tower. But Ezra said it's largely lost on him.

He's too busy turning cases over in his mind to bother looking.

"This just becomes wallpaper," he said, barely glancing at the view. "We're too busy working to be gazing out the window all day."

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Dan Nakaso can be reached by phone at 525-8085, or by e-mail at dnakaso@honoluluadvertiser.com.