Hong among judicial nominees
By Lynda Arakawa
Advertiser Capitol Bureau
Gov. Linda Lingle has submitted the names of state chief labor negotiator Ted Hong and two other lawyers to President Bush for appointment as a U.S. District judge in Hawai'i.
The other two are state Attorney General Mark Bennett and assistant U.S. Attorney J. Michael Seabright.
It is unclear when Bush will make the nomination, but the White House would need to make an appointment early enough so the U.S. Senate can review and approve it before Congress adjourns in early October.
BENNETT
HONG
Of the three recommendations, Hong is the most controversial. Lingle appointed him to the Big Island Circuit Court bench this year, but the state Senate in March rejected the nomination by a 13-12 vote. Many senators who voted against his nomination cited the Hawai'i State Bar Association's rating of Hong as unqualified for the position because of concerns about his judicial temperament.
Bennett and Hong yesterday would not speak about the possibility of an appointment. Seabright could not be reached for comment.
Lingle said the White House asked her to submit more than one recommendation.
"I picked three people, all of whom I think are just terrific lawyers, great people and any of them would do a great job," the governor said last night.
Asked why she included Hong, given his rejection by the state Senate, Lingle said she chose him for the same reasons she nominated him for the circuit court post.
"He's an outstanding lawyer, a great person and a person of great fairness and integrity, and he would do a great job," the governor said.
A federal judgeship is a lifetime appointment and is considered one of the most powerful and influential positions in the legal community.
The nominee, if confirmed by the U.S. Senate, would be one of four federal district judges in Hawai'i, each of whom earns $157,000 a year. The fourth position, which has been vacant for four years, is temporary. A nominee approved to the post would still have a lifetime appointment, but unless Congress makes the position permanent by October, the court would be limited to three judges when one leaves.
The new judge would join Hawai'i's federal bench that includes U.S. Chief District Judge David Ezra and district judges Helen Gillmor and Susan Oki Mollway. Samuel King and Alan Kay serve as senior district judges with a reduced case load.
Ezra has said the lack of a fourth judge here has created a backlog, with civil trials pushed back several years.
Bush had nominated Honolulu attorney Frederick "Fritz" Rohlfing III in January 2002 to the position, but Rohlfing last month asked Bush to withdraw his nomination. Rohlfing was never given a Senate hearing, and the American Bar Association deemed him unqualified to serve as a federal judge.
Paul Cardus, spokesman for U.S. Sen. Daniel Akaka, D-Hawai'i, said the White House notified Akaka's office that Bennett, Hong and Seabright were submitted for consideration. Cardus said Akaka had "cordial meetings" with Hong and Seabright this week and that the senator has previously worked closely with Bennett.
Akaka "looks forward to the White House moving expeditiously on sending a nomination to the Senate so that the Judiciary Committee and the bar associations can begin the review process and the Senate can act to fill this vacancy for the Hawai'i District Court," Cardus said.
U.S. Sen. Dan Inouye, D-Hawai'i, has said he will wait for the White House's nomination before making any comment, said his spokeswoman, Jennifer Goto-Sabas.
Hong, 46, was among a group of Democrats to publicly support Republican Lingle in the 2002 governor's race and was one of several Hilo coordinators for her campaign.
Lingle named Hong chief negotiator in December 2002 and appointed him to serve an interim position on the University of Hawai'i Board of Regents in May 2003. He was a private attorney in Hilo, and also served as Hawai'i County assistant corporation counsel.
He was also a deputy corporation counsel and deputy prosecuting attorney in Honolulu and was an associate attorney with the law firm Roehrig Roehrig Wilson Hara and deSilva.
Lingle appointed Bennett, 51, to be state attorney general in December 2002. Previously he was a partner in the law firm of McCorriston Miller Mukai MacKinnon and the legal counsel for the Hawai'i Republican Party. He has also served as an assistant U.S. attorney.
As a private attorney, Bennett has represented a variety of clients, including tobacco company Philip Morris Inc., and Cindy McMillan, a former employee of convicted Honolulu Councilman Andy Mirikitani and one of the key witnesses in Mirikitani's corruption case.
He also represented the state Employee Retirement System and veteran Honolulu police officer Kenneth Kamakana, who filed a federal lawsuit in 2000 against the department alleging corruption in the Criminal Intelligence Unit.
Seabright, 45, has prosecuted a number of high-profile federal cases as an assistant U.S. attorney. Most recently, he prosecuted the bribery cases against Honolulu liquor commission inspectors which resulted in the convictions of eight inspectors.
Seabright also helped prosecute the case involving former Bishop Estate trustee Lokelani Lindsey, who was sentenced in 2002 to six months in federal prison on money laundering charges in connection with her sister's 1995 bankruptcy case.
He also handled the Mirikitani case as well as the cases against former state Sen. Milton Holt and former state House Speaker Daniel Kihano, who were both convicted of campaign spending-related charges.
Frank Oliveri of the Advertiser's Washington Bureau and staff writer Derrick DePledge contributed to this report. Reach Lynda Arakawa at larakawa@honoluluadvertiser.com or at 525-8070.
