"I'm extremely honored to be nominated by the president for this position," Seabright said.

But Seabright must first get approval from the Senate Judiciary Committee and a speedy confirmation by the U. S. Senate is unlikely because Congress is scheduled to leave town Oct. 8 for the election recess. It is unclear if Congress will return after the election for a lame-duck session.

Lingle and the other two lawyers on her list applauded the nomination.

"Mike is very qualified and highly respected in the legal community, and he will make an excellent judge," the governor said. "I'm confident the U.S. Senate will agree that Mike is well suited for this position and I hope they will confirm his nomination in a timely manner."

Attorney General Mark Bennett, another of the governor's names on her list, said he recommended Seabright to the governor and congratulated him yesterday.

"I hope that Mike's nomination will be quickly approved by the U.S. Senate, so Hawai'i will once again have its full complement of federal judges," Bennett said.

Ted Hong, whose nomination by the governor to the state circuit court bench was rejected by the state Senate in March, was also governor's list. He said he wishes Seabright luck. "I think he will be a very good addition to the bench," Hong said.

If confirmed, Seabright would fill the vacancy created in January 2000 when U.S. District Judge Alan Kay took semiretired senior status.

Chief U. S. District Judge David Ezra said he is "absolutely delighted" that the process for selecting the replacement is moving forward. He said lack of the fourth judge has resulted in unnecessary delays and he hopes the nomination will be taken up by the Senate as early as possible.

"Our court has been in crisis and it has been in crisis for quite some time and we truly need a fourth judge," he said.

Bush nominated Honolulu attorney Frederick "Fritz" Rohlfing III in January 2002 to the judgeship, but Rohlfing last year asked the President to withdraw his nomination after the American Bar Association rated him unqualified to be a federal judge.

Seabright, a federal prosecutor since 1987 who worked in the U. S. Attorney's Office in Washington D. C. before moving to Hawai'i, prosecuted high-profile cases here, including the current bribery prosecution against eight former Honolulu liquor inspectors. In addition, he prosecuted former Bishop Estate trustee Lokelani Lindsey on money laundering charges and former state Sen. Milton Holt and former state House Speaker Daniel Kihano in separate campaign spending-related cases.