Senate confirms Lee, 22-0, as judge

By Derrick DePledge
Advertiser Capitol Bureau

The state Senate voted unanimously yesterday to confirm Randal Lee as a Circuit Court judge in Honolulu. Senators praised the deputy city prosecutor for his integrity and fairness.

"I'm just grateful that the Senate is going to give me the privilege," Lee said after the 22-0 vote.

His wife, Rene, and his mother-in-law and two children were in the gallery as senators spoke warmly about Lee's experience and openness.

Senate Majority Leader Colleen Hanabusa, D-21st (Nanakuli, Makaha), and Sen. Clayton Hee, D-23rd (Kane'ohe, Kahuku), who lead the Senate Judiciary and Hawaiian Affairs Committee, recalled separately how Lee showed up at private interviews with them with an old case file. Lee explained he has always kept the file — a state Supreme Court reversal of a case he prosecuted — as a reminder not to make the same mistake again.

Lee, who was rated highly qualified to be a judge by the Hawai'i State Bar Association, directed the campaign-finance investigation into donors to former Honolulu Mayor Jeremy Harris and other high-profile political corruption and white-collar crime investigations.

Lee earned a bachelor's degree from the University of Hawai'i and a law degree from Southwestern University School of Law in Los Angeles. He worked in the public defender's office before becoming a deputy prosecuting attorney.

"It's going to be a very difficult task to fill his shoes in the office of the prosecutor," said Sen. Sam Slom, R-8th (Kahala, Hawai'i Kai).

Reach Derrick DePledge at 525-8070 or ddepledge@honoluluadvertiser.com.