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The Honolulu Advertiser
Updated at 8:27 p.m., Wednesday, February 4, 2009

Former chief justice Herman Lum dead at 82

By Will Hoover
Advertiser Staff Writer

Herman Tsui Fai Lum, who served a decade as chief justice of the Hawai'i Supreme Court, died Jan. 26 in Honolulu. He was 82.

Associates remember him as a thoughtful, caring person who valued legal scholarship and sound judicial reasoning. He was chief justice from 1983 to 1993.

"He authored, as well as participated in, a number of opinions that changed the legal landscape of Hawai'i and expanded or clarified important areas of the laws of this state," said current Chief Justice Ronald Moon, the remaining high court justice who served with Lum.

"We are indebted to, and grateful for, the many and positive contributions he made to the people of Hawai'i," Moon said

In March 1983, Lum succeeded Chief Justice William S. Richardson. Gov. George Ariyoshi, Lum's classmate at Central Intermediate School and McKinley High School, appointed him to the post.

Reach Will Hoover at whoover@honoluluadvertiser.com.