STAND. COM. REP. NO. 3191

                                    Honolulu, Hawaii
                                                      , 2000

                                    RE: GOV. MSG. NO. 222
                                        




Honorable Norman Mizuguchi
President of the Senate
Twentieth State Legislature
Regular Session of 2000
State of Hawaii

Sir:

     Your Committee on Judiciary, to which was referred
Governor's Message No. 222, submitting for study and
consideration the nomination of:

     KAREN S.S. AHN, gubernatorial nominee to the Circuit Court
     of the First Circuit, for a term of Ten Years, 

begs leave to report as follows:

     Upon review of the background information submitted by the
nominee, your Committee finds that Karen S.S. Ahn holds a B.S.
degree from Boston University and a J.D. degree from the
University of Hawaii's William S. Richardson School of Law.  Ms.
Ahn served in the Department of the Prosecuting Attorney for the
City and County of Honolulu from 1984 to 1989, was in private
practice from 1989 to 1994, and served as a Special Deputy
Attorney General for the Department of the Attorney General from
1993 to 1994.  Currently, Ms. Ahn has served as a District Court
Judge for the First Circuit since 1994.  In addition, Ms. Ahn's
professional and community activities include: the Land Use
Commission; the American Bar Association; the Hawaii Korean
Chamber of Commerce; the League of Women Voters, Honolulu
Chapter; and the Metropolitan Rotary Club.

     Testimony in support of the nominee was submitted to your
Committee by:  the Office of the Federal Public Defender; a
District Court Judge of the First Circuit; the State Office of
the Public Defender; the Hawaii State Bar Association; the Korean
American Society of Hawaii; and seven members of the legal
community.  Testimony in support of the nominee indicated that
Ms. Ahn is professional, intelligent, and analytical in seeking a

 
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fair and just outcome.  Further, testifiers acknowledged that Ms.
Ahn is courteous, compassionate, even-tempered, and eminently
qualified to serve as a Circuit Court Judge in the First Circuit.
Testimony in opposition was submitted by the Office of the
Prosecuting Attorney for the City and County of Honolulu citing
concerns regarding Ms. Ahn's inability to be decisive and her
poor judicial temperament.  However, several testifiers in
support of the nominee spoke to the concerns raised in the
opposing testimony and assured the Committee that Ms. Ahn would
not have any problems assuming her role as a jurist.

     Your Committee members diligently questioned the nominee
regarding her thoughts on substance abuse, domestic violence,
civil liability, and gender balance within the Judiciary.  In
addition, your Committee questioned Ms. Ahn regarding the
concerns raised by the Office of the Prosecuting Attorney for the
City and County of Honolulu and discussed the qualities that Ms.
Ahn will bring to the Circuit Court in the First Circuit.  Your
Committee believes that the nominee adequately responded to the
Committee's inquiries.

     As affirmed by the record of votes of the members of your
Committee on Judiciary that is attached to this report, your
Committee, after full consideration of the background, character,
experience, and qualifications of the nominee, has found the
nominee to be qualified for the position to which nominated and
recommends that the Senate consent to the nomination.

                                   Respectfully submitted on
                                   behalf of the members of the
                                   Committee on Judiciary,



                                   ______________________________
                                   AVERY B. CHUMBLEY, Co-Chair



                                   ______________________________
                                   MATTHEW M. MATSUNAGA, Co-Chair

 
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