STAND. COM. REP. NO. 3468

 

Honolulu, Hawaii

                  

 

RE:    JUD. COM. NO.  7

 

 

 

Honorable Shan S. Tsutsui

President of the Senate

Twenty-Sixth State Legislature

Regular Session of 2012

State of Hawaii

 

Sir:

 

     Your Committee on Judiciary and Labor, to which was referred Judiciary Communication No. 7, submitting for study and consideration the appointment of:

 

DISTRICT COURT OF THE FIRST CIRCUIT, STATE OF HAWAII

 

     j.c. nO.  7   PAUL B.K. WONG

                   for a term to expire in six years,

 

begs leave to report as follows:

 

     Your Committee has reviewed the resume submitted by the appointee and finds Paul B.K. Wong to possess the requisite qualifications to be appointed to the District Court of the First Circuit, State of Hawaii.

 

     Testimony in support of the appointment of Mr. Wong was submitted by the Department of the Prosecuting Attorney; Sex Abuse Treatment Center, a program of the Kapiolani Medical Center for Women & Children; and eleven individuals.  Comments were submitted by the Board of Directors of the Hawaii State Bar Association.

 

     The Hawaii State Bar Association Board of Directors found the appointee to be qualified for the position of District Court Judge, First Circuit, based on established criteria for determining the qualifications of judicial and executive appointments generally using the American Bar Association Guidelines for Reviewing Qualifications of Candidates for State Judicial Office.  Specifically, the Board uses the following criteria in its deliberations:  integrity and diligence, legal knowledge and ability, professional experience, judicial temperament, financial responsibility, public service, health, and responsibilities and duties required of the position for which the applicant has been nominated.  The Board's rating system includes the categories of "qualified" and "not qualified."

 

     Mr. Wong received his Bachelor of Arts degree in Philosophy from the University of Southern California and his Doctorate of Jurisprudence from Boston College Law School.  While in law school, he received the West Publishing Company Award for Significant Contribution to the Law School and served as President of the Asian Pacific American Law Students' Association.

 

     Mr. Wong is licensed to practice law in Hawaii.  He is currently a Partner at McCorriston Miller Mukai MacKinnon LLP where he specializes in general civil litigation, including contract and real property disputes, collection, construction litigation, summary possession, and tort litigation.  He previously served as a Deputy Prosecuting Attorney for the Department of the Prosecuting Attorney of the City and County of Honolulu, where he became a specialized sex assault prosecutor and was very successful in helping the victims of sex assault.

 

     Mr. Wong has served as a longstanding pro bono counsel for the Hawaii Sex Abuse Treatment Center.  He has assisted the Center with complex situations involving victim rights as well as mediating sensitive issues.  Through his work with the Center, he has demonstrated the capacity to hear the concerns of differing parties, think through the benefits and consequences for all involved, and present thoughtful compromises that have proven beneficial.  As a result, the Center has been able to move forward on important issues and secure the confidence of those in the community.

 

     Testifiers in support of Mr. Wong's appointment commend his excellent trial skills and understanding of the role that evidence, court rules, and case law play in the judicial process.  As a deputy prosecutor, he consistently demonstrated compassion for victims while maintaining fairness in his dealings with defendants and the counsel in all phases of the criminal justice system.  He maintains this fairness and even-handedness currently in private practice, encompassing both civil and criminal matters.  Mr. Wong's overall demeanor and personality indicate that he would possess an even-handed and fair judicial temperament.  Lastly, his high personal integrity and moral courage will serve him well in becoming an outstanding jurist.

 

     As such, your Committee finds that, based on testimony submitted on his behalf, Paul B.K. Wong has the experience, temperament, judiciousness, and other competencies to be a District Court Judge.  He has a good sense of where the equities, rights, and responsibilities lie in a case, which is essential for a District Court Judge.

 

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

 

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

 

 

 

____________________________

CLAYTON HEE, Chair