GM1 SSCR2031

 

STAND. COM. REP. 2031

Honolulu, Hawaii

, 2004

RE: GOV. MSG. NO. 1

 

 

Honorable Robert Bunda

President of the Senate

Twenty-Second State Legislature

Regular Session of 2004

State of Hawaii

Sir:

Your Committee on Judiciary and Hawaiian Affairs, to which was referred Governor's Message No. 1, submitting for study and consideration the nomination of:

PATRICK W. BORDER, to the Circuit Court of the First Circuit, 16th Division, for a term of ten years.

begs leave to report as follows:

Upon review of the resume, application for judicial office, letter dated January 30, 2004, and testimony, your Committee finds that the nominee received a BA and a JD degree from the University of Nebraska. He has been an attorney with Cronin Fried Sekiya Kekina & Fairbanks for about twenty years. Prior to his tenure at Cronin Fried Sekiya Kekina & Fairbanks, the nominee was a Judge Advocate, United States Air Force; Deputy Attorney General, State of Hawaii; Deputy Corporation Counsel, City and County of Honolulu; and Deputy Prosecuting Attorney, City and County of Honolulu.

Your Committee further finds that the nominee is a member of the Hawaii State Bar Association, American Bar Association, Asia Pacific Lawyers Association, Inter Pacific Bar Association, Association of Trial Lawyers of America, Consumer Lawyers of Hawaii, and Mediation Center of the Pacific.

Your Committee received testimony in support of the nominee from the State Attorney General, City and County of Honolulu Department of the Prosecuting Attorney, Hawaii State Bar Association (HSBA), Executive Trust Company, the Mediation Center of the Pacific, New Hope Christian Fellowship, thirty-two attorneys, and thirteen individuals.

The Board of Directors of the HSBA has found the nominee to be highly qualified to serve as a circuit court judge. As part of the HSBA Board's procedures for taking a position on judicial appointments, the candidate is asked to submit a resume, respond to a questionnaire, and appear before the Board to answer questions. The HSBA Board utilizes a modified version of the American Bar Association Guidelines for Reviewing Qualifications of Candidates for State Judicial Office. These Guidelines include the following criteria for judicial positions: integrity, legal knowledge and ability, professional experience, judicial temperament, diligence, financial responsibility, public service, collegiality, and writing ability.

Your Committee notes that the nominee has thirty years of experience in representing plaintiffs and defendants in trials and appellate procedures. In addition, the nominee has considerable experience in mediation practices and has won the Mediator of the Year award in 1998 and 2003. All of this experience as a practicing attorney and mediator should facilitate an expedient and smooth transition for the nominee into this position.

As affirmed by the record of votes of the members of your Committee on Judiciary and Hawaiian Affairs 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 and Hawaiian Affairs,

		____________________________ COLLEEN HANABUSA, Chair