Gov. Josh Green is officially on the clock. With two major judicial vacancies to fill, he now has roughly a month to choose nominees after receiving shortlists from the Judicial Selection Commission on Monday. The pool includes sitting judges, law professors and private-practice attorneys who have been vetted for months.
Who’s on the shortlists
For chief justice, the commission forwarded five candidates: Lance D. Collins, Vladimir Devens, David M. Forman, Benjamin E. Lowenthal and Sabrina S. McKenna, according to a press release from the Judicial Selection Commission.
In a separate release, the commission named five finalists for a Second Circuit (Maui) judgeship: Ryan M.K. Anderson-Teshima, Annalisa M. Bernard Lee, Lance D. Collins, Thomas W. Kolbe and Zachary P. Raidmae, with recruitment statistics and biographical notes also posted by the Judicial Selection Commission.
How to weigh in
The public is invited to submit comments on the nominees through the Office of the Governor. The governor’s website hosts the official submission form and guidance for sending feedback about judicial candidates, including instructions on what information is helpful for consideration.
What happens next
Under state rules, the governor must select a nominee from each list within 30 days. Because the commission delivered the shortlists on Monday, that puts the deadline at roughly April 15, 2026. Once Green makes his picks, each appointment goes to the state Senate for confirmation proceedings.
Local coverage of the rollout appears at Big Island Now, which first published the transmitted lists and linked to the commission’s releases.
Why it matters
The top job in Hawaii’s judiciary opened when Chief Justice Mark E. Recktenwald retired last fall, and Associate Justice Sabrina McKenna has been serving in the interim while the search plays out. As Honolulu Civil Beat reported, Recktenwald’s retirement, along with recent legislative wins for the Judiciary, has raised the stakes for whoever comes next.
The new chief justice will help shape the court’s priorities on issues ranging from land rights and Native Hawaiian matters to administrative law. Green is expected to make his selections before mid-April. Once he does, the commission’s materials will provide a starting point for Senate hearings, and members of the public can continue to submit comments through the governor’s contact page while following local coverage as the process unfolds.
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