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Gov names
Simeon Acoba to
state’s high court

The appeals court judge had
been considered a leading candidate

By Richard Borreca
Star-Bulletin

Gov. Ben Cayetano today named Simeon Acoba, associate justice on the Intermediate Court of Appeals, to the Hawaii Supreme Court.

Acoba would replace Associate Justice Robert Klein, who resigned unexpectedly on Feb. 1 to become a partner in the Honolulu law firm of McCorriston, Miho, Miller, Mukai.

Acoba's nomination is Cayetano's first to the Supreme Court. His name was on a list of candidates submitted to Cayetano by the Judicial Selection Committee.

Justices are appointed to a one-year term and can seek a second 10-year term.

It had been speculated that Acoba, a close friend of Cayetano's, would be picked for the high court. He officiated at the governor's marriage to Vicky Cayetano and swore Cayetano into office for his second term.

The nomination is subject to confirmation by the state Senate.

Acoba, 56, is a University of Hawaii graduate, and received his law degree in 1969 from Northwestern School of Law.

He was named to the state Circuit Court in 1980 after serving as a part-time District Court judge the year before.

He was named to the Appeals Court in 1994.

In July the salary of a Supreme Court associate justice will rise to $115,547.

The other members of the state Supreme Court are Chief Justice Ronald Moon and Associate Justices Steven Levinson, Paula Nakayama and Mario Ramil.

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http://www.hawaii.gov/