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High court nominee
By Ben DiPietro
Acoba clears Senate panel
Associated PressSimeon Acoba is a step away from serving on the Hawaii Supreme Court.
The Senate Judiciary Committee voted unanimously yesterday to send his nomination to the Senate for confirmation.
If approved, Acoba will succeed Robert Klein on the state's highest court. Klein, who resigned in February, supported Acoba's nomination during his confirmation hearing Tuesday.
During that hearing, some of Acoba's decisions were challenged by Honolulu Prosecutor Peter Carlisle, who accused him of being too technical.
The prosecutor pointed to a recent case in which Acoba set aside a conviction because the defendant had not been told orally or in writing the specifics of the crime of which he was accused. He said that and other rulings lacked common sense.
Committee co-chairman Sen. Matt Matsunaga said members reviewed those cases and concluded the judge was on solid legal footing in his decisions.
"There were six cases the prosecutor's office specifically cited. We looked at those," said Matsunaga, D-Kahala-Waialae-Palolo Valley. "While I may not have agreed with the decisions, I don't feel they were overly technical. His decisions were reasonable and certainly full of common sense."
Acoba has served on the Intermediate Court of Appeals since 1994. He had been a Circuit Court judge since 1980. He earned his law degree from Northwestern University in 1969 after graduating from the University of Hawaii and Farrington High School.
Acoba also is a longtime friend of Gov. Ben Cayetano's and was the governor's first appointment to the high court.
The committee also approved the nomination of Carl Sakamoto as a Circuit Court judge.
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