Circuit judge is
denied retentionJudge Sandra Simms had been
said to be too soft on criminals
Circuit Judge Sandra Simms, who has been criticized for being too soft on criminal defendants, will not be retained for a second 10-year term.
The Judicial Selection Commission issued an order yesterday denying Simms' petition for retention after her term expires May 25. The order does not say why she is not being retained.
Simms, 55, a former deputy corporation counsel and Hawaii's only African-American judge, could not be reached for comment. She is a graduate of DePaul University law school.
Sidney Ayabe, chairman of the Judicial Selection Commission, said he could not comment on the decision because all proceedings before the commission are confidential.
But defense attorneys who have appeared before Simms praised her judicial demeanor and said her rulings are based on the facts of the case and the law, regardless of how it might affect her position on the court.
"She gives everyone who came before her a level playing field," said attorney William Harrison. "She made decisions on what she thought was right and showed a lot of integrity."
While she ruled against him on a number of occasions, "I can always say whenever I walked into her courtroom that she will take time to listen to my arguments, consider the arguments and make rulings," he said. "To basically take her off the bench because she didn't cite cases to some special interest group's liking, I think it's inappropriate."
City Prosecutor Peter Carlisle could not be reached for comment.
Among the cases that sparked public criticism of Simms was that of Jonnaven Monalim, convicted in 1998 of punching and breaking the jaw of a 17-year-old boy while on probation for felony convictions.
Simms' decision to delay Monalim's prison sentence for 3 1/2 months to allow him to "bond" with his newborn son was the appropriate one, said Harrison, who represented Monalim at the time. It had the intended effect on Monalim, who has since been released and is doing well, Harrison said.
An African-American community leader said the decision not to reappoint Simms "sends a terrible message.
"I think it is shameful when you have a person who is a double minority and is not reappointed," said Faye Kennedy, first vice president of the NAACP.
"There are so few African-American jurists, and very few women," said Kennedy.
"It is a sad commentary on the state of a diverse and fair court."
Kennedy said the NAACP sent a letter in support of Simms to the Judicial Selection Committee. So did the Hawaii Women's Political Caucus.
While some people might have found her too lenient, there have been other judges who have made controversial decisions but who remain on the bench, Kennedy said.
Defense attorney Keith Shigetomi, who represented a defendant in 1999 who was given two chances by Simms at probation before she sent him to prison for five years, said the secretiveness surrounding the retention process is unfair to Simms.
No one knows on what basis the commission reached its decision so the accuracy of the information can be tested, he said.
"We're simply left with this decision without explanation. Whether they do or don't tell her in private, it's not for the rest of us to know," Shigetomi said.
He said the perception by many of Simms as being soft on defendants "is totally incorrect, and that's based on people disagreeing with a handful of cases -- and that's not indicative of how she handles her calendar," he said.
Simms has managed to avoid the spotlight in recent years but resurfaced recently when son Richard Simms, 25, was indicted in March for allegedly beating a man and later stealing the car of another man while under the influence of alcohol.
Prosecutors said at the time that their prosecution of the case had nothing to do with the fact that his mother was a judge.
The vacancy left by Simms' departure will likely not be filled until next year because Circuit Court judgeships are subject to confirmation by the state Senate, which does not meet again until January.
Ayabe said the selection commission is expected to post public announcements in the fall to announce the vacancy before interviewing applicants and submitting a list of candidates to the governor.