Assistant U.S. attorney
tapped for federal bench
President Bush has nominated Honolulu's top federal white-collar crime prosecutor as the fourth U.S. District Court judge in Hawaii.
 | 
|
Seabright, 45, has been with the U.S. Attorney's Office in Honolulu since 1990 and is the supervisor of the white collar and organized crime unit.
"I'm extremely honored to have been nominated by the president," Seabright said yesterday.
Officials with the Governor's Office said Gov. Linda Lingle submitted three names, which go through White House legal counsel before being sent to the president to make the nomination. The other two were state Attorney General Mark Bennett and former state chief labor negotiator Ted Hong.
Seabright's nomination goes before the U.S. Senate Judiciary Committee for approval and then to the U.S. Senate for confirmation.
In a news release yesterday, Lingle said, "We are delighted that President Bush has nominated Michael Seabright to serve as U.S. District Court judge for the District of Hawaii.
"Mike is very qualified and highly respected in the legal community, and he will make an excellent judge. I'm confident the U.S. Senate will agree that Mike is well suited for this position and I hope they will confirm his nomination in a timely manner."
Seabright received his law degree from George Washington University in 1984 and moved to Honolulu where he worked at the law firm Carlsmith Ball. In 1987, Seabright started working with the U.S. Attorney's Office on the mainland before returning to work in the Hawaii offices in 1990.
Since then, Seabright has prosecuted a number of high-profile white-collar crime cases, including those involving former Honolulu City Councilman Andy Mirikitani, former state Sen. Milton Holt, former state House Speaker Daniel Kihano, and eight former Honolulu liquor inspectors.