At least some of the six judges on the Hawaii Intermediate Court of Appeals could come under greater scrutiny in coming weeks as the search gets under way to fill an upcoming vacancy on the Hawaii Supreme Court.

Associate Justice Steven Levinson will retire from his $159,072-a year-position on the five-member high court on Dec. 31.

Tomorrow is the deadline to apply or to submit names of potential candidates to the Judicial Selection Commission, which will be submitting up to six names to Gov. Linda Lingle for Levinson's replacement, subject to state Senate approval.

Appeals court judges have been reluctant to disclose whether they will apply for the position, but legal observers say Lingle appointees Chief Judge Mark Recktenwald and Appeals Judge Craig Nakamura might have the inside track.

Both Recktenwald and Nakamura have law enforcement backgrounds and both have already gone through Senate confirmation hearings and won approval for their appeals court jobs, which are similar to the roles of high court justices.

Recktenwald said last week he is unable to comment out of respect for the commission process, which is confidential. Nakamura also declined to comment.

Attorney General Mark Bennett, also mentioned as a possible candidate for the high court, has said he would not apply for the job.

In the past, three appeals court judges - Yoshimi Hayashi, Frank Padgett and sitting Associate Justice Simeon Acoba - were elevated to the high court.

The chief judge of the intermediate appeals court earns $153,192 annually. The annual salary for each of the five appeals judges is $147,288.