Sabrina S. McKenna | |
|---|---|
 Sabrina McKenna in 2012 | |
| Justice of the Supreme Court of Hawaii | |
| Assumed office March 3, 2011 | |
| Nominated by | Neil Abercrombie |
| Preceded by | Mark E. Recktenwald |
| Personal details | |
| Born | October 7,1957 Tokyo,Japan |
| Children | 3 |
| Alma mater | University of Hawaiʻi at Mānoa |
| Occupation | Lawyer,Judge |
Sabrina Shizue McKenna (born October 7,1957) is an American judge from the U.S. state of Hawaii. Since March 3,2011,she has served as a justice of the Supreme Court of Hawaii.
McKenna was born on October 7,1957,in Tokyo,Japan. [1] Her father was a professor from the Midwestern United States and her mother was a Japanese national. [2] McKenna's father died when she was 9 years old. [3] McKenna graduated from Yokota High School in Tokyo. [1]
McKenna attended the University of Hawaiʻi at Mānoa,where she played on the Hawaii Rainbow Wahine women's basketball team. [3] She was one of the first beneficiaries of Title IX. She graduated with a Bachelor of Arts in Japanese. [3] McKenna then earned her Juris Doctor from the William S. Richardson School of Law. [3]
McKenna was an associate at Goodsill Anderson Quinn &Stifel until 1987,then served as general counsel to Otaka,Inc. until 1990. She became an assistant professor at the University of Hawaii Law School before being appointed a District Court judge on November 30,1993. She was elevated to the Circuit Courts on June 29,1995. [4]
McKenna was one of three candidates recommended to President Barack Obama by Senators Daniel Inouye and Daniel Akaka to fill a judicial vacancy on the United States District Court for the District of Hawaii. [1] McKenna did not receive the nomination,which went to Leslie E. Kobayashi in April 2010. [1]
On January 25,2011,Governor Neil Abercrombie nominated McKenna to a seat on the Hawaii Supreme Court. [1] The Hawaii Senate Judiciary Committee held a hearing on her nomination on February 4 and advanced her nomination to the full Senate by a vote of 5–0. [5] Over one hundred pieces of testimony were submitted to the Judiciary Committee with respect to her nomination,the vast majority of which were supportive of McKenna. [5] Of the five testimonies that opposed McKenna's appointment,four did so because of her sexual orientation. [5] On February 16,2011,the Hawaii Senate approved her nomination by a vote of 23–0. [6] She was sworn in on March 3,2011. [7]
McKenna has three children. [1] [3] McKenna is the first openly gay judge to serve on the Hawaii Supreme Court. [1] As of 2023,she is one of twelve openly LGBT state supreme court justices serving in the United States.[ citation needed ]
The William S. Richardson School of Law is the professional graduate law school of the University of Hawaiʻi at Mānoa. Located in Honolulu,Hawaii,the school is named after its patriarch,former Hawaii State Supreme Court Chief Justice William S. Richardson,a zealous advocate of Hawaiian culture,and is Hawaii's only law school.
William Shaw Richardson was an American attorney,political figure,and chief justice of the Hawaii State Supreme Court from 1966 to 1982. Prior to his service as the top jurist in Hawaii,Richardson was lieutenant governor under John A. Burns. Previous to that tenure from 1956 to 1962 he was chairman of the Democratic Party of Hawaii.
Paula Aiko Nakayama is an American lawyer who served as an associate justice of the Hawaii State Supreme Court from 1993 to 2023. After Rhoda V. Lewis,Nakayama is second woman to ever serve on the Hawaii State Supreme Court. She is also the first Asian American woman to serve as a state supreme court justice nationwide. Currently serving her third term,Nakayama served her first term from 1993 to 2003 and her second term from 2003 to 2013.
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Jill Aiko Otake is a United States district judge of the United States District Court for the District of Hawaii.
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