March 16 panel members at UH Law School will discuss proposals for judicial oversight and elections

Four Hawai‘i legal experts, including a retired Supreme Court Justice and a former Governor, will discuss Senate oversight of judicial reappointments as well as judicial elections during a lunch-hour panel discussion Wednesday, March 16, 2016, at the UH Law School. Panelists are retired Hawai‘i Supreme Court Justice Steven H. Levinson; attorney Lisa W. Munger from Goodsill Anderson Quinn & Stifel; former Governor John Waihee, who heads the Native Hawaiian Roll Commission; and attorney Michele Lynn-Luke with Kessner Umebayashi Bain & Matsunaga.

The panel, sponsored by The American Constitution Society - Richardson School of Law Chapter, will be held from noon to 1:30 p.m. in the Moot Court Room at the William S. Richardson School of Law at 2515 Dole Street. ACS works for positive change by supporting debate on important legal and constitutional issues.

Panelists will discuss Senate Bill 2420 Senate Draft 1 that had proposed a constitutional amendment to enable the Senate to consent and approve potential extensions in judicial appointments. The bill was recently debated on the Senate floor and has died for this session, but raises the issue of whether such oversight would limit judicial independence.

The panel is also expected to discuss what may have been behind this proposal, as well as offer a broader overview of the impact of judicial elections in other states.

Lunch will be provided.

For more information, visit: https://www.law.hawaii.edu/