Today, the Hawaiʻi State Senate voted to confirm three First Circuit
appointments. James S. Kawashima (Circuit Court) was appointed by Governor David Y. Ige.
Timothy E. Ho (District Court) and John Alberto Montalbano (District Family Court) were appointed by Chief Justice Mark E. Recktenwald.
Senator Karl Rhoads (District 13 - Dowsett Highlands, Pu‘unui, Nu‘uanu, Pacific Heights, Pauoa, Punchbowl, Pālama, Liliha, ʻIwilei, Chinatown, and Downtown), chair of the Senate Judiciary Committee stated, “The resumes and skillsets of these judicial appointees are wideranging, extensive and diverse. After meeting with each of them, I am confident that these three judges will serve the judiciary with intelligence and integrity."
First Circuit – Oʻahu
James S. Kawashima has been confirmed to the Circuit Court of the First Circuit, replacing retired Judge Bert I. Ayabe. He currently is a judge for the District Court of the First Circuit, confirmed in 2016, and served as a per diem judge for the same court from 2010 to 2016. Prior to his District Court confirmation, Judge Kawashima practiced law in Honolulu for fourteen
years as a solo practitioner, an associate attorney at several firms, a deputy attorney general in the Department of the Attorney General's Medicaid fraud control unit and a deputy prosecuting attorney at the Department of the Prosecuting Attorney for the City and County of Honolulu.
He is a graduate of the University of Southern California Law Center, where he was a Moot Court Finalist. He was admitted to the Hawaiʻi State Bar in 1992. Judge Kawashima also has years of experience in the business field including serving as a corporate legal consultant, pitchman and venture fundraiser. He has also taught as an adjunct instructor at Kapiʻolani Community College from 2008-2011 and summer school at ʻIolani School and served as an LSAT and SAT instructor.
Timothy E. Ho has been confirmed to the District Court of the First Circuit, replacing Judge Kevin T. Morikone, who was confirmed to the Circuit Court bench. He currently runs his own law practice, the Law Office of Timothy E. Ho, and serves as a per diem judge in the District Court of the First Circuit. Prior to that, Judge Ho was employed as an associate attorney by Imanaka Asato, LLLC from 2018 to 2022 and was with the Office of the Public Defender from 1987 to 2018, concluding his time there as the chief deputy public defender. He is a graduate of the University of Hawaiʻi William S. Richardson School of Law and was admitted to the Hawaiʻi
State Bar in 1987.
Throughout his career, Judge Ho has been active in numerous legal and community organizations, including the American Heart Association and the Hawaiʻi State Bar Association, and was an adjunct professor for the William S. Richardson School of Law.
John Alberto Montalbano has been confirmed to the District Family Court of the First Circuit, after the retirement of Judge Sherri-Ann L. Chun Iha. He is currently employed with the Office of the Command Judge Advocate as a judge advocate attorney. Prior to that, Judge Montalbano was employed by Farrell & Associates, LLC from 2013 to 2020, Fukunaga Matayoshi Hershey & Ching, LLP from 2008 to 2013 and was a deputy prosecuting attorney in the career criminal unit of the Department of the Prosecuting Attorney for the City and County of Honolulu from
2002 to 2008. He is a graduate of Golden Gate University School of Law and was admitted to the Hawaiʻi State Bar in 2001.
Montalbano has served as a per diem district court judge for the District Court of the First Circuit since 2014 and also as an adjunct professor for the 2960th Multi-functional Training Brigade. He has also volunteered with the Kapolei Access to Justice Room, Court Annexed Arbitration Program and Protectors of Paradise beach clean-up crew.
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