Honorable Robert Bunda

President of the Senate

Twenty-Second State Legislature

Regular Session of 2003

State of Hawaii

Sir:

Your Committee on Judiciary and Hawaiian Affairs, to which was referred Governor's Message No. 426, submitting for study and consideration the nomination of:

begs leave to report as follows:

Your Committee received testimony in support of the nominee from the State Attorney General, State Public Defender, Office of Hawaiian Affairs, Hawaii State Bar Association (HSBA), Hawaii Government Employees Association, State of Hawaii Organization of Police Officers, Hawaii Chapter of the American Board of Trial Advocates, forty-five attorneys, and eight individuals.

The Board of Directors of the HSBA has found the nominee to be a highly qualified candidate. As part of the HSBA Board's procedures for taking a position on judicial appointments, the candidate is asked to submit a resume, respond to a questionnaire, and to appear before the Board to answer questions. The HSBA Board utilizes a modified version of the American Bar Association Guidelines for Reviewing Qualifications of Candidates for State Judicial Office. These guidelines include the following criteria for judicial positions: integrity, legal knowledge and ability, professional experience, judicial temperament, diligence, financial responsibility, public service, collegiality, and writing ability.

James E. Duffy, Jr., is a well-known and well-respected member of the legal community in Hawaii. He received a BA degree from the College of St. Thomas, and a JD degree from Marquette University Law School where he was on the Board of Editors of the Marquette Law Review. He has been associated with Cobb & Gould, Chuck & Fujiyama, and Fujiyama, Duffy & Fujiyama. Most recently, he has had his own law practice. His professional background is concentrated in plaintiff and defense trial work, primarily in professional liability, products liability, and personal injury.

The nominee is currently a member of the Judicial Arbitration Commission, the Standing Committee on Rules of Civil Procedure and Circuit Court Civil Rules, the American College of Trial Lawyers, the American Board of Trial Advocates, and the American Inn of Court. He has served on the Judicial Salary Commission, Task Force for Judicial Financial Disclosure, and Board of Bar Examiners. He has served as President and President Elect of the Hawaii State Bar Association, Co-Chair of the Professional Responsibility Committee, Member of the Hawaii Appellate Handbook Committee, and Member of the Board of Directors of the Hawaii Institute for Continuing Legal Education. He has been the Hawaii State Representative to the American Bar Association Judicial Administration Division and Lawyer Representative to the Ninth Circuit Judicial Conference.

The nominee is widely published in professional journals and has served as a presenter in numerous trial practice seminars and continuing education programs. Your Committee notes that since 1983 he has been listed in "The Best Lawyers In America", and he has received a Life-time Achievement Award from the Hawaii State Bar Association, a Life-time Achievement Award from the Consumer Lawyers of Hawaii, and the John S. Edmunds Award for Civility and Vigorous Advocacy.

Your Committee believes that the nominee would be an excellent addition to the Hawaii Supreme Court and would make an invaluable contribution to the court's professionalism and decisions. In addition to his extensive experience in trial and appellate work, the nominee has considerable experience in alternative dispute resolution, including well over three hundred cases as mediator, arbitrator, and special master in a broad range of matters in business, commercial, real estate, insurance, employment, labor, trust, probate, toxic tort, products liability, personal injury, and professional liability.

Your Committee notes from the testimony of the State Attorney General that the nominee is "a keenly intelligent, honest, ethical, and thoughtful attorney ... He is fair, and listens carefully to both sides before making a decision on any matter. This is, of course, the essence of a good judge, especially a good appellate judge –- the desire and ability to decide cases not based on preconceived notions, or inherent philosophy, but on the facts, the law, and the issues presented."

Your Committee is particularly impressed with the nominee's responses to questions posed at the confirmation hearing, to the effect that he views the Supreme Court as having the duty to apply the law to the case rather than making the law. It is the duty of the Legislature, elected by a majority of the people, to make the policy decisions by enacting laws. It is the duty of the Executive Branch to administer those laws, and it is the duty of the Judiciary to interpret those laws by researching the legislative history, if necessary, to ascertain legislative intent.

As affirmed by the record of votes of the members of your Committee on Judiciary and Hawaiian Affairs that is attached to this report, your Committee, after full consideration of the background, character, experience, and qualifications of the nominee, has found the nominee to be qualified for the position to which nominated and recommends that the Senate consent to the nomination.