STAND. COM. REP. NO. 1392

 

Honolulu, Hawaii

                  

 

RE:    JUD. COM. NO.  4

 

 

 

Honorable Shan S. Tsutsui

President of the Senate

Twenty-Sixth State Legislature

Regular Session of 2011

State of Hawaii

 

Sir:

 

     Your Committee on Judiciary and Labor, to which was referred Judiciary Communication No. 4, submitting for study and consideration the appointment of: 

 

DISTRICT Court of the FIRST Circuit, State of Hawaii

 

J.C. No. 4

MELANIE MITO MAY,

for a term to expire in six years,

 

begs leave to report as follows:

 

     Your Committee has reviewed the resume submitted by the appointee and finds Melanie Mito May to possess the requisite qualifications to be appointed to the District Court of the First Circuit, State of Hawaii.

 

     Testimony in support of the appointment of Melanie Mito May was submitted by the Chief of Police for the Maui Police Department; the Executive Staff of the Honolulu Fire Department; the Executive Director of the Waikiki Health Center; the President and Chief Executive Officer, Director of Human Resources Operations, and Human Resource Services Manager of ALTRES, Inc.; and eighteen individuals.  Comments were submitted by the Board of Directors of the Hawaii State Bar Association.

 

     The Hawaii State Bar Association Board of Directors (HSBA Board) found the appointee to be qualified for the position of Judge for the District Court of the First Circuit, based on established criteria for determining the qualifications of judicial and executive appointments generally utilizing the American Bar Association Guidelines for Reviewing Qualifications of Candidates for State Judicial Office.  Those Guidelines include the following criteria, which are not exclusive:  integrity and diligence, legal knowledge and ability, professional experience, judicial temperament, financial responsibility, public service, health, and responsibilities and duties required of the position for which the applicant has been appointed.  The HSBA Board ratings system includes the categories of "qualified" and "not qualified."

 

     Ms. May received her Bachelor of Science degree, cum laude, in Commerce from Santa Clara University, and her Juris Doctor degree from Hastings College of the Law.  She has been a partner with the firm of Marr Jones and Wang since 2003, and she was an associate with the firm from 1997 until she became a partner.  Her practice involved representing clients in federal and state court, arbitration, mediation, and administrative proceedings before the Hawai‘i Civil Rights Commission, the United States Equal Employment Opportunity Commission, the Department of Labor and Industrial Relations, and the United States Department of Labor.  Ms. May concentrated her practice in employment law, litigating discrimination, harassment, retaliation, wrongful termination, disability, and wage and hour cases, including several class actions.  She also assisted private and public sector employers in developing employment policies, trained supervisory and nonsupervisory employees regarding compliance with state and federal laws, and provided guidance and counsel to management on a wide range of employment law issues.  Prior to her work with Marr Jones and Wang, she served as a law clerk to Judge Kevin S.C. Chang and to Judge Daniel G. Heely.

 

     Ms. May has also volunteered as a Court Annexed Arbitration Program arbitrator from 2002 to the present.  Additionally, she has also contributed to the community, participating on the Kamiloiki Elementary School Community Council, the Waikiki Health Center Board of Directors, and the Honolulu Japanese Junior Chamber of Commerce.

 

     Testimony submitted in support of Ms. May's appointment highlighted her abilities as a legal advocate, including skillful legal analysis, articulate writing, and emphasis on civility, even under the most adversarial circumstances.  Testifiers also praised her ability to explain complex legal concepts to clients and other attorneys in a clear and concise fashion.  She has a reputation in the legal community as being intelligent, prepared, hard-working, honest, responsible, compassionate, fair, reasonable, patient, and well organized. 

 

     Your Committee finds that, based on the testimony submitted on her behalf, Melanie Mito May has the experience, temperament, judiciousness, and other competencies to be a District Court judge, and has a good sense of where the equities, rights, and responsibilities lie in a case, which is essential for a District Court judge.

 

     As affirmed by the record of votes of the members of your Committee on Judiciary and Labor that is attached to this report, your Committee, after full consideration of the background, experience, and qualifications of the appointee, has found the appointee to be qualified for the position to which appointed and recommends that the Senate consent to the appointment.

 

Respectfully submitted on behalf of the members of the Committee on Judiciary and Labor,

 

 

 

____________________________

CLAYTON HEE, Chair