STAND. COM. REP. NO. 1393

 

Honolulu, Hawaii

                  

 

RE:    JUD. COM. NO.  5

 

 

 

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. 5, submitting for study and consideration the appointment of: 

 

DISTRICT Family Court of the FIRST Circuit, State of Hawaii

 

J.C. No. 5

CATHERINE H. REMIGIO,

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 Catherine H. Remigio to possess the requisite qualifications to be appointed to the District Family Court of the First Circuit, State of Hawaii.

 

     Testimony in support of the appointment of Catherine H. Remigio was submitted by the Public Defender, Judge Michael A. Town (retired), Judge Michael F. Broderick (retired), the Family Law Section of the Hawaii State Bar Association, and eight 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 Family 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".

 

     Catherine H. Remigio received her Bachelor of Science degree in Foreign Service – Comparative Studies from Georgetown University, and her Juris Doctor degree from the University of Hawaii at Manoa, William S. Richardson School of Law.  Ms. Remigio is currently a Per Diem Judge with the District Court of the First Circuit, handling criminal and civil infraction traffic cases, criminal misdemeanors and petty misdemeanors, arraignments, pleas, small claims trials, regular civil claims trials, and temporary restraining order trials.  She is also a partner with the law firm of Bryant and Remigio, LLLC, where she practices family law and handles divorce, paternity, child protective services, temporary restraining orders, family criminal defense, and appeals.  She is also an arbitrator with the Court Annexed Arbitration Program.  Prior to establishing her own firm, Ms. Remigio was an associate with Stirling and Kleintop, ALS, where she practiced family law.  From 1993 to 1996 and again from 1998 to 2004, she served as a Deputy Public Defender with the Office of the Public Defender.  In the interim between her work with the Office of the Public Defender, Ms. Remigio worked as an associate in a law firm in San Diego, practicing plaintiffs civil and class action suits, water rights, and electricity rates cases.

 

     Testimony in support of Ms. Remigio's appointment praised her knowledge of the law and understanding of her cases.  As a judge, she is reputed to be a good decision-maker who efficiently handles her caseload and does so with fairness to all who appear in her courtroom.  Her reputation in the legal community is that she is exceedingly professional, punctual, practical, compassionate, credible, well prepared, reasonable, and articulate.  She has a strong sense of justice and fairness.

 

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