More Weigh In On Leonard Appointment As Hawaii Chief Justice

More prominent members of the Bar have added their support to the appointment of Intermediate Court of Appeals Judge Katherine Leonard as the next Chief Justice of the Hawaii Supreme Court:

• Seitz Attack on Kate Leonard completely inappropriate - Honolulu attorney Jay Fidell writes: "Eric Seitz' overblown opposition to Supreme Court nominee Kate Leonard should not have been dignified by an article reporting his views to the Bar Association without covering the views of other lawyers on the subject.

  On a mission, he said he spoke with 40 people who had "concerns" about Kate Leonard’s appointment, not because she isn’t a brilliant lawyer and judge, but because she doesn’t have "administrative experience." At 15 minutes per conversation, that would have been 10 hours of talk within only days after the nomination. I don't believe it, particularly since he declined to identify them."

• Leonard gets key endorsement - David Shapiro reports that retired Associate Justice Robert Klein "completely and without reservation support[s] her nomination."

• Nominee 'thoughtful, thorough and clear' - the Star-Advertiser's Ken Kobayashi reports on Attorney General Mark Bennett, former Hawaii State Bar Association President Paul Alston, and the State Public Defender's comments.

Also, this is worth checking out for background on the nomination process, and links to the others nominated for judgeships:

• Legislative Hearings Set for Judicial Nominees  (from Jesse Souki at Hawaii Land Use Law and Policy blog)

More, including a summary of her ICA opinions, media links, and some thoughts on the nomination at our resource page. Remember that on Tuesday, August 3 at 9:30 a.m. (HST), we will be live blogging the Senate Judiciary hearing.