Simeon R. Acoba, Jr.
From dKosopedia
Associate Justice of the Hawaii State Supreme Court, Simeon R. Acoba Jr.
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Born:
- March 11, 1944 in Honolulu.
Term:
- 2000-2010
Education:
- Northwestern University School of Law, juris doctorate;
- University of Hawaii, bachelor's degree;
- Farrington High School.
Legal career:
- Private practice, 1973-80;
- House majority staff attorney, 1975;
- state deputy attorney general, 1971-73;
- law clerk to Hawai'i Supreme Court Chief Justice William S. Richardson, 1969-70.
Judicial career:
- Appointed Hawai'i Supreme Court associate justice by Gov. Benjamin J. Cayetano, 2000;
- appointed Intermediate Court of Appeals associate judge by Gov. John D. Waihee III, 1994;
- appointed Circuit Court judge by Gov. George R. Ariyoshi, 1980;
- part-time District Court judge, 1979-80
Family:
- Married; three children
According to a Honolulu Advertiser article by Lynda Arakawa, entitled Top jurists represent diverse backgrounds and dated 11-23-03:
Simeon Acoba often is seen as the justice who shook things up at the Hawai'i Supreme Court, a jurist who isn't afraid to publicly challenge others, even if he is speaking out alone.
Acoba said he has no problem agreeing with other justices, pointing out that the court has reached unanimous decisions on many cases. Still, lawyers have noticed more dissenting and particularly more pointed opinions since Acoba joined the court in 2000.
"If you wanted unanimity, the best way to achieve that is to have a one-justice court," said Acoba, who drinks tea from a mug that says "No More Mr. Nice Guy."
"The reason I think you have a multimember court is that you want different perspectives brought on particular disputes because there are different faces to every dispute and you want all sides to be examined so that the best opinion or result can be achieved."
Some also consider him to be of a liberal bent. As a Circuit Court judge he was strongly criticized by then-Honolulu prosecutor Charles Marsland, but defended by Ben Cayetano, then a state senator who would later appoint him to the Hawai'i Supreme Court.
While many lawyers find Acoba to be soft-spoken, personable and warm — he has been known to walk his female law clerks to their cars when it's late — others describe him as caustic and difficult, a lone wolf who doesn't know how to pick battles.
Acoba, who was senior class president at Farrington High School, said it doesn't matter whether he agrees or disagrees with those characterizations.
"My focus is trying to do the best job I can, and people will judge other people — that's fine," he said. "That's just the human experience. I don't try to be difficult, I certainly don't intend to be difficult, but I will do what I feel I need to do."[1]
External Links
- Top jurists represent diverse backgrounds (Honolulu Advertiser, 11-23-03)
- Hawaii State Supreme Court Justices {Hawai’I State Judiciary)
- Manslaughter conviction overturned - fetus not “person” (Poinography, 11-30-05)
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