Acting Chief Justice McKenna Appoints New District Court Judges for Big Island

Acting Chief Justice Sabrina S. McKenna has appointed Andrew Michael Kennedy to serve as a district court judge for the Big Island, filling a seat in the District Court of the Third Circuit that covers the island of Hawaiʻi. The appointment is one of three McKenna made in total, with two additional appointments going to the District Court of the First Circuit on Oʻahu.

All three appointments were drawn from nomination lists the Judicial Selection Commission presented to McKenna on February 11, 2026. Each appointment remains subject to Senate confirmation, and if confirmed, Kennedy and his fellow appointees will each serve a six-year term on the bench.

Details on Kennedy's professional background were not included in the Hawaiʻi State Judiciary's official release materials available at publication. The full press release, including Kennedy's biography, can be obtained through the Judiciary's Communications and Community Relations Office at 808-539-4909 or by email at pao@courts.hawaii.gov.

The Oʻahu appointments offer a clearer picture of the caliber of candidates McKenna selected from the commission's list. One of the two First Circuit appointees, Simeona Lynn Liliuokalani Ahuna Mariano, brings nearly two decades of state legal experience. Mariano has been a Deputy Attorney General with the Department of the Attorney General since 2007, most recently in the Family Law Division handling family court matters statewide, child welfare matters, juvenile law violations, truancy, guardianships, and involuntary hospitalization hearings. Before that assignment, she worked in the department's Criminal Justice Division, prosecuting felony cases at Honolulu International Airport, welfare fraud cases, grand jury matters, and probation revocation proceedings. She previously served as a Special Prosecuting Attorney with the Office of the Prosecuting Attorney on Kauaʻi, where her caseload spanned district, family, and circuit court. Mariano also serves on the Hawaiʻi State Bar Association Board of Directors and is a member of the Hawaiʻi Access to Justice Commission.

The name and background of the second First Circuit appointee were not available in materials published by the Judiciary at the time of this report. The Communications and Community Relations Office can provide the complete appointee list and accompanying biographies.

For Big Island residents who follow court proceedings, the Judiciary's eCourt Kokua system provides online access to traffic cases, criminal and civil matters across District, Circuit, and Family Court, and Land Court and Tax Appeal Court records, as well as appellate court case information. Those wishing to receive future press releases and announcements directly from the Hawaiʻi State Judiciary can subscribe to the agency's mailing list through the courts' website.