Judicial Selection of Cahill Made 2 Days Late

Cahill. Courtesy photo.

By Wendy Osher

Just hours after announcing his selection of Peter T. Cahill as a judicial nomination to the Second Circuit Court on Maui,  Governor Neil Abercrombie was informed that the appointment was made two days late.

State Attorney General David Louie informed the governor of the mistake this afternoon.

“The appointment of a judge has to be made within 30 days of the Judicial Selection Commission forwarding the list of applicants to the Governor,” said Attorney General Louie in a statement. “In this case the Judicial Selection Commission sent the list to the Governor on May 11th. Therefore the Governor had to make an appointment by June 10th.”

Because the Governor did not make the appointment within the constitutionally mandated period, the Judicial Selection Commission will be tasked with making the appointment, which would be subject to Senate confirmation.

Governor Abercrombie said, “I should have made the appointment on Sunday, June 10th, which was the deadline. The law is the law and now the appointment to the Second Circuit is in the hands of the Judicial Selection Commission. I appreciate the process by which the Commission provided me the list and trust that they will act in good faith.”