Judge Bissen to Speak at MNHCoC Annual Dinner

Second Circuit Court Judge Richard T. Bissen Jr.

Second Circuit Court Judge Richard T. Bissen Jr. will speak at the Maui Native Hawaiian Chamber of Commerce Annual Membership Dinner at 5:30 p.m., Tuesday, June 14, 2016, at the Maui Tropical Plantation in Waikapū.

Bissen will discuss Hawaiian cultural issues in the courts and will preside over the swearing in ceremony for the incoming officers and new board members. MNHCoC members will elect a new board of directors and slate of officers during the dInner.

“We are humbled and honored that Judge Bissen will join us for our Annual Dinner,” said MNHCoC president Doreen “Pua” Canto. “His ability to successfully combine his career with community service makes him a role model for our members.”

Bissen was sworn in as a judge for the Second Circuit Court in April 2005; he was a gubernatorial nominee of former Gov. Linda Lingle. His term as Circuit Judge expires in 2025.

Prior to his appointment, he served as the interim director for the State of Hawaiʻi Department of Public Safety and as the first deputy attorney general for the state.

Judge Bissen served as the prosecuting attorney for the County of Maui from August 1995 to January 2003. Prior to that, he served as a deputy prosecutor from 1987 to 1991 and again from 1992 to 1995.

He was also a partner in the law firm of Cardoza, Fukuoka & Bissen (1991 to 1992) and as a law clerk for retired Second Circuit Court Judge Richard R. Komo from 1986 to 1987.

Judge Bissen has long worked to reduce domestic violence rates, while advocating for juvenile justice and women offenders.

He was a founding member of the Maui Drug Court program.

The Maui County Bar Association named him “Lawyer of the Year” in 2001, and in October 1999, he received the “Distinguished Citizen Award” from the Men’s March Against Violence Committee.

He is active in several Maui community organizations, including the Maui United Way; Royal Order of Kamehameha, Kahekili Chapter; Big Brothers and Big Sisters of Hawaiʻi, Maui Chapter; Hale Mua Hawaiian Cultural Group; Punana Leo ʻo Maui Advisory Committee and more.

The St. Anthony graduate earned his bachelor of science degree from the University of Santa Clara and his J.D. from the University of Hawaiʻi’s William S. Richardson School of Law.

A buffet dinner, catered by Hoʻapili Ane, is included in the admission fee. The cost is $20 for members paid in advance at www.mnhcoc.org or $25 at the door. Non-members will pay $30 at the door.

The deadline for RSVPs is Sunday, June 12.

To make reservations, visit www.mnhcoc.org or call (808) 633-3079.