Senate confirms Annalisa M. Bernard Lee to the District Court of the 2nd Circuit on Maui

The Hawaiʻi State Senate voted today to confirm Annalisa M. Bernard Lee to a position in the District Court of the Second Circuit, which encompasses Maui County. Her term of office will be for six years.  

She was appointed by Chief Justice Mark E. Recktenwald on Aug. 4, 2022, to fill the vacancy left by Judge Kirstin M. Hamman. 

Prior to her appointment, Judge Bernard Lee worked in private practice and also served as a Deputy Prosecuting Attorney with the County of Maui. She previously served as a Deputy Public Defender in Honolulu and on Maui for ten years and was a judicial law clerk in the First Circuit Court for the Honorable Michael A. Town (Retired) and the Honorable Derrick H.M. Chan (Retired).  

Senator Karl Rhoads (District 13 – Dowsett Highlands, Puʻunui, Nuʻuanu, Pacific Heights, Pauoa, Punchbowl, Pālama, Liliha, ʻIwilei, Chinatown and Downtown), chair of the Senate Committee on Judiciary stated that “Judge Bernard Lee’s experience as a public defender and a county prosecuting attorney will serve her well as a judge in the District Court of the Second Circuit.” 

Judge Bernard Lee is a graduate of Seabury Hall and earned her B.A. in Sociology from Seattle University and her law degree from the William S. Richardson School of Law.