Hawaiʻi Judiciary names Daylin-Rose Heather as Deputy Administrative Director of Courts

The Hawaiʻi State Judiciary announced that Daylin-Rose Heather has been named Deputy Administrative Director of the Courts effective Jan. 3, 2024. 

“I am deeply honored by this appointment and humbled to serve as Deputy Administrative Director of the Courts. I look forward to working with our judges and judicial employees, and collaborating with our government, legal, and community partners, to serve the people of Hawaiʻi,” Heather said. 

From 2017 to 2021, Heather served as a Special Assistant to the Administrative Director of the Courts. Prior to that she was a judicial law clerk for Chief Justice Mark E. Recktenwald, as well as Intermediate Court of Appeals Judges Daniel R. Foley and Alexa D.M. Fujise, both of whom have since retired. 

From 2021 to 2023, Heather was a staff attorney at the Native Hawaiian Legal Corporation, and most recently returned to the Judiciary as a staff attorney at the Hawaiʻi Supreme Court.   

“We are thrilled to welcome back Daylin to our Judiciary ʻohana,” said Chief Justice Recktenwald. “She has worked on a broad range of important issues to further the administration of justice in Hawaiʻi and was instrumental in our rapid response to COVID-19.”

Heather is a member of the HSBA’s Judicial Administration Committee, HSBA’s Committee on the Delivery of Legal Services to the Public, and the Hawaiʻi Supreme Court’s Permanent Committee on Equality and Access to the Courts. She is also involved in numerous professional and community service organizations. 

Heather graduated with honors from the William S. Richardson School of Law. She was the Outside Articles Editor for the University of Hawaiʻi Law Review and obtained a certificate in Native Hawaiian Law from the Ka Huli Ao Center for Excellence in Native Hawaiian Law. 

“I also want to take this opportunity to express my deep appreciation to Brandon Kimura, who served as our Deputy for the last six years and did an absolutely outstanding job,” the Chief Justice said. “Iʻm excited to share that Brandon is our new Director of Policy & Planning following the retirement of Tom Mick. I am confident that Brandon will build on Tomʻs success in leading the Budget, Legislative Coordinating Office, CIP, and Planning & Program Evaluation divisions, as well as the Internal Audit Office.”