Working to make the promise of ‘justice for all’ reality

Never in his wildest dreams growing up in Chicago did Mark Recktenwald imagine he would spend nearly 50 years living in Hawaiʻi. The thought of becoming the top jurist in the islands was an even further stretch.

Looking back on the journey he started in 1980 — arriving in Honolulu not knowing anyone, peddling his resume around the Capitol to anyone who would look, with former Oʻahu state Sen. Ann Kobayashi taking a shot and giving him a job as a committee clerk — as he stood in front of a joint session of the Hawaiʻi Legislature on Jan. 23, it was a full-circle moment.

Recktenwald’s eighth and final State of the Judiciary address as chief justice of the Hawaiʻi Supreme Court also was a moment of humility, gratitude and amazement for the 69-year-old.

He later this year will bring his nearly 20-year judiciary career to a close when he steps down from the bench upon reaching the state’s mandatory retirement age of 70 for judges and justices.

Recktenwald in essentially his farewell address to state lawmakers shared several significant achievements the Judiciary — supported by the Legislature and many community partners — made in the administration of justice, such as:

• Being ranked No. 6 nationally in the Justice Index for access to justice.
• Construction of the Keahuolū Courthouse in Kona on the Big Island.
• Launching new programs such as Veterans Court, Community Outreach Court and Environmental Court.

“As I prepare to pass the torch to the next generation of judiciary leaders, I am pleased to report that the Judiciary is strong, resilient and thriving,” said the state’s top jurist.

Recktenwald also highlighted the Judiciary’s Women’s Court program, which uses a team approach to help women in the criminal justice system find a positive path forward.

“We have learned that the pathways into the criminal justice system for women are different than men. Almost all of them have histories of trauma and abuse early in life: shouldn’t we account for those factors to help them heal and make better choices going forward?” he asked. “The answer is an emphatic yes.”

The chief justice spoke about a partnership with the Hawaiʻi Department of Education and state attorney general’s office to reduce chronic absenteeism in schools. There are several Oʻahu programs the agencies collaborate on now that should be expanded there that also would work statewide with additional support from state lawmakers.

On opening day of the 2025 legislative session, Hawaiʻi Senate President Ron Kouchi and House Speaker Nadine Nakamura, both from Kauaʻi, in their respective chambers each spoke about the importance of education in ensuring the best future for the state’s keiki.

Recktenwald said Hawaiʻi’s courts couldn’t agree more.

“But if kids aren’t attending school, they will miss out on that future,” he told lawmakers. “The key is early intervention, so we can determine why kids are missing school and remove obstacles to regular attendance. The reasons can be as basic as lack of transportation or appropriate clothing, or a family’s need for child care.”

Recktenwald highlighted the Judiciary’s response to the COVID-19 pandemic as well as the destructive and deadly Aug. 8, 2023, Maui wildfires.

“The true test of an institution is how it steps up in times of crisis,” he said. “The pandemic and the Maui fires severely tested our limits to respond and adapt, and we answered the call and met the challenge.”

Strides in the state’s court system earning the public’s trust and confidence — perhaps the biggest challenge facing the Judiciary — also have been made by expanding transparency and improving access.

The Judiciary now livestreams Hawaiʻi Supreme Court oral arguments — more than 125 times in the past nearly 5 years. More remote court proceedings, a transition resulting from the pandemic, also led to more hearings being conducted and viewed online.

All courts implemented electronic filing, giving the public greater and easier access to court records.

Even more critically, the Courts in the Community program takes the Hawai‘i Supreme Court directly to the people, especially youth, where they conduct oral arguments in actual cases at high schools throughout the state.

Justices have been in packed gyms from Kealakehe to Lahainaluna on Maui to Wai‘anae on O‘ahu.

“We can’t just assume we have the public’s trust — we need to earn it,” Recktenwald said. “We started by making ourselves more transparent, so the public can see who we are and what we do.”

The chief justice expressed his gratitude to the many people and organizations who support the Judiciary’s initiatives to enhance how justice is administered in Hawaiʻi.

Recktenwald was sworn in Sept. 14, 2010, as chief justice. He was retained for a second term in 2020. The Detroit native joined the state’s high court May 11, 2009, as an associate justice.

A Harvard graduate who received his law degree from the University of Chicago, he was chief judge of the Hawaiʻi Intermediate Court of Appeals for about 2 years, beginning in April 2007, prior to his time with the state Supreme Court.

Recktenwald previously served as director of the Hawaiʻi Department of Commerce and Consumer Affairs, an assistant United States attorney for the District of Hawaiʻi and was a private practice attorney.

“We are deeply grateful for his leadership and tireless efforts to uphold fairness and integrity in our judicial system,” wrote Oʻahu state Rep. Shirley Ann Templo in a Facebook post thanking the chief justice for his “legacy of service to the people of Hawaiʻi.”

Hawaiʻi Senate Assistant Majority Floor Leader and Moloka‘i, Lāna‘i, Kaho‘olawe and East and Upcountry Maui state Sen. Lynn DeCoite sent her aloha to Recktenwald on his final State of the Judiciary address in a post on Facebook, adding his leadership has had a lasting impact on the state’s judicial system to ensure fairness, access and trust.

“We’ll miss his guidance, but his contributions to justice and equality will continue to benefit our community,” wrote DeCoite.

Honolulu City Councilman and former O‘ahu state Rep. Tommy Waters has known the chief justice many years. As chairman of the state House Judiciary Committee in 2010, he also participated in Recktenwald’s nomination for the top job on the Hawai‘i Supreme Court.

He wrote in a Facebook post that the chief justice has had a “monumental and wide-ranging” impact on the state Judiciary, navigating and leading the state’s judicial system while building public trust and confidence in its courts.

Sandra Simms, who coincidentally also grew up in Chicago and moved in 1980 to Hawai‘i, said the morning of Recktenwald’s last State of the Judiciary address was inspiring. She sat in the Hawaiʻi Senate chamber gallery, watching and listening.

Simms became Hawai‘i’s first African American woman judge in 1991 when appointed to the 1st Circuit District Court bench on Oʻahu. She was appointed 3 years later as a Circuit Court judge for the 1st Judicial District by then-Hawai‘i Gov. John Waiheʻe III, and retired in 2004.

“Doing the right thing, respect for the law, providing access to the courts, treating people with respect and dignity are the hallmarks of his tenure,” wrote Simms in a Facebook post. “As of this time, 54% of Hawai‘i judges are women and our Judiciary is one of the most diverse in the country, committed to equal justice under the law for all. It felt good to be there today.”

Reflecting further on his time with the state Judiciary in his closing remarks Thursday, the chief justice said he realized the most powerful lessons he learned througout the past 18 years are the simplest.

Do what’s right. Don’t forget your roots. Speak up for people who don’t have a voice. Treat everyone with respect. It’s those values that guide what the Hawaiʻi Judiciary does every day — “and will serve as a shining beacon for our future.”

“The law shouldn’t be an abstraction. It should always be about helping people find justice. It should be applied evenly to all, no matter if you are wealthy and powerful or on the outside looking in. It should be about ensuring voices are heard, and that everyone will get a fair shake when they walk into one of our courtrooms,” Recktenwald said. “That’s the promise of ‘justice for all,’ and I am proud to be part of an institution that works every day to make that promise a reality.”

You can read the chief justice’s full State of the Judiciary address online.