On Wednesday, the State Judicial Selection Commission released a list of six nominees for a recently vacated seat on the Circuit Court of the 1st Circuit, giving Gov. Josh Green 30 days to choose a name from the list.

Whoever is chosen will replace Circuit Judge Christine E. Kuriyama, who retired from the court in June. Hawaii’s 1st circuit covers Oahu. 

Circuit courts generally hear high-stake civil and criminal cases, in contrast to district courts’ jurisdiction over criminal cases punishable by no more than a year in prison, for example, or family courts’ jurisdiction over cases involving children. 

The six nominees had to apply for the job, then be OK’d by the State Judicial Selection Commission, which evaluated whether the applicants’ backgrounds were up to snuff.

Harvey M. Demetrakopoulos has been a personal injury lawyer at Shim and Chang Attorneys at Law for more than 25 years.

David M. Hayakawa has his own private practice as a criminal defense attorney and currently sits on the Honolulu Salary Commission.

Chastity T. Imamura works under the Department of the Attorney General as a hearings officer in the Office of Dispute Resolution.

Jordan J. Kimura is a partner at McCorriston Miller Mukai MacKinnon, where most of his litigation focuses on health care and probate, which covers wills and trusts.

Stephen R. Nichols is a deputy public defender in the state Office of the Public Defender. 

Rochelle I. Vidinha (Cusumano) is a deputy prosecuting attorney in the state Office of the Prosecuting Attorney.

All nominees graduated from the University of Hawaii’s William S. Richardson School of Law. Anybody wishing to comment on a nominee can do so via the contact page on the governor’s website.