Hawk appointed to District Court bench

Hawaii Supreme Court Chief Justice Mark E. Recktenwald appointed Jeffrey Hawk to the District Court of the 3rd Circuit.

Hawk has served as a Big Island per diem (part-time) District Family Court judge for the past year and previously served in the same capacity in the District Family Court on Oahu. His appointment is to the post left vacant by the retirement of Judge Harry Freitas earlier this year.

Hawk has an extensive criminal law background, having tried 95 criminal jury trial cases. He has been a sole proprietor of a criminal law practice in the Volcano area since 2017 and previously handled criminal cases on Oahu for 13 years with the firm of Hawk, Sing &Ignacio. Prior to that, Hawk served five years as a deputy public defender.

Hawk has been a board member of Adult Friends for Youth for the past 15 years, a volunteer firefighter in the Volcano area since 2017 and served on the 2015 Committee to Review and Make Revisions to the Hawaii Penal Code. From 2006-14, Hawk served as a member of the Defender Council, the governing body of the Office of the Public Defender.

Hawk is a graduate of the University of Hawaii at Manoa William S. Richardson School of Law and was admitted to the Hawaii State Bar in 1997. He earned his bachelor of arts degree from the University of California, Berkeley.

The chief justice appoints District Court judges from a list of no less than six nominees submitted by the Judicial Selection Commission. If confirmed by the state Senate, Hawk will serve a term of six years.