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Vladimir Devens

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Vladimir Devens
Chief Justice of the Hawaii Supreme Court
Incumbent
Assumed office
May 5, 2026
Appointed byJosh Green
Preceded bySabrina McKenna (acting)
Associate Justice of the Hawaii Supreme Court
In office
January 12, 2024 – May 4, 2026
Appointed byJosh Green
Preceded byPaula A. Nakayama
Succeeded byVacant
Personal details
BornVladimir Paul Devens
1962 (age 63–64)
Honolulu, Hawaii, U.S.
EducationUniversity of California, Berkeley (BA, JD)

Vladimir Paul Devens (born 1962)[1] is the chief justice of the Hawaii Supreme Court. Prior to his appointment as chief justice, Devens was a private practice lawyer and an associate justice of the Hawaii Supreme Court.

Early life and education

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Devens' father was a managing director for Honolulu Mayor Frank Fasi and his mother Setsuko Sugihara was a piano teacher. Vladimir P. Devens is of mixed Japanese-American Heritage. [2] He was born in Honolulu,[3] and graduated from Kalani High School in 1980.[4][5] He earned a Bachelor of Arts degree, magna cum laude from the University of California, Berkeley in 1984 and a Juris Doctor from the UC Berkeley School of Law in 1987.[3][6]

Career

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Devens was principal at the Law Offices of Vladimir P. Devens, LLC and had been a partner at Meheula, Devens & Winer, as well as at Meheula & Devens. In 2013, he served on the Governor's Hawaii Impaired Driving Task Force and as chair and vice chair of the State Land Use Commission.[4][7] Devens served as lead counsel in the Hawaii Supreme Court's landmark child abuse decision in Kahoohanohano v. DHS.[8] He was also a police officer with the Honolulu Police Department for six years.[9]

Hawaii Supreme Court

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Associate Justice

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Devens was one of six candidates submitted by the Hawaii Judicial Selection Commission to the governor.[2] On October 23, 2023, Governor Josh Green announced Devens as a nominee to serve as an associate justice of the Hawaii Supreme Court.[4] On November 1, 2023, the governor sent a letter to the Senate, clarifying that Devens was nominated to the seat vacated by Justice Paula A. Nakayama who retired on April 21, 2023.[10] A hearing on his nomination was held on November 17, 2023.[11] On November 21, 2023, Devens was confirmed in the Hawaii Senate by a unanimous 21–0 vote.[12] He was sworn into office on January 12, 2024.[13]

Chief Justice

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Devens was one of five candidates submitted by the Hawaii Judicial Selection Commission to the governor.[14] On April 2, 2026, Governor Josh Green announced Devens as a nominee to serve as the Chief Justice of the Hawaii Supreme Court.[15] On the same day, the governor sent a letter to the Senate, clarifying that Devens was nominated to the seat vacated by Chief Justice Mark E. Recktenwald who retired on September 30, 2025.[10] A hearing on his nomination was held on April 22, 2026.[16]

Application Scandal
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An article in Civil Beat was published on April 20, 2026 which detailed that legislators were "concerned Devens did not disclose in his confidential Judicial Selection Commission application last week that he spent four years on the board of Be Change Now, the super PAC operated by Pacific Resource Partnership, which represents the Hawaii Regional Council of Carpenters and more than 250 of Hawaiʻi’s top contractors."[17]

During the hearing on April 22nd, senators in the Committee on Judiciary spent nearly two hours grilling Devens on the issues in the article.[18] The Committee deferred their decision until April 24th,[19] when they recommended the Senate consent to the nomination with a 3-2 vote.[20] Most notably, long-time Chair of the Committee on Judiciary, Karl Rhoads, voted against Devens' nomination.

On April 30, 2026, Devens was confirmed by the Hawaii Senate with 20 Ayes (6 Ayes with Reservations), and 5 Noes.[21]

References

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  1. ↑ "The Faces of Justice Vol. 2" (PDF). Alliance for Justice. May 2024.
  2. 1 2 Yerton, Stewart (October 11, 2023). "A Shake-Up Looms At The Hawaii Supreme Court". Honolulu Civil Beat. Retrieved November 1, 2023.
  3. 1 2 "Vladimir Paul Devens Profile | Honolulu, HI Lawyer | Martindale.com". www.martindale.com. Retrieved November 1, 2023.
  4. 1 2 3 "OFFICE OF THE GOVERNOR – NEWS RELEASE – GOVERNOR GREEN ANNOUNCES NOMINEES FOR TWO JUDICIAL VACANCIES" (Press release). Office of the Governor. October 23, 2023.
  5. ↑ Blair, Chad (2023-11-21). "Senate Confirms Ginoza, Devens To Hawaii Supreme Court". Honolulu Civil Beat. Retrieved 2023-12-05.
  6. ↑ "Members | National Association of Distinguished Counsel". Retrieved 2024-01-16.
  7. ↑ Blair, Chad (October 23, 2023). "Green Nominates Ginoza, Devens To Hawaii Supreme Court". Honolulu Civil Beat. Retrieved November 1, 2023.
  8. ↑ Napuunoa, Nicole (October 23, 2023). "Nominees for Hawaii State Supreme Court announced". KHON2. Retrieved November 1, 2023.
  9. ↑ "Ginoza, Devens confirmed to Hawaii Supreme Court". spectrumlocalnews.com. Retrieved 2023-12-05.
  10. 1 2 "Governor's Message No. 3: Letter from Governor Josh Green clarifying that Lisa M. Ginoza (GM1) was nominated to replace Associate Justice Michael Wilson and Vladimir P. Devens (GM2) was nominated to replace Associate Justice Paula Nakayama" (PDF). Hawai‘i State Legislature. November 1, 2023. Retrieved November 10, 2023.
  11. ↑ "NOTICE OF HEARING" (PDF). Senate Committee on Judiciary. Retrieved November 9, 2023.
  12. ↑ Gomes, Andrew (2023-11-22). "Hawaii Supreme Court vacancies filled". Honolulu Star-Advertiser. Retrieved 2023-11-24.
  13. ↑ "Lisa Ginoza and Vladimir Devens Sworn In as Hawaiʻi Supreme Court Associate Justices" (Press release). Hawai'i State Judiciary. January 12, 2024. Retrieved January 15, 2024.
  14. ↑ "Office of the Governor — News Release — Gov. Green Considers Nominees for Chief Justice and Circuit Judge". governor.hawaii.gov. Retrieved 2026-05-01.
  15. ↑ "Office of the Governor — News Release — Governor Green Nominates Associate Justice Vladimir Devens As Chief Justice Of The Hawaiʻi Supreme Court". governor.hawaii.gov. Retrieved 2026-05-01.
  16. ↑ "Notice of Hearing". Hawaii State Legislature. April 21, 2026. Retrieved April 30, 2026.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link)
  17. ↑ Blair, Chad (2026-04-20). "Justice's Past Political Activity Raises Fresh Questions For Some Senators". Honolulu Civil Beat. Retrieved 2026-05-01.
  18. ↑ JDC DEFER, JDC Public Hearings 04-22-2026. Retrieved 2026-05-01 – via www.youtube.com.
  19. ↑ "MEASURES DEFERRED TO FRIDAY, APRIL 24, 2026" (PDF). Hawaii State Legislature. April 22, 2026. Retrieved April 30, 2026.{{cite news}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link)
  20. ↑ JDC DEFER, JDC Public Hearings 04-24-2026. Retrieved 2026-05-01 – via www.youtube.com.
  21. ↑ "Measure Status Details for GM801". Hawaii State Legislature. April 30, 2026. Retrieved April 30, 2026.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link)
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