Justice Recktenwald has served on the Hawaii Supreme Court since May 11, 2009. Prior to that he served as Chief Judge of the Intermediate Court of Appeal from April 30, 2007 until his confirmation to the Hawaii Supreme Court.

The following is a brief run down of the cases Justice Recktenwald authored during his time on the Hawaii Supreme Court ....

In County of Hawaii v. Ala Loop Homeowners, (July 9, 2010), the Hawaii Supreme Court held that certain state zoning laws are "environmental" laws that may be enforced by private plaintiffs. The court held "[w]e further conclude that article XI, section 9 of the Hawai'i Constitution creates a private right of action to enforce chapter 205 in the circumstances of this case."

Companies including AIG, Lehman Brothers, Wachovia, JP Morgan, Morgan Stanley, Union Bank, Wells Fargo and others essentially buy tax benefits from solar (and wind) companies that don’t have enough taxable income to use those credits on their own. Tax-equity investors get to use those tax credits as part of a strategy to shelter otherwise taxable income. (Sounds just like Hawaii ACT 215/221)

In both of his prior confirmation proceedings, Recktenwald was unanimously confirmed by the State Senate (25-0 for chief appellate judge and 22-0 for associate justice).

Prior to his appointment to the Intermediate Court of Appeals, Recktenwald served as the director of the Department of Commerce and Consumer Affairs (2003-2007).  During his tenure, he focused on expanding protections against identity theft and enforcing Hawai‘i’s consumer protection laws, including guarding against unfair and deceptive trade and business practices, and insurance and securities fraud.  He also worked to make the department’s services more convenient for the public by expanding and enhancing on-line services.

“My responsibility is first and foremost to represent the people of Hawaii and that is absolutely what I have been doing. I think what you saw in the special election is that the majority of the people didn’t vote against me. The overwhelming majority of the voters voted against the establishment. They didn’t like the status quo and felt that the current representation in Congress needs a fundamental change. That’s what I’ve been doing, and that’s who I’m representing. I look forward to the judgment of the voters again in November.”

After months of tortured evasions, Mufi Hannemann July 16 finally came out of the closet and announced that if he were Governor, he "guesses" he would "probably" have vetoed HB444 gay civil unions.

For just a moment, it appeared as if Hannemann had sort of taken a position--after refusals dating back to September, 2009.  But in yesterday’s Democrat Gubernatorial debate, Hannemann again reverted to his old waffly ways refusing to take any firm stance for or against HB444. 

This Bill will have the dubious distinction of being the first ever to lower SNAP benefits from one period to the following period. For the first time ever, SNAP recipients will see their monthly benefits shrink. A family of four can expect their benefits to drop about $59 a month starting in April 2014. ($59 x 12 = $708/yr)

Despite a categorical denial, evidence is mounting that leading Hawaii gubernatorial candidate Neil Abercrombie, is a covert socialist. What is worse, he may be lying about it.

Today the House of Representatives is expected to approve yet another bailout for those states that have proved incapable of controlling their spending on government worker pay, benefits and pensions. The $26.1 billion price tag will be funded in part by $11 billion in tax hikes on U.S. companies that compete internationally.

"The HGEA Union Bosses have made it clear that a prerequisite for their endorsement is a commitment from candidates to raise the GET tax in order to pay them off.  Hannemann, Schatz and Caldwell need to come clean with Hawaii voters and tell them how big of an increase they promised so we know just how much more in taxes we can expect to pay if they get elected."

"... in order to pay for this latest $26 billion bailout of states, the Democrat-controlled Congress cut almost $12 billion from the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (formerly known as food stamps), at a time when a record number of Americans – including almost 141,300 Hawai‘i residents – depend on this assistance to subsidize their food purchases.

“In addition, Congress rescinded $2.2 billion in unobligated highway funds, including an estimated $10 million that would have been used for Hawai‘i highway projects. 

With unemployment at 9.5 percent and the national debt at an all-time high, the last thing middle-class families need is more of the Democrats’ reckless spending agenda. Instead of calling Congress back into session to create private-sector jobs, House Democrats have once again dismissed an opportunity to rein in runaway government spending and provide the fiscal discipline needed to create jobs.

(08/10/10) HONOLULU – A comprehensive settlement has been reached with the City and County of Honolulu that will address Clean Water Act compliance at Honolulu’s wastewater collection and treatment systems, the Justice Department, U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), Hawaii Attorney General’s Office, Hawaii Department of Health, and three environmental groups announced today.

The settlement which also resolves lawsuits brought by the Sierra Club, Hawaii’s Thousand Friends and Our Children’s Earth Foundation, includes a comprehensive compliance schedule for the city to upgrade its wastewater collection system by June 2020. Under the settlement, the Honouliuli wastewater treatment plant will need to be upgraded to secondary treatment by 2024. The Sand Island plant will need to be upgraded by 2035, but could be extended to 2038 based on a showing of economic hardship.

“The problem in Congress today is that it seems that the universal answer to every one of our nation’s problems is spend, spend, and—if that doesn’t work—spend some more. And this particular bill that we’re voting on today fits exactly in that genre—‘Spending can fix all of our nation’s woes.’

Editor's Note: For decades, Hawaii Democrats have based their power on their ability to get federal pork from DC.  Charles Djou is directly challenging the desirability of their pork.  This vote is probably the most direct challenge in decades to Hawaii Democrats' basic strategy.  Will it be a winning issue for Djou?  Election Day is Nov 2.

U.S. District Judge Vaughn R. Walker, who ruled last week that a voter-approved amendment to California’s constitution that limited marriage to the union of one man and one woman violated the Fourteenth Amendment of the U.S. Constitution, based that ruling in part on his finding that a child does not need and has no right to a mother.

Nor, he found, does a child have a need or a right to a father.

Last Friday, some 19 months after the stimulus bill became law, the Labor Department issued its monthly jobs report showing the U.S. economy shed 131,000 jobs and unemployment tread water at 9.5% as 181,000 workers left the workforce entirely. These numbers are so terrible that the Federal Reserve is expected to downgrade its assessment of the U.S. economic outlook when it meets tomorrow.

According to the study, 186 special funds spread across twenty different departments hold an estimated $1,412,357,203 in unspent revenues over and above their operational requirements. Some of the special funds were tagged by the auditor almost a decade ago for repeal.

Here are a few words from the individual most responsible for invention of Furlough Fridays.  How much money will be put up to promote the status quo and promulgate these arguments for continuing the structure which makes the waste, fraud, and corruption in the DoE possible?  Will the HSTA spend $100K in NEA money to oppose an appointed BoE just as they did in opposition to local school boards?  We will soon find out.