Kirsha K. M. Durante

Professional career

• Sworn in: June 4, 2026, at Aliʻiōlani Hale, with Chief Justice Vladimir P. Devens administering the oath
• Kirsha Kaulukane Milianani Durante is a District Court Judge of the First Circuit (Oʻahu), Hawaiʻi, sworn in on June 4, 2026, following appointment by Acting Chief Justice Sabrina S. McKenna and confirmation by the Hawaiʻi State Senate
• Kirsha Kaulukane Milianani Durante was appointed to the First Circuit District Court by Acting Chief Justice Sabrina S. McKenna in March 2026, subject to Senate confirmation
• District Court Judge, Hawaii District Court, First Circuit
• Current position: Judge, District Court of the First Circuit (Oʻahu)
• Earlier she was a Honolulu deputy public defender and law clerk to First Circuit Judge Marcia Waldorf
• Her practice included civil and criminal matters, administrative and environmental law, complex litigation, land use, Native Hawaiian rights, land claims, trusts and contracts

Education

Additional information

• Litigation director at Native Hawaiian Legal Corporation, and there she worked since 2021.
• She graduated from William S. Richardson School of Law and was admitted to the Hawaii bar in 2004.