--- title: "Leslie Emi Kobayashi | KnowJudges" canonical: "https://knowjudges.com/kyj/judge/leslie-e-kobayashi" page_type: "judge_profile" updated: "2026-10-09" --- # Leslie Emi Kobayashi U.S. District Court for the District of Hawaii · U.S. District Judge ## Profile - Court: U.S. District Court for the District of Hawaii - State: Hawaii - Role: U.S. District Judge - Service status: senior - Last verified: 2026-07-25 ## Summary Official judge-specific and circuitwide procedural guidance has been located for this profile. ## Biography ### Professional career - Judge, District Court, D. Hawaii, 2010-present - Adjunct professor, William S. Richardson School of Law, University of Hawaii at Manoa, 2001-present - Adjunct professor, William S. Richardson School of Law, University of Hawaii at Manoa, 2000-present - District Judge: Nominated by President Barack Obama on April 21, 2010, to replace Helen W. Gillmor, confirmed by the Senate on December 18, 2010, and commissioned on December 22, 2010 - Magistrate Judge: Appointed August 2, 1999, to the U.S. District Court for the District of Hawaii, serving until December 22, 2010 - She also held the role of an adjunct professor at the William S. Richardson School of Law, University of Hawaii at Manoa (2000–2001) - Before entering federal service, Kobayashi served as a deputy prosecuting attorney for the City and County of Honolulu (1983–1984), then as private practice in Honolulu (1984–1999), including as managing partner of Fujiyama, Duffy & Fujiyama. - Deputy prosecutor, City and County of Honolulu, HI, 1983-1984 - American federal judge who serves on senior status with the United States District Court for the District of Hawaii ### Education - B.A. from Wellesley College in 1979 and her J.D. from Boston College Law School in 1983 ### Additional information - She has also held the role of a Member of the Judicial Conference of the United States (2021–present) - Private practice, Honolulu, HI, 1984-1999 - Born 1957. - Date of birth: 1957-01-01 - The first Japanese American federal judge confirmed during the Obama Administration - The American Bar Association rated her “Well Qualified” by a substantial majority and “Qualified” by a minority. - Birth place: Mount Holly, NJ ## Before you appear - Read the judge-specific standing order first when one is listed. - Check the docket and case orders for requirements that supersede broader guidance. - Confirm current remote-access and courtroom technology arrangements before the proceeding. ## Courtroom Rules ### courtroom technology Scope: judge specific Judge-specific source Evidence excerpt: Jury Evidence Recording System (“JERS”): The parties are also required to submit electronic versions of exhibits for display during trial and for the jury’s use during deliberation. The electronic exhibits must be submitted in accordance with the directions provided by the Clerk’s Office, and they must be submitted on the same day that the hard-copy… [Trial_Procedure_LEK_011224.pdf](https://www.hid.uscourts.gov/cms/assets/1204793e-5080-45fb-98e1-62ba953184f2/Trial_Procedure_LEK_011224.pdf) Source checked: 2026-07-24 ### civil remote testimony Scope: courtwide In federal district-court civil proceedings, testimony is ordinarily taken in open court; remote contemporaneous testimony requires good cause in compelling circumstances and appropriate safeguards. Evidence excerpt: For good cause in compelling circumstances and with appropriate safeguards, the court may permit testimony in open court by contemporaneous transmission from a different location. [Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 43(a), Testimony in Open Court](https://www.uscourts.gov/forms-rules/current-rules-practice-procedure/federal-rules-civil-procedure) Source checked: 2026-07-26 ### criminal recording and broadcasting Scope: courtwide Federal district courts may not permit courtroom photography or broadcasting during criminal judicial proceedings unless a statute or another federal rule provides an exception. Evidence excerpt: Except as otherwise provided by a statute or these rules, the court must not permit the taking of photographs in the courtroom during judicial proceedings or the broadcasting of judicial proceedings from the courtroom. [Federal Rule of Criminal Procedure 53, Courtroom Photographing and Broadcasting Prohibited](https://www.uscourts.gov/court-records/access-court-proceedings/remote-public-access-proceedings/history-cameras-broadcasting-and-remote-public-access-courts) Source checked: 2026-07-26 ## Sources - [Official profile](https://www.fjc.gov/node/1393556) - [Official roster](https://www.fjc.gov/node/1393556) - [Federal Judicial Center biography](https://www.fjc.gov/node/1393556) - [CourtListener judicial biographical directory](https://www.courtlistener.com/person/1804/leslie-emi-kobayashi/) - [Trial_Procedure_LEK_011224.pdf](https://www.hid.uscourts.gov/cms/assets/1204793e-5080-45fb-98e1-62ba953184f2/Trial_Procedure_LEK_011224.pdf) - [Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 43(a), Testimony in Open Court](https://www.uscourts.gov/forms-rules/current-rules-practice-procedure/federal-rules-civil-procedure) - [Federal Rule of Criminal Procedure 53, Courtroom Photographing and Broadcasting Prohibited](https://www.uscourts.gov/court-records/access-court-proceedings/remote-public-access-proceedings/history-cameras-broadcasting-and-remote-public-access-courts) - [CourtListener judicial biographical directory](https://www.courtlistener.com/person/1804/leslie-emi-kobayashi/) - [Wikidata: Leslie E. Kobayashi](https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q6530776) ## JSON-LD ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "WebPage", "@id": "https://knowjudges.com/kyj/judge/leslie-e-kobayashi", "url": "https://knowjudges.com/kyj/judge/leslie-e-kobayashi", "name": "Leslie Emi Kobayashi | KnowJudges", "description": "Leslie Emi Kobayashi, U.S. District Court for the District of Hawaii. 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Section-specific exceptions, waivers, later amendments and case orders remain applicable. This is a source excerpt, not an exhaustive statement of the rule. [Official source](https://www.uscourts.gov/sites/default/files/document/federal-rules-of-civil-procedure.pdf). Collected 2026-10-27. - [Federal Rules of Criminal Procedure, December 1, 2025](https://knowjudges.com/courtroom-rules/national-shared-set-8721a344fececced2257fe1d) — Criminal proceedings in United States District Courts; this conservative mapping does not distribute appellate-specific provisions to appellate judges. Section-specific exceptions, waivers, later amendments and case orders remain applicable. This is a source excerpt, not an exhaustive statement of the rule. [Official source](https://www.uscourts.gov/sites/default/files/document/federal-rules-of-criminal-procedure.pdf). Collected 2026-10-27.