Michelle N. Comeau at a glance
- Current role
- District Court Judge
- Jurisdiction
- Hawaii · State
- Judicial service
- Active
- Term and retention
- Current term ends July 2, 2030
Michelle N. Comeau
District Court Judge · Hawaii District Court, First Circuit
Biography
Professional career
- She had been serving as a per diem District Court Judge since 2017
- Judge of the Oʻahu First Circuit District Court of Hawaiʻi, appointed March 28, 2024, by Chief Justice Mark E. Recktenwald and sworn in July 3, 2024, for a six‐year term
- District Court Judge, Hawaii District Court, First Circuit
- She previously worked at Alston Hunt Floyd & Ing in civil rights, torts, property, and regulatory law, and as an associate at Morrison & Foerster LLP in Los Angeles
- Comeau’s legal career includes judicial law clerkships with Judge Susan Oki Mollway (U.S. District Court, D. Hawaiʻi) and Judge A. Wallace Tashima (9th Circuit Court of Appeals)
- Of Counsel at Nakashima Ching LLC, with a focus on property law and civil matters, earlier litigated civil rights, torts, property and regulatory matters at Alston Hunt Floyd & Ing, and worked at Morrison & Foerster in Los Angeles
Education
- University of California, Los Angeles School of Law
Additional information
- Joined fill a vacancy created by the retirement of Judge William M. Domingo in December 2023.
- Est of Charles Lloyd Comeau — general probate case, Honolulu County, filed June 10, 2020
- She graduated from UCLA School of Law and was admitted to the Hawaii bar in 2011.
- She was admitted to the Hawaiʻi State Bar in 2011 and has been licensed in California (2007) and the U.S. District Court for the District of Hawaiʻi
- focusing on property law and other civil matters.
- She was sworn in before Acting Chief Justice Sabrina S. McKenna in a ceremony attended by legal and community leaders
- Her legal expertise spans property law, civil rights, torts, and regulatory matters.
- She clerked for Susan Oki Mollway and A. Wallace Tashima.
Applicable Court Rules & Procedures
Extended Coverage Notice
Statewide
Hawaii requires news media to notify a court coordinator before electronic or photographic coverage of a judicial proceeding, including audio recording, film, videotape, or still photography.
The news media must notify a court coordinator of their intent to provide any electronic or photographic coverage of a judicial proceeding.Cameras and Audio Equipment ↗
Camera Microphone Placement
Statewide
Hawaii leaves courtroom camera and microphone placement to the judge and cautions that judges may differ on placement rules.
The judge will decide where cameras and microphones can be placed in the courtroom. Judges differ on this - so please ask.Cameras and Audio Equipment ↗
Sources
Identity source checked July 26, 2026.
Biography sources checked July 26, 2026.
Hawaii State Judiciary official judicial roster
Identity source · HTML · Source checked July 26, 2026
View Hawaii State Judiciary official judicial roster ↗Cameras and Audio Equipment
Statewide source · HTML · Source checked July 26, 2026
View Cameras and Audio Equipment ↗Remote Court Hearings via Zoom
Statewide source · HTML · Source checked July 26, 2026
View Remote Court Hearings via Zoom ↗Hawaii State Judiciary judicial profile or roster
Identity source · HTML · Source checked July 26, 2026
View Hawaii State Judiciary judicial profile or roster ↗www.courts.state.hi.us
Biography source · HTML · Source checked October 5, 2026
View www.courts.state.hi.us ↗www.courts.state.hi.us
Biography source · HTML · Source checked October 5, 2026
View www.courts.state.hi.us ↗www.hawaiifreepress.com
Biography source · HTML · Source checked October 5, 2026
View www.hawaiifreepress.com ↗www.hawaiisenatemajority.com
Biography source · HTML · Source checked October 5, 2026
View www.hawaiisenatemajority.com ↗