--- title: "Michelle N. Comeau | KnowJudges" canonical: "https://knowjudges.com/kyj/judge/michelle-n-comeau-district-court-judge-hawaii-district-court-first-circuit-hi" page_type: "judge_profile" updated: "2026-10-07" --- # Michelle N. Comeau Hawaii District Court, First Circuit · District Court Judge ## Profile - Court: Hawaii District Court, First Circuit - State: Hawaii - Role: District Court Judge - Service status: active - Last verified: 2026-07-26 ## Summary Official statewide and applicable court procedural guidance applies to this judge. ## 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. ## 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 ### extended coverage notice Scope: 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. Evidence excerpt: 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](https://www.courts.state.hi.us/news_and_reports/media_guidelines/cameras_and_audio_equipment) Source checked: 2026-07-26 ### camera microphone placement Scope: statewide Hawaii leaves courtroom camera and microphone placement to the judge and cautions that judges may differ on placement rules. Evidence excerpt: 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](https://www.courts.state.hi.us/news_and_reports/media_guidelines/cameras_and_audio_equipment) Source checked: 2026-07-26 ## Sources - [Official profile](https://www.courts.state.hi.us/general_information/contact/judges_phone_listing_1c) - [Official roster](https://www.courts.state.hi.us/general_information/contact/judges_phone_listing_1c) - [Hawaii State Judiciary official judicial roster](https://www.courts.state.hi.us/general_information/contact/judges_phone_listing_1c) - [Cameras and Audio Equipment](https://www.courts.state.hi.us/news_and_reports/media_guidelines/cameras_and_audio_equipment) - [Remote Court Hearings via Zoom](https://www.courts.state.hi.us/remote-court-hearings-via-zoom-or-webex) - [Hawaii State Judiciary judicial profile or roster](https://www.courts.state.hi.us/general_information/contact/judges_phone_listing_1c) - [www.courts.state.hi.us](https://www.courts.state.hi.us/news_and_reports/2024/03/chief-justice-appoints-district-court-judge-3) - [www.courts.state.hi.us](https://www.courts.state.hi.us/news_and_reports/2024/07/comeau-sworn-in-as-district-court-judge) - [www.hawaiifreepress.com](https://www.hawaiifreepress.com/Articles-Main/ID/40600/Recktenwald-Appoints-Michelle-N-Comeau-Oahu-District-Judge) - [www.hawaiisenatemajority.com](https://www.hawaiisenatemajority.com/press-release/hawai%CA%BBi-state-senate-confirms-judicial-appointment-to-the-first-circuit) - [Hawaii State Judiciary judicial profile or roster](https://www.courts.state.hi.us/general_information/contact/judges_phone_listing_1c) ## JSON-LD ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "WebPage", "@id": "https://knowjudges.com/kyj/judge/michelle-n-comeau-district-court-judge-hawaii-district-court-first-circuit-hi", "url": "https://knowjudges.com/kyj/judge/michelle-n-comeau-district-court-judge-hawaii-district-court-first-circuit-hi", "name": "Michelle N. 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