Richard W. Pollack at a glance
- Current role
- Former Judge
- Jurisdiction
- Hawaii · State
- Judicial service
- Former
Richard W. Pollack
Former Judge · Supreme Court of Hawaii
Biography
Professional career
- Judge, Hawaii Supreme Court, 2012-present
- Since 1990, he has been an adjunct professor at the William S. Richardson School of Law, University of Hawaiʻi at Mānoa, teaching Evidence and Criminal Procedure
- Retired Associate Justice of the Supreme Court of Hawaii, serving from 2012 until his mandatory retirement in 2020
- Pollack joined the Hawaii Supreme Court on August 6, 2012 by Governor Neil Abercrombie to replace Justice James E. Duffy, Jr., after a 24–1 Senate vote.
- State Public Defender, Office of the Public Defender, State of Hawaii; 1987-2000
- Deputy Public Defender, Office of the Public Defender, State of Hawaii; 1980-1987
- Associate, Law Office of Sherman S. Hee; from 1979
Education
- B.A. from the University of California, Santa Barbara and his J.D. from Hastings College of the Law in 1976
- University of California College of the Law, San Francisco
Additional information
- He has also been a frequent lecturer and, since 2013, held the role of Chair of the Hawaii Supreme Court’s Commission on Professionalism
- Served until July 2, 2020, when he reached the mandatory retirement age of 70.
- State Public Defender from 1987 to 2000 and previously worked for seven years as a Deputy Public Defender
- Born July 2, 1950.
- Date of birth: 1950-07-02
- handling trials and appeals
- JD — UC Law San Francisco
- Before joining the Supreme Court, Pollack served 12 years as a judge on the Oʻahu First Circuit of the Hawaii State Circuit Courts, presiding over both civil and criminal cases.
- His career spans public defense leadership, trial-level judging, and appellate service, leaving a lasting impact on Hawaii’s judicial system and legal education
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Sources
Identity source checked August 22, 2026.
Biography sources checked August 8, 2026.
CourtListener judicial biographical directory
Identity source · HTML · Source checked August 22, 2026
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Statewide source · HTML · Source checked July 26, 2026
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