--- title: "Rowena A. Somerville | KnowJudges" canonical: "https://knowjudges.com/kyj/judge/rowena-a-somerville-circuit-court-judge-hawaii-circuit-court-first-circuit-hi" page_type: "judge_profile" updated: "2026-10-07" --- # Rowena A. Somerville Hawaii Circuit Court, First Circuit · Circuit Court Judge ## Profile - Court: Hawaii Circuit Court, First Circuit - State: Hawaii - Role: Circuit 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 - Circuit Court Judge for the Oʻahu First Circuit, 23rd Division, a position she has held since November 2017, appointed by then–Governor David Ige - Circuit Court Judge for the Oʻahu First Circuit in Hawaii, appointed in 2017 and serving until 2027, known for her work in criminal and serious case adjudication - Visible figure in Hawaii’s criminal justice landscape, with her rulings frequently covered in local media - As a Department of Commerce and Consumer Affairs administrative hearings officer, she presided over more than 100 special-education due-process hearings - Earlier she was a deputy attorney general in the Land and Transportation Division and a Honolulu deputy prosecuting attorney, following clerkships at the Hawaii Civil Rights Commission and First Circuit District Court ### Education - University of Hawaiʻi William S. Richardson School of Law — J.D. ### Additional information - Governor David Ige appointed Rowena A. Somerville to the First Circuit Court on November 1, 2017, subject to Senate confirmation, filling the vacancy from Derrick H.M. Chan’s elevation to the Intermediate Court of Appeals. - She graduated from the William S. Richardson School of Law and was admitted to the Hawaii bar in 1996. - One of several judges appointed to 10‐year terms by the Governor from Judicial Selection Commission nominees, subject to Senate consent - Somerville had spent more than 20 years in Hawaii public service. ## 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.hawaiisenatemajority.com](https://www.hawaiisenatemajority.com/press-release/2017/11/01/governor-ige-appoints-three-first-circuit-court-island-of-o-ahu-judges) - [ballotpedia.org](https://ballotpedia.org/Rowena_Somerville) - [www.courts.state.hi.us](https://www.courts.state.hi.us/news_and_reports/2017/12/somerville-viola-wong-and-hall-sworn-in) - [www.staradvertiser.com](https://www.staradvertiser.com/2024/06/25/breaking-news/judge-finds-ex-occc-officer-guilty-of-murdering-his-mother/) - [www.facebook.com](https://www.facebook.com/DCCAHawaii/posts/congratulations-to-dccas-own-rowena-somerville-on-her-appointmenti-am-deeply-hon/1689548051056728/) - [www.zoominfo.com](https://www.zoominfo.com/p/Rowena-Somerville/3292029266) - [www.hawaiisenatemajority.com](https://www.hawaiisenatemajority.com/press-release/2017/11/15/senate-confirms-first-circuit-court-judges) - [data.capitol.hawaii.gov](https://data.capitol.hawaii.gov/sessions/splsession2017c/GM3_SSCR4_.pdf) - [lrb.hawaii.gov](https://lrb.hawaii.gov/wp-content/uploads/27-JUDICIARY-Directory.pdf) - [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/rowena-a-somerville-circuit-court-judge-hawaii-circuit-court-first-circuit-hi", "url": "https://knowjudges.com/kyj/judge/rowena-a-somerville-circuit-court-judge-hawaii-circuit-court-first-circuit-hi", "name": "Rowena A. 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