---
title: "Simeon Rivera Acoba Jr. | KnowJudges"
canonical: "https://knowjudges.com/kyj/judge/simeon-rivera-acoba-jr-7192"
page_type: "judge_profile"
updated: "2026-10-07"
---

# Simeon Rivera Acoba Jr.

Hawaii Intermediate Court of Appeals · Judge

## Profile

- Court: Hawaii Intermediate Court of Appeals
- State: Hawaii
- Role: Judge
- Service status: active
- Last verified: 2026-06-30

## Summary

Official statewide and applicable court procedural guidance applies to this judge.

## Biography

### Professional career

- Judge, Hawaii Intermediate Court of Appeals, 2000-present
- Acoba held the role of Associate Justice of the Hawaii Supreme Court from May 19, 2000, to February 29, 2014, after two ten‐year terms (2000–2010 and 2010–2020)
- The founding chair of the Hawaiʻi Access to Justice Commission, which he helped establish in 2008 to expand legal services to underserved citizens
- Simeon R. Acoba Jr. was sworn in as an associate justice of Hawaii’s Supreme Court on May 19, 2000
- Intermediate Court of Appeals from May 26, 1994 to May 18, 2000; earlier he was a First Circuit Court judge from 1980 and a per diem First Circuit District Court judge appointed by Chief Justice Richardson in 1979
- After law school he clerked for the chief justice, joined the University of Hawaii as special assistant to President Harlan Cleveland in 1970, and held the role of deputy attorney general in 1971
- Also a law clerk to Chief Justice William S. Richardson in 1969, special assistant to University of Hawaiʻi President Harlan Cleveland, deputy attorney general, and in private legal practice

### Education

- Northwestern University Law School — J.D. (1969)
- University of Hawaii at Manoa, bachelor’s degree, 1966
- Farrington High School 1962, the University of Hawaii 1966

### Additional information

- A University of Hawaii biography last modified May 14, 2019 identifies him as a retired Supreme Court associate justice, law-school lecturer, founding chair of the Hawaii Access to Justice Commission, chair of its Judiciary Strategic Planning Committee, co-chair of the Hawaii State Bar Association Judicial Administration Committee, and director of the Hawaii Justice Foundation and Mediation Center of the Pacific
- He was appointed by Governor George Ariyoshi in 2000 and retained by the Judicial Selection Commission for a second term
- Practitioner, 1999-1999
- Practiced privately from 1973 to 1980 and was special counsel to Hawaii’s Division of Occupational Safety and Health from 1975 to 1977, also serving as special counsel to the Campaign Spending Commission and Public Utilities Commission
- Date of birth: 1944-03-11
- After retiring from the Supreme Court, Acoba became a Regent of the University of Hawaiʻi System and a lecturer at the William S. Richardson School of Law
- His work inspired the creation of self‐help centers on every island, staffed by volunteer attorneys to assist with family law, landlord‐tenant disputes, and debt issues
- He grew up in Kalihi, Honolulu, the son of immigrant parents, and was active in church and community life
- He also serves as co‐chair of the Hawaiʻi State Bar Association’s Judicial Administration Committee and director of the Hawaiʻi Justice Foundation and the Mediation Center of the Pacific

## 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.courtlistener.com/person/7192/simeon-rivera-acoba-jr/)
- [Official roster](https://www.courtlistener.com/person/7192/simeon-rivera-acoba-jr/)
- [Hawaii Intermediate Court of Appeals current judicial profile](https://www.courtlistener.com/person/7192/simeon-rivera-acoba-jr/)
- [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)
- [CourtListener judicial biographical directory](https://www.courtlistener.com/person/7192/simeon-rivera-acoba-jr/)
- [1 Associate Justice Simeon Acoba, Jr., (ret.) (B.A. '66 ...](https://labor.hawaii.gov/hlrb/files/2025/09/Simeon-Acoba-Jr.-Resume-Fees-9-15-25.pdf)
- [Simeon Acoba - Ballotpedia](https://ballotpedia.org/Simeon_Acoba)
- [www.courts.state.hi.us](https://www.courts.state.hi.us/courts/supreme/justices/associate_justice_simeon_r_acoba_jr)
- [www.hawaii.edu](https://www.hawaii.edu/leadership/simeon-acoba/)
- [CourtListener judicial biographical directory](https://www.courtlistener.com/person/7192/simeon-rivera-acoba-jr/)
- [1 Associate Justice Simeon Acoba, Jr., (ret.) (B.A. '66 ...](https://labor.hawaii.gov/hlrb/files/2025/09/Simeon-Acoba-Jr.-Resume-Fees-9-15-25.pdf)
- [Simeon Acoba - Ballotpedia](https://ballotpedia.org/Simeon_Acoba)

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