BALIF is delighted that Hawaii Governor Neil Abercrombie (D) has appointed Sabrina Shizue McKenna to a 10-year term on the Hawaii Supreme Court. McKenna, an out lesbian who was born in Tokyo, has been a judge for 17 years on various courts in the state. McKenna would be the first openly gay member of the Hawai’i Supreme Court. According to the Honolulu Star-Advertiser, McKenna hopes her appointment can give “hope to people who feel that they cannot succeed” because of a variety of reasons, including being gay. McKenna has been on the Judicial Selection Commission lists for associate justice two previous times, for chief judge of the Intermediate Court of Appeals twice and for an appeals judge five times. She was also one of three names submitted by U.S. Sens. Daniel Inouye and Daniel Akaka to President Barack Obama, who picked Leslie Kobayashi as the newest U.S. District Court judge for Hawaii.