Michelle Drewyer, who’s worked as both a prosecutor and public defender, is Green’s first judicial appointment and will be subject to state Senate confirmation.

“I’m just very honored that the governor chose me, and I’m going to work really hard,” Drewyer said Thursday morning outside the courthouse in Wailuku, where Green announced her nomination.

A graduate of Western Michigan University’s Thomas M. Cooley Law School, Drewyer started her career on Maui as a deputy prosecuting attorney from 1991 to 1996, according to her resume. She served as a deputy public defender for the state from 1996 to 1998 before shifting to private practice as an associate with the law firm Ranken, Drewyer and Ranken in 1999, working her way up to partner in 2002.

She has continued to practice criminal and civil litigation at her own law firm since 2013.

Drewyer

Since 2005, Drewyer has also been a per diem judge both in District Court, where she’s handled traffic cases, misdemeanor crimes and civil cases like landlord-tenant disputes, as well as in Family Court, overseeing child custody cases, divorces and child welfare, among other issues.

As a Circuit Court judge, she would deal with criminal cases higher than a misdemeanor.

“The breadth of her experience as a prosecutor, a defense lead and also a per diem judge gave her more experience than anyone I’ve seen for a Circuit Court posting,” Green said Thursday. “She’s also a woman leader, which I like, because in my administration especially, we’re trying to work hard to have complete equity and equality.”

If Drewyer is confirmed, Maui’s 2nd Circuit Court would have two female and two male judges. Maui Circuit and District Courts currently have four female and five male judges. Drewyer’s confirmation would also make 82 full-time state judges and/or justices, with 42 men and 40 women.

“We are approaching parity, which is wonderful,” Drewyer said. “When I started my legal career, which was sometime ago, I was often the only woman in the room, and so that has changed drastically.”

Drewyer says her experiences as an attorney and per diem judge who’s heard cases in rural courts in Hana, Molokai and Lanai, as well as the jobs she’s held outside of the legal system — she worked her way through college as a waitress, has served as a bartender and worked as a nanny — have all given her a unique perspective and prepared her to be a Circuit Court judge.

Green added that Drewyer also stood out because of how she “went through some really personal challenges, lost a loved one and rallied.”

“And when I see that in a person who still maintains all their professional integrity and commitment, it impresses me,” he said.

The governor and Drewyer also found common ground on rehabilitating nonviolent offenders and improving overcrowded conditions at the Maui Community Correctional Center.

“There also is need for improved facilities in each of the counties, and that’s something that I’m passionate about,” Green said. “I also feel very strongly that we should not be incarcerating people when they’ve suffered addiction as long as they can get treatment and provided they’ve not committed violent crimes against others. So for issues that revolve (around) self harm or health matters, I think we have a lot of opportunities to incarcerate fewer people and get more people care, and she expressed a lot of thoughts about that, which I respected.”

Drewyer said that “I agree with the governor in aspects of that we need to help those less fortunate in our communities and make programming available to them.”

“I’m a full supporter of Drug Court and all the other specialty courts that we have, and I think that we need rehabilitation for our nonviolent offenders versus imprisonment,” Drewyer said. “Our jails are overcrowded and there are many other ways to deal with addiction and substance abuse than imprisoning people. So we have programs and I’m looking very forward to using those programs while keeping the community safe from violent offenders.”

* Colleen Uechi can be reached at cuechi@mauinews.com.