The chief judge of Hawaii’s Intermediate Court of Appeals and a labor attorney in private practice are Gov. Josh Green’s nominees to fill two vacancies on the five-member state Supreme Court.

Both are products of public schools, Green emphasized today. Lisa Ginoza has been chief judge of the Intermediate Court of Appeals since 2018 and went to Kailua High School and the University of Hawaii’s William S. Richardson School of Law.

Vladimir Devens went to Kalani High School and graduated from the University of California, Berkeley School of Law and runs a law firm named after him.

If confirmed by the state Senate in November, they would replace former Associate Justices Paula Nakayama and Michael Wilson, who both retired this year. The Supreme Court mandates that justices retire at age 70.

The Judicial Selection Committee recommended six nominees to Green, who praised all of their credentials and said some of them might be considered for the Intermediate Court of Appeals if Ginoza is confirmed.

Asked about Devens’ lack of judicial experience, Green said he was highly recommended and helps bring “diversity” if confirmed to the Supreme Court.

The others recommended by the Judicial Selection Committee were District Court Judge Summer M.M. Kupau-Odo and Circuit Court Judge Catherine H. Remigio; and Karen T. Nakasone and Clyde J. Wadsworth, both associate judges on the Intermediate Court of Appeals.