Walter Meheula Heen (born April 17, 1928) is an American lawyer, politician and judge. He briefly served as a

United States district judge The United States district courts are the trial courts of the U.S. federal judiciary. There is one district court for each federal judicial district. Each district covers one U.S. state or a portion of a state. There is at least one feder ...

of the

United States District Court for the District of Hawaii The United States District Court for the District of Hawaii (in case citations, D. Haw.) is the principal trial court of the United States Federal Court System in the state of Hawaii. The court's territorial jurisdiction encompasses the st ...

and trustee of the

Office of Hawaiian Affairs The Office of Hawaiian Affairs (OHA) is a self-governing corporate body of the State of Hawaii created by the 1978 Hawaii State Constitutional Convention. It is often described as the fourth branch of government in Hawaiʻi. OHA's mandate is ...

Education and career

Born in

Honolulu Honolulu ( ; ) is the List of capitals in the United States, capital and most populous city of the U.S. state of Hawaii, located in the Pacific Ocean. It is the county seat of the Consolidated city-county, consolidated City and County of Honol ...

Territory of Hawaii The Territory of Hawaii or Hawaii Territory (Hawaiian language, Hawaiian: ''Panalāʻau o Hawaiʻi'') was an organized incorporated territories of the United States, organized incorporated territory of the United States that existed from Apri ...

, Heen received a

Bachelor of Arts A Bachelor of Arts (abbreviated B.A., BA, A.B. or AB; from the Latin ', ', or ') is the holder of a bachelor's degree awarded for an undergraduate program in the liberal arts, or, in some cases, other disciplines. A Bachelor of Arts deg ...

degree from the

University of Hawaiʻi The University of Hawaiʻi System is a public college and university system in Hawaii. The system confers associate, bachelor's, master's, and doctoral degrees through three universities, seven community colleges, an employment training center, ...

in 1953. His grandfather, Harry A. Heen, was born Chung Mook-heen in Qing Dynasty China near the

Xi River The Xi River (; ) or Si-Kiang is the western tributary of the Pearl River in southern China. It is formed by the confluence of the Gui and Xun Rivers in Wuzhou, Guangxi. It originates from the eastern foot of the Maxiong Mountain in Quji ...

Guangdong ) means "wide" or "vast", and has been associated with the region since the creation of Guang Prefecture in AD 226. The name "''Guang''" ultimately came from Guangxin ( zh, labels=no, first=t, t= , s=广信), an outpost established in Han dynasty ...

and came to what was then the

Hawaiian Kingdom The Hawaiian Kingdom, also known as the Kingdom of Hawaiʻi ( Hawaiian: ɛ ɐwˈpuni həˈvɐjʔi, was an archipelagic country from 1795 to 1893, which eventually encompassed all of the inhabited Hawaiian Islands. It was established in 1795 w ...

at age 17. He received a

Juris Doctor A Juris Doctor, Doctor of Jurisprudence, or Doctor of Law (JD) is a graduate-entry professional degree that primarily prepares individuals to practice law. In the United States and the Philippines, it is the only qualifying law degree. Other j ...

from the

Georgetown University Law Center Georgetown University Law Center is the Law school in the United States, law school of Georgetown University, a Private university, private research university in Washington, D.C., United States. It was established in 1870 and is the largest law ...

in 1955. He was in private practice of law in Honolulu from 1955 to 1972. He was a deputy city attorney of Honolulu from 1957 to 1958. He was a Member of the Territorial House of Representatives of Hawaii in 1959. He was a Member of the

Hawaii House of Representatives The Hawaii House of Representatives () is the lower house of the Hawaii State Legislature. Pursuant to Article III, Section 3 of the Constitution of Hawaii, amended during the 1978 Hawaii State Constitutional Convention, 1978 constit ...

from 1959 to 1964. He was a Member of the

Hawaii Senate The Hawaii State Senate ( Hawaiian: Ka ‘Aha Kenekoa) is the upper house of the Hawaii State Legislature. It consists of twenty-five members elected from an equal number of constituent districts across the islands and is led by the President ...

from 1966 to 1968. He was a Member of the Honolulu City Council from 1969 to 1972, serving as chairman from 1969 to 1970. He was a Judge of the Hawaii District Court for the First Circuit from 1972 to 1974. He was a Judge of the Hawaii Circuit Court for the First Circuit from 1974 to 1978. He was the

United States Attorney United States attorneys are officials of the U.S. Department of Justice who serve as the chief federal law enforcement officers in each of the 94 U.S. federal judicial districts. Each U.S. attorney serves as the United States' chief federal ...

for the District of Hawaii from 1978 to 1980.

Federal judicial service

Heen received a

recess appointment In the United States, a recess appointment is an appointment by the President of the United States, president of a Officer of the United States, federal official when the United States Senate, U.S. Senate is in Recess (motion), recess. Under the ...

from President

Jimmy Carter James Earl Carter Jr. (October 1, 1924December 29, 2024) was an American politician and humanitarian who served as the 39th president of the United States from 1977 to 1981. A member of the Democratic Party (United States), Democratic Party ...

on January 1, 1981, to a seat on the

vacated by Judge Dick Yin Wong. He was nominated to the same seat on January 8, 1981. His service was terminated on December 16, 1981, after his nomination was not confirmed by the

United States Senate The United States Senate is a chamber of the Bicameralism, bicameral United States Congress; it is the upper house, with the United States House of Representatives, U.S. House of Representatives being the lower house. Together, the Senate and ...

Later service

Heen was an Associate Judge of the

Hawaii Intermediate Court of Appeals The Hawaii State Intermediate Court of Appeals (ICA) is the intermediate appellate court of the Hawaii State Judiciary. It has jurisdiction over appeals from lower courts and agencies. The ICA is composed of one chief judge and six associate ...

from 1982 to 1994. He was elected in 2006 as a trustee of the

representing

Oahu Oahu (, , sometimes written Oahu) is the third-largest and most populated island of the Hawaiian Islands and of the U.S. state of Hawaii. The state capital, Honolulu, is on Oahu's southeast coast. The island of Oahu and the uninhabited Northwe ...

. He ran for re-election in November 2010, but lost to Peter Apo.

References

External links

JUDGE WALTER M. HEEN--A LIFETIME OF ACHIEVEMENT
{{DEFAULTSORT:Heen, Walter Meheula 1928 births Living people 20th-century American politicians Lawyers from Honolulu Honolulu City Council members Hawaii state court judges Members of the Hawaii Territorial Legislature Democratic Party members of the Hawaii House of Representatives Democratic Party Hawaii state senators Judges of the United States District Court for the District of Hawaii United States district court judges appointed by Jimmy Carter Unsuccessful recess appointments to United States federal courts University of Hawaiʻi at Mānoa alumni Georgetown University Law Center alumni United States attorneys for the District of Hawaii Hawaii people of Chinese descent City council members of Asian descent Hawaii politicians of Chinese descent

Education and career

Federal judicial service

Later service

See also

References

External links