Chief Judge DeWeese Honored by Going Home Hawaiʻi

HILO, Hawaiʻi - Third Circuit Chief Judge Wendy M. DeWeese was honored recently with the Ka Lehua Kea Hiwahiawa Award by Going Home Hawaiʻi for her outstanding contributions to the Hawaiʻi island community.

Going Home Hawaiʻi is celebrating 20 years of "assisting Hawaiʻi island individuals with reintegration into the community life through employment, education, housing, and appropriate services." It is comprised of 50 public and private entities and their representatives with an island-wide network of nearly 500 members."

Judge DeWeese and Roxanne Costa, the Salvation Army Social Services Director, were recognized on Oct. 11 as "county reentry heroes."

Judge DeWeese was lauded for her tireless efforts to support justice-involved individuals, especially those in the Big Island Drug Court program. Going Home Hawaiʻi said, "Judge DeWeese has enhanced the effectiveness of the Big Island's Drug Court, transforming it into a nationally aligned initiative that follows best practice standards. Attending national Drug Court trainings at her own expense, she has implemented the latest insights to better serve participants, making the Drug Court a beacon of hope for individuals seeking recovery and a second chance at life."

"The vast majority of the cases I handle are felony criminal cases and the vast majority of them result in probation sentences, meaning the individual will be supervised in our community, said Judge DeWeese. "But even in those cases that result in prison, the individual usually returns to our community, where they have family, friends and other ties. And this is why organizations like GHH are so important. I could not do my job, and we could not effectively help justice-involved members of our community without programs like Going Home Hawaiʻi."