From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
American judge (1914?1996)
Kazuhisa Abe
(
Japanese
:
阿部 一久
,
[1]
January 18, 1914 ? May 18, 1996)
[2]
was a
Democratic
state senator and justice of the
Supreme Court of Hawaii
.
Early life and education
[
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]
Abe was born in
Pepeekeo, Hawaii
on January 18, 1914 to
Japanese immigrants
who came to work on
Hawaii's sugar plantations
. He was a
Buddhist
. Abe attended
Hilo High School
and graduated from the
University of Hawaii
in 1936. He then studied law at the
University of Michigan
.
[3]
After graduating in 1939, he returned to
Hilo
and married Haruko Murakami. They had two sons.
[3]
Career
[
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]
In 1940 Abe became a magistrate at the district court in
Kohala
. In 1951, he was elected to the Territorial Senate. He was named the chairman of the Ways and Means Committee in 1955, then became the chair of the Senate Judiciary Committee in 1959. He was elected as president of the Senate in 1964. Abe maintained a law office in Hilo throughout his career as a senator, and had several business interests, including being the president of several companies.
[3]
In 1967, after turning down a position as lieutenant governor, Abe was appointed to the Supreme Court of Hawaii by Governor
John Burns
.
[4]
He authored 317 opinions.
[5]
Abe retired on December 28, 1973.
Abe died on May 18, 1996.
[2]
References
[
edit
]