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Judge Ronald Johnson is DEAD đźâ ď¸
...dead tired of the rumors circulating about his absence from the bench
The Return of Stability: Why Judge Ronald Johnson Matters More Than Ever

As the great Mark Twain once said, "Reports of my death have been greatly exaggerated." The same could be saidâmore aptly and significantlyâfor Judge Ronald Johnson. After just over two months of leave, Judge Johnson has returned to his role as Administrative Judge at the First Circuit Court of Honolulu. And for those of us in the trenches of Hawaiiâs justice system, that return signals the end of a long stretch of uncertainty.

For years, Iâve said this: The Administrative Judge at Circuit Court is the second most important position in Hawaiiâs judiciary, right after the Chief Justice. Bold statement? Maybe. But the past two months proved it.
Why the Admin Judge Matters

Very few advocates appreciateâor perhaps even knowâthat the Administrative Judge is often the first meaningful opportunity to request a bail reduction or supervised release. That window opens in the first 1â3 weeks of a felony case. And if bail hasnât been posted, the Admin Judgeâs decision can mean the difference between months in subhuman, overcrowded conditions at OCCCâor early freedom.

While groups like the ACLU rally against new jail construction with handmade signs, social justice chants, and enough virtue signaling to power a Priusâthe blue-collar machinery of public safety grinds on, quietly and without fanfare. Judge Johnson, along with the Oahu Intake Service Center, are truly on the front lines: reviewing bail studies and making informed decisions to release, detain, or reduce bail.

These decisions unfold under intense pressure and in real timeâoften involving defendants who are uncooperative, facing serious charges, or burdened with a long and tangled record of prior convictions and contempt violations. Yet this is the gritty, thankless labor that forms the bedrock of our bail system.

Judge Johnson: The Ideal Bottleneck
Whether by design or luck, Judge Johnson wears two hatsâAdmin Judge and Grand Jury Judge. That means he often sees:
The initial indictment,
The bail set at the grand jury,
The intake report,
The defendantâs criminal history,
Any concurrent pending cases.
Why We Need Stability

Judge Johnson brings consistency, perspective, and a deep understanding of the entire judicial pipelineâfrom grand jury indictment through concurrent case management. That kind of institutional memory is essentialâespecially in a system where paperwork errors, overlapping court dates, and complex in-custody logistics are the norm, not the exception.
My Final Thought
