Ronald Moon Death – Ronald T. Y. Moon, the former Chief Justice of the Hawaii State Supreme Court in Honolulu, Hawaii has died. Ronald Moon passed away on Monday evening, 4th of July 2022 at the age of 81. The cause of Ronald Moon’s death has not been released. He was the first Korean-American Chief Justice.
“The judiciary has lost a legend. Chief Justice Moon was a visionary leader and trailblazer in the legal profession,” said Chief Justice Mark Recktenwald in a press release. “But he never forgot his roots growing up in Wahiawa, and wanted every person to be treated fairly and with respect when they came into our courtrooms.” Ronald T. Y. Moon was born on September 4, 1940. His first term was from 1993 to 2003, and his second term started in 2003 and ended in August of 2010 when he retired.
Moon completed undergraduate coursework in psychology and sociology at Coe College. He then attended law school at the University of Iowa and graduated with a J.D. In 1965, he moved back to Honolulu and began working as a law clerk for U.S. District Judge Martin Pence. After working for Pence for a year, he left.
Moon worked as a deputy prosecutor for the Honolulu Prosecuting Attorney’s Office from 1966 until 1968. After leaving government service, he joined the law firm of Libkuman, Ventura, Moon & Ayabe, where he remained until his retirement in 1982. After Moon’s tenure at the firm, Governor George Ariyoshi appointed him to the bench of the Circuit Court of Hawaii. In 1990, Governor John Waihee appointed Moon to the Supreme Court of Hawaii as an Associate Justice.
Moon was again promoted to the position of chief justice in 1993. On August 31, 2010, he officially retired. Chief Justice Moon and Justice Stephen Levinson ruled in Baehr v. Miike on May 5, 1993, that the State of Hawaii must have compelling reasons to justify excluding same-sex couples from marriage.
This ruling was the first of its kind to suggest that same-sex couples should be afforded the same legal protections when getting married as heterosexuals. Although his opinion was not supported by a majority of his colleagues, sitting Court of Appeals Judge James S. Burns wrote a concurring opinion in which he agreed with Moon’s conclusion. Moon’s family roots were in Korea. His grandparents arrived in Hawaii before any other Koreans.
In a statement, Gov. David Ige said, “What I will remember about Chief Justice Moon, however, is his sense of humor and his lighter side, in addition to the very serious work he accomplished. I extend my heartfelt condolences to his family, friends, and former colleagues.”
