Raising doubts about his judicial temperament, the state Senate Judiciary and Labor Committee voted narrowly yesterday against recommending Honolulu deputy prosecutor Glenn Kim for Circuit Court judge on O'ahu.

Kim, who was nominated by Gov. Linda Lingle, will go before the full Senate tomorrow for a confirmation vote. But the 3-2 vote by the committee yesterday is an ominous setback for his nomination.

Senators described Kim as an outstanding attorney with an impeccable resume but were persuaded by two former prosecutors who said Kim was undermining and disrespectful, particularly toward strong-willed women.

Kim denied yesterday he ever behaved that way toward his colleagues. But two senators, Clayton Hee, D-23rd (Kane'ohe, Kahuku), and Clarence Nishihara, D-18th (Waipahu, Crest-view, Pearl City), cited his denials as examples that he fails to see others who might interpret his behavior differently.

"I think he said 'I never,' and 'I categorically deny,' " said Hee, the committee's chairman. "Those kinds of words are very troublesome because, for me, when I look at a judge, I believe a judge needs to be able to weigh all sides of issues. And a judge needs to be, at least during the process, less strident in dismissing or denying or not accepting the criticism of others."

Sen. Russell Kokubun, D-2nd (S. Hilo, Puna, Ka'u), said he was troubled that Kim's allies in the prosecutor's office appeared to attempt to discredit Kim's critics.

Honolulu Prosecutor Peter Carlisle said he unintentionally included information from one of Kim's accuser's personal evaluation in a packet he provided to the committee, which he told Kokubun privately was his mistake and should not reflect negatively on Kim.

"To me it almost bordered on character assassination," Koku-bun said.

SENATORS' SUPPORT

Other senators, however, said Kim's qualifications and the overwhelming nature of the testimony in support of his nomination outweighed the two negative descriptions about his behavior.

"To me, it's clear-cut," said Sen. Lorraine Inouye, D-1st (Hamakua, S. Hilo). "The guy is strong."

The Lingle administration, and Carlisle, will likely attempt to save Kim's nomination over the next two days.

Mark Recktenwald, Lingle's choice for chief judge on the Intermediate Court of Appeals, was unanimously recommended by the committee yesterday and should easily be confirmed tomorrow. Some senators had questioned Recktenwald's lack of judicial experience and his decisiveness, but the concerns were overridden by his experience and record.

Lingle told reporters yesterday that senators should consider the totality of Kim's life. The governor was also critical of the committee's decision, at its first hearing on Kim this month, to publicly release anonymous negative comments about him. "The process, I think, is unnecessarily drawn out," she said.

BRONZE STAR

Kim was awarded the Bronze Star in Vietnam and has degrees from Harvard University and the University of Hawai'i. He has been a supervisor in the prosecutor's office who has specialized in domestic violence cases.

Kim was given a qualified rating by the Hawai'i State Bar Association as a nominee for judge in the First Circuit on O'ahu.

Many of his colleagues in the prosecutor's office, and several defense attorneys, praised him as bright and fair-minded with the integrity necessary to make an effective judge. "This is an outstanding lawyer," said Michael Green, a prominent defense attorney. "This is someone who has marked himself with integrity and professionalism."

He was also described as a tough supervisor who bluntly confronts young prosecutors about their attitudes or courtroom mistakes. "His job was to whip them into shape," said Rom Trader, a deputy prosecutor who considers Kim among the finest people he knows.

One of those prosecutors, Liza Tom, who now works as a prosecutor in Los Angeles, wrote the committee that Kim was a manager "profoundly lacking in integrity, fundamental fairness and high moral principles."

Lynne McGivern, a former prosecutor who was subpoenaed by the Senate to testify, claimed Kim was undermining and disrespectful. She said his behavior seemed directed at women or at people in the prosecutor's office with less power to fight back. "I think there was a lot of ridicule and disrespect," she said.

Other prosecutors told the committee that Tom was once given a negative evaluation by Kim and that McGivern and Kim, who were once friends, had developed a personality conflict on the job.

Reach Derrick DePledge at ddepledge@honoluluadvertiser.com.