Leslie Emi Kobayashi
Appointed by President Barack Obama in 2010 and confirmed by voice vote, Leslie Emi Kobayashi is a Judge on the U.S. District Court for the District of Hawaii. She earned a law degree from Boston College Law School in 1983. Rulings & record ↓ Sources ↓
- Born
- 1957 · age 69
- Appointed by
- Barack Obama, 2010
- Confirmed
- by voice vote
- Education
- Wellesley College 1979 · Boston College Law School 1983
- Succeeded
- Helen W. Gillmor
- Succeeded by
- Shanlyn Alohakeao Souza Park
Federal judicial service
| Year | Court | Appointed by | Vote |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2010 | District of Hawaii succeeded Helen W. Gillmor | Obama (D) | Voice vote |
Party letters show the appointing president’s party, not the judge’s own. A voice vote means the chamber approved aloud. No senator-by-senator tally is recorded.
Confirmation vote
Voice vote
The Senate approved this confirmation aloud, with no senator-by-senator tally recorded. Recorded roll-call votes begin in 1989.
Education
| Wellesley College | B.A. | 1979 |
| Boston College Law School | J.D. | 1983 |
Judicial Record
Caseload & case types
In our data, Kobayashi was assigned 1,276 district-court cases (2003–2026). Median time from filing to termination: 231 days across 1,194 closed cases.
Case assignment is from CourtListener’s PACER-derived docket records: a partial sample, not a complete caseload, reflecting the judge last assigned each case. How we count.
On appeal
Of 178 of Kobayashi’s decisions reviewed on the merits by the U.S. courts of appeals in our data, 126 were affirmed, 30 reversed or vacated, and 22 affirmed in part and reversed in part. This is a historical count of appellate outcomes for cases we could match, not a judgment of the judge, and not a complete record. How we count.
In our data, Kobayashi authored 17 published opinions for the court (2001–2011). Most cited: Rodenhurst v. Bank of America (16 citations).
A selective record from published opinions in the CourtListener corpus, not every ruling; most unpublished district orders are not included. Counts and rankings are objective and recomputable: how we count. We describe the record, not the judge.
Recent & notable rulings
| Year | Case | Citation | Cited |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2011 | Rodenhurst v. Bank of America | 773 F. Supp. 2d 886 | 16 |
| 2009 | Clark v. Internal Revenue Service | 772 F. Supp. 2d 1265 | 15 |
| 2011 | Enriquez v. Countrywide Home Loans, FSB | 814 F. Supp. 2d 1042 | 13 |
| 2011 | Caraang v. PNC Mortgage | 795 F. Supp. 2d 1098 | 12 |
| 2011 | James M. Ex Rel. Sherry M. v. Hawai'i | 803 F. Supp. 2d 1150 | 8 |
| 2011 | American Promotional Events, Inc.—Northwest v. City & County of Honolulu | 796 F. Supp. 2d 1261 | 4 |
| 2011 | Aliah K. Ex Rel. Loretta M. v. HAWAII, DEPT. OF EDUC. | 788 F. Supp. 2d 1176 | 4 |
| 2011 | Pauline v. STATE OF HAWAII DEPT. OF PUBLIC SAFETY | 773 F. Supp. 2d 914 | 4 |
| 2010 | Durham Ex Rel. Durham v. County of Maui | 729 F. Supp. 2d 1188 | 4 |
| 2006 | Holliday v. Extex | 447 F. Supp. 2d 1131 | 4 |
| 2001 | Captain Andy's Sailing, Inc. v. Johns | 195 F. Supp. 2d 1157 | 4 |
| 2011 | Mamea v. United States | 781 F. Supp. 2d 1025 | 3 |
| 2011 | Takushi v. BAC Home Loans Servicing, LP | 814 F. Supp. 2d 1073 | 2 |
| 2011 | Castro v. Melchor | 760 F. Supp. 2d 970 | 2 |
| 2009 | METZLER CONTRACTING CO. LLC v. Stephens | 642 F. Supp. 2d 1192 | 2 |
Showing the 15 most-cited of 17 authored opinions in our data. “Cited” is inbound citations across the CourtListener corpus. Case links open the ruling’s full text (CourtListener) or its page here; read the methodology and verify against the primary source.
Questions & answers
- Who appointed Leslie Emi Kobayashi?
- President Barack Obama appointed Leslie Emi Kobayashi to the U.S. District Court for the District of Hawaii in 2010.
- Was Leslie Emi Kobayashi appointed by a Democrat or a Republican?
- Leslie Emi Kobayashi was appointed by President Barack Obama, a Democrat. JudicialFinder records the appointing president's party, not a judge's own politics.
- What was Leslie Emi Kobayashi's confirmation vote?
- Leslie Emi Kobayashi was confirmed by voice vote on December 18, 2010. No senator-by-senator tally was recorded.
- Which court is Leslie Emi Kobayashi on?
- Leslie Emi Kobayashi is a Judge on the U.S. District Court for the District of Hawaii.
Sources
Each fact on this page traces to a primary public record.
- FJC Biographical Directory
- Wikidata
- Portrait: United States District Court for the District of Hawaii (Public domain), via Wikimedia Commons
- CourtListener bulk data (Free Law Project): authored opinions & citation counts
How we source & reconcile data → Data & Sources
See something wrong? Report an error. Fixes are logged in the corrections log.
15 years on the U.S. District Court for the District of Hawaii. Data as of 2026-08-10. Informational only; verify against the primary source before relying. Not a consumer report (FCRA).