Hawaii's sole African-American Judge, Sandra Simms, has been told by the Judicial Selection Commission that she will not be retained as a Judge. The Commission did not give a reason, but there is speculation as to the unstated reason: She's too soft on criminals.

Defense attorneys who have appeared before Simms praised her judicial demeanor and said her rulings are based on the facts of the case and the law, regardless of how it might affect her position on the court. "She gives everyone who came before her a level playing field," said attorney William Harrison. "She made decisions on what she thought was right and showed a lot of integrity."

An African-American community leader said the decision not to reappoint Simms "sends a terrible message. "I think it is shameful when you have a person who is a double minority and is not reappointed," said Faye Kennedy, first vice president of the NAACP. "There are so few African-American jurists, and very few women," said Kennedy. "It is a sad commentary on the state of a diverse and fair court."

Both the NAACP and the Hawaii Women's Political Caucus had sent supportive letters to the Commission on Sims' behalf. The process is done in secret, so no one really can say why Sims wasn't retained. One defense attorney said:

....the perception by many of Simms as being soft on defendants "is totally incorrect, and that's based on people disagreeing with a handful of cases -- and that's not indicative of how she handles her calendar," he said.

But no one's come up with another explanation for her ouster. And in other Hawaii developments, the State Attorney General has called for four constitutional amendments that will benefit prosecutors.