{"id":57237,"date":"2017-03-09T12:57:06","date_gmt":"2017-03-09T22:57:06","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.hawaii.edu\/news\/?p=57237"},"modified":"2024-02-20T20:19:27","modified_gmt":"2024-02-21T06:19:27","slug":"in-memoriam-uh-mourns-the-passing-of-the-honorable-james-s-burns","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.hawaii.edu\/news\/2017\/03\/09\/in-memoriam-uh-mourns-the-passing-of-the-honorable-james-s-burns\/","title":{"rendered":"In Memoriam: UH<\/abbr> mourns the passing of the Honorable James S. Burns"},"content":{"rendered":"Reading time: <\/span> 3<\/span> minutes<\/span><\/span>

Editor\u02bbs note (Feb. 20, 2024): Burns\u02bb wife Emme Tomimbang, trailblazer in the Filipino community and a pioneer in radio and television, died on Feb. 19, 2024..<\/a><\/em><\/p>\n

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James S. Burns<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

The University of Â鶹´«Ã½<\/span> expressed great sorrow at the passing of the Honorable James S. Burns<\/strong>. Judge Burns<\/a> served as a senior advisor at the UH<\/abbr> William S. Richardson School of Law<\/a> and was a longtime supporter of the John A. Burns School of Medicine<\/a> (JABSOM), which was named after his father, the former Govenor John Burns.<\/p>\n

Burns, a 1962 graduate of Villanova Law School, retired in 2007 as the chief judge of the state’s second-highest court, the Â鶹´«Ã½<\/span> Intermediate Court of Appeals.<\/p>\n

Burns is survived by his wife, Emme Tomimbang and two adult children. Services are pending.<\/p>\n

Beloved member of the law school ʻohana<\/h2>\n

William S. Richardson School of Law Dean Avi Soifer<\/strong><\/a> invited Judge Burns to become a member of the law school ʻohana more than a decade ago, both to anchor it firmly to Â鶹´«Ã½<\/span>’s past, and to honor and benefit from the presence of Judge Burns, one of the state’s living legends. Through his many talk story times with law students, his practical advice to all and his humorous comments, Judge Burns built an enduring legacy at the law school.<\/p>\n

“He became known as The Father of Modern Â鶹´«Ã½<\/span> Family Law because of the many family law decisions he penned,” said Associate Professor Calvin Pang<\/strong>, a friend and longtime colleague. “The Â鶹´«Ã½<\/span> Chapter of the American Inns of Court, a group that brings top attorneys and judges into the company of law students, renamed itself the James S. Burns Aloha Chapter, American Inns of Court IV<\/abbr> because of Judge Burns’s many contributions.”<\/p>\n

\"Burns<\/a>
James S. Burns at the William S. Richardson School of Law courtyard garden.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Judge Burns is remembered as a mentor for students and as the “gardener” for the school’s lush courtyard ti garden that was a place of reflection and inspiration for students.<\/p>\n

“I have a hard time being where there aren’t plants. When I saw that the courtyard planter was barren, and the other part was infested with weeds and unsightly ground cover, I decided to change it,” Judge Burns said a few years ago.<\/p>\n