Former judge Robert Hefner passes away at 85

Former CNMI Superior Court presiding judge Robert Alan Hefner passed away peacefully on May 19, 2015, at his home in Port Orchard, Washington, after a long bout with cancer. He was 85.

Hefner served as the first chief judge (and, later, presiding judge) of the Northern Mariana Islands Trial Court (now the CNMI Superior Court) from 1978 until he retired from the bench in 1991. Before that, he had served for a number of years as an associate justice on the Trust Territory High Court, principally assigned to what was then the Palau Islands District (now the Republic of Palau). He was appointed to that judicial office by the U.S. Interior Secretary in the early ‘70s.

Photo shows former judge Robert Hefner, his son Robert Jr., and his wife Betty. (Contributed Photo)

A veteran of the Korean War, Hefner attended UCLA as an undergraduate and, subsequently, the UCLA Law School where he received his law degree in 1958. He practiced law in Southern California until he was appointed assistant attorney general and, later, attorney general for the Trust Territory of the Pacific Islands.

He was born in Los Angeles, California on May 24, 1929. He was predeceased by his loving wife Elizabeth (lovingly known to many of their friends as “Betty”), who passed away in 2002; their son, Robert Alan Hefner Jr. (who taught at Marianas High School), who passed away in 1995; and his parents, Earl and Igerna Hefner. He is survived by his only daughter, Coral Elizabeth Hefner McCartney and four lovely grandchildren: Kelly, Forest, Thurman, and Elizabeth.

Hefner loved the islands and its people so much that he decided to devote most of his life in Micronesia. He had many friends and acquaintances in the CNMI, Palau, and throughout Micronesia. He presided over many of the high profile cases on the islands, including those dealing with the Compact of Free Association for the then-emerging Republic of Palau, as well as the first criminal jury trial in the Northern Marianas before self-government began for the CNMI.

A Celebration of Life Memorial Service will be held in his honor on June 27, 2015, at the McCormick Woods Clubhouse, at Port Orchard, Washington, from 1pm until 5pm. Food and refreshments will be served for those attending. There will also be an “open mike” available at the service for those who wish to reminisce and talk about his life and recount their experiences with him in the islands and elsewhere.

For those planning to attend Judge Hefner’s Memorial Service or to send messages of condolences, they may contact his daughter Coral Hefner McCartney at telephone number 360-876-5204 or her email address: coralsaipan@aol.com. Her residence address is: 6874 Kenfig Place S.W., Port Orchard, WA 98367.

For many of the attorneys who appeared before him, most will remember the following quotation at his desk in his chambers: “Are you here with the solution, or are you part of the problem? Indeed, Hefner will be remembered for his role in resolving many of the legal problems in Micronesia during his many years of service on the bench.