Bios of Senior Judges and Staff
Supreme Court Chief Justice
Daniel N. Cadra has served as chief justice of the Supreme Court since September 2003.
Justice Daniel N. Cadra received his Bachelor of Arts degree from the University of California, Santa Barbara, and Juris Doctor degree from Tulane University, School of Law, graduating cum laude.
Justice Cadra began his legal career as an associate with a large Los Angeles law firm until he moved to Alaska in 1985. He engaged in the private practice of law in Anchorage, Alaska, until 1989 when he accepted a position as an attorney with Alaska Legal Services Corporation in Barrow, Alaska. His practice with ALSA focused primarily on issues affecting Native Americans.
In January 1991, Justice Cadra was appointed Magistrate for the Second Judicial District of the State of Alaska covering the predominantly Inupiaq Eskimo communities of Barrow, Nuiqsut, Kaktovuk, Anaktuvuk Pass, Atqasuk, Point Lay, Wainwright and the North Slope industrial complex of Kuparuk/ Prudhoe Bay. He served as Magistrate with the Alaska Court System for approximately five years.
Justice Cadra seized the opportunity to come to the Marshall Islands as an Associate Justice on the High Court in October 1995. He was appointed Chief Justice of the High Court in April 1996 and served as Chief Justice until June 1999. He then accepted a position on Palau’s Land Court as Senior Judge and also served as a pro tem Justice on the appellate division of Palau’s Supreme Court until May 2003 where he returned to his home in Houston, Alaska. In September 2003, Chief Justice Cadra accepted his first 10-year appointment as Chief Justice of the Supreme Court. In January 2023, the Cabinet re-appointed Daniel N. Cadra to serve a third 10-year term as Chief Justice of the Supreme Court, commending in September 2023 and ending in September 2033.
Justice Cadra has attended several professional courses at the National Judicial College in Reno, Nevada (NJC), and the NJC has awarded him Certificates in Judicial Development in both General and Special Court Jurisdiction Trial Skills.
Justice Cadra also is in private practice in Alaska with a focus on civil litigation.
Chief Justice Carl B. Ingram has served on the High Court of the Republic of the Marshall Islands since March 2003 and as Chief Justice since October 2003. He was reappointed to a third ten-year term in January 2023, commencing in October 2023 and ending in October 2033.
Chief Justice Ingram first came to the Marshall Islands in 1979 as a Peace Corps Volunteer, serving as a staff attorney in the Office of the Attorney-General. From 1981 to 1988, he held key positions in government legal service, including Deputy Attorney-General, Attorney-General, and Legal Counsel to the President and Cabinet. During this time, he played an important role in the negotiation and United States congressional approval of the Compact of Free Association.
Prior to his service in the Marshall Islands, Chief Justice Ingram earned a Bachelor of Arts in Political Science from Stanford University and a Juris Doctor from Stanford Law School. He began his legal career with a large law firm in Denver, Colorado.
From 1988 to 2002, he practiced law privately, representing a wide range of public and private clients. His legal work included the negotiation and drafting of major infrastructure project agreements, as well as the defense of complex civil litigation, including a healthcare cost recovery suit in which the national government sought $20 billion in damages.
Chief Justice Ingram is committed to ongoing professional development and judicial education. He attends at least one course or conference each year and holds a Certificate in Judicial Development in General Jurisdiction Trial Skills and a Certificate in Dispute Resolution from the National Judicial College.
Justice Witten T. Philippo is a citizen of the Republic of the Marshall Islands. He started working for the Government in 1978, working with the Public Defender’s Office as a research assistant. In 1979, he was appointed as a prosecutor with the Marshall Islands District Attorney’s Office, which later became the Republic of the Marshal Islands Office of the Attorney General.
In 1984, earned his L.L.B. in Law, from the University of Papua New Guinea School of Law. Justice Philippo began his legal career as an Assistant Attorney-General from 1984 to 1988.
In 1988 through 1989, Justice Philippo served as the Secretary of Internal and Outer Island Affairs. During his tenure as Secretary of Internal and Outer Islands Affairs, he was appointed by the Nitijela as a member of the 1st Constitution Review Committee and served as its Vice-President.
In 1989 through 1996, Justice Philippo served as an Associate Justice of the High Court. Upon leaving the bench in 1996-2000, Justice Philippo worked with the Micronesian Legal Services Corporation.
In 1997-2007, Justice Philippo, was elected as one of 5 members of the Majuro Delegation to the Marshall Islands Nitijela. During this period, he was appointed to the Cabinet the Minister of Justice and later the Minister in Assistant to the President. As Minister of Justice, Justice Philippo was appointed by the Nitijela to chair a special committee to report to the Nitijela on the advisability of amending the Constitution. As Minister in Assistance to the President, he represented the RMI Government as UN conferences relating to climate change, the environment and related areas. He also has appeared before the Senate Committee on Energy and Natural Resources for the RMI Government on matters relating to the US nuclear testing program in the Marshall Islands.
In 2007, Justice Philippo entered the private practice of law where he represented various government agencies, private companies, and various individuals in a variety of legal issues. During this period, Justice Philippo was again appointed by the Nitijela to serve as a member of the 3rd Constitutional Review Committee. He was legal advisor to the 2017-2018 4th Constitutional Convention.
Justice Philippo is a founding member of the Marshall Islands Law Society (MILS), a non-profit voluntary organization comprising members from the legal community and served as its President since its inception in 2008 till 2018.
Justice Philippo has attended workshops on negotiations, legal writing as well as mediation.
In 2018, Justice Philippo returned to the bench as an associate justice of the High Court. As a Marshallese citizen, Justice Philippo was appointed to serve until age 72, January 31, 2030.
Associate Justice Anne Bodley is an Australian-born New York-qualified lawyer who has worked with leading international law firms in New York (Mayer Brown), London (Allen & Overy) and Moscow (Clifford Chance) since her admission to practice in 2000 followed by 10 years with global bank HSBC (New York and London) covering the payments legal desk in New York before joining the London team in a senior role. Her Honor started an international career prior to qualifying in law working with the US Agency for International Development (USAID) in Moscow working throughout the former Soviet Union. She continued this interest in international affairs in her law studies, interning with former Australian Governor General and High Court of Australia Judge Sir Ninian Stephen, then a judge with the UN International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia (UNICTY), subsequent to which she accepted a post with the sister tribunal and spent nearly four years prosecuting with the UN International Criminal Tribunal for Rwanda (UNICTR), based in Arusha, Tanzania.
Justice Bodley has supervised students and lectured at Queen Mary University of London since 2020, is a long-standing contributing member of the Bank of England-originated Financial Markets Law Committee (Fintech Scoping Forum) and authored the lead chapter of Payment Services: Law and Practice (second edition forthcoming 2025). She is on the American Bar Association (ABA) Section of International Law Council, is a long-standing member of the International Bar Association, and has led numerous societies including the Law Council of Australia chapters in New York and London recently chairing the Anglo-Australasian Lawyers Society (AALS) for over five years.
Justice Bodley holds a BA summa cum laude (highest honours) in international relations, earned a 4.0 GPA on exchange at the Université de Paris IV (Paris-Sorbonne), and received her Juris Doctor degree in law from NYU (1999). She was invited to Cambridge University (Lauterpacht Centre for International Law) after graduating in law (working with the late Professor James Crawford SC, later a judge on the International Court of Justice), and is fluent in both French and Russian with a working knowledge of Spanish and some familiarity with Swahili.
On December 30, 2021, the Cabinet appointed Judge Grace L. Leban to serve a a ten-year term as chief judge of the Traditional Rights Court, and the judge representing Dri-Jerbal interests ending on December 29, 2031. Prior to her appointment as chief judge, Judge Leban served over 10 years as an associate judge of the Traditional Rights Court.
Chief Judge Grace Leban was born and raised on Majuro Atoll and has land right on Ebon, Ailinglaplap, Jobat, Wotje, Arno, and Likiep Atolls.
Judge Leban spent most of her schooling on Majuro Atoll, having attended the Assumption School during her elementary years and Marshall Islands High School for her first two years of secondary school. During her junior year in high school, she attended the D. P. Todd Secondary School in Prince George, British Columbia, Canada. After spending a year in Canada, Judge Leban returned south to Hawaii where she graduated from Mid-Pacific Institute on Oahu, Hawaii in 1985.
Right after high school, Judge Leban began her working career as an Administrative Assistant at the Majuro Co-Op School from 1985 to 1987. In early 1987, she moved to the High Court and worked as a Court Reporter/Clerk until 1992. During early 1992, she transferred to what was then the Ministry of Social Services to carry on the post of a Director for the Youth Services Bureau (YSB). During the government Reduction In Force Program in 1997, the Ministry of Social Services was eliminated, and YSB was merged with the Ministry of Internal Affairs (MOIA). While with the MOIA, she was promoted twice, first to become the Chief of the Community Development Division in 2003, and later to become an Assistant Secretary in 2009. Also, while working for MOIA, Judge Leban return to school. She graduated from the College of the Marshall Islands in 2004 with an A.A. in Liberal Arts and a Certificate in Counseling. In 2008, she graduated from the Brigham Young University-Hawaii, a B.S. in Education.
In April 2025, the Cabinet appointed Judge Nixon David to serve a fourth term as an associate judge of the Traditional Rights Court and the judge representing the Iroij interests ending on April 30, 2030. The Cabinet first appointed Judge Nixon to the Traditional Rights Court bench in April 2013.
Judge Nixon was born and raised on Arno Atoll and has land rights on Arno, Likiep, Mili, and Ebon Atolls. Judge David is a recognized expert in the customs and traditions of the Marshall Islands, having served as a presenter on the Customary Law and Language Commission’s radio program.
On February 4, 2021, the Cabinet, upon the recommendation of the Judicial Service Commission, appointed Claire Therese Loeak to serve as an associate judge of the Traditional Rights Court and as a judge representing Alap interests from the date of her appointment for a term of 10 years. Nitijela approved the appointment on April 26, 2021 and the 10-year term ending on May 17, 2031.
Prior to her appointment, Judge Loeak served the Republic well for over 5 years as an Assistant Attorney-General and before that, as an assistant clerk of the Cabinet.
Judge Loeak was born and raised on Majuro Atoll. She grew up observing and participating in Marshallese customary and traditional practices and is well informed on the customary law and traditional practices of the Marshall Islands.
Judge Loeak graduated from the Marshall Islands Mission Academy (SDA High School) in 1993 and earned her LLB Degree (Bachelor of Laws) from the University of the South Pacific in June of 2015.
On December 26, 2018, the Judicial Service Commission appointed Judge Paul to be the presiding judge of the District Court for a ten-year term. Prior to the 2018 appointment, Judge Paul served as an associate judge of the District Court since July 5, 2007.
Judge Ablos T. Paul was born on Majuro Atoll and raised on Ailinglaplap Atoll. He graduated from Jaluit High School in 1989 and from the College of the Marshall Islands in 1996 earning an Associate Degree in Liberal Arts. Judge Paul went on to Hawaii Pacific University and graduated with a Bachelor of Sciences in Criminal Justice/Administration. Returning home in 2002, Judge Paul joined the National Police Force and attained the rank of Captain for the Training Division. In 2007, Judge Paul left the National Police Force to accept an appointment Chief of Immigration.
In January 2019, the Judicial Service Commission appointed Caios Lucky to be an associate judge of the District Court in Majuro for a ten-year term, but not to exceed age 72 (08/28/27).
Associate Judge Caios Lucky was born and raised on Kwajalein Atoll, Republic of the Marshall Islands. He graduated of the Marshall Islands High School on Majuro in 1978, and he earned an Associate of Arts degree in criminal justice from Lassen Community College in 1981.
Upon his return to the Marshall Island in 1981, he jointed National Police Force on Ebeye as a criminal justice investigator and attained the rank of criminal investigation division captain. From 2000 to 2004 and from 2008 to 2011, he served as a trial assistant in the Office of the Public Defender in Majuro. From 2004 to 2007 and from 2012 to 2015 he served as a member of the Nitijela for Ujae Atoll, serving as the vice-speaker from 2014 to 2015. In 2016 and 2017, he served as an acting judge for the Traditional Rights Court.
In August 2024, the Judicial Service Commission appointed Judge Alexander F.C. Capelle to be an associate judge of the District Court in Ebeye for a ten-year term.
Associate Judge Capelle was born and raised on Kwajalein Atoll, Republic of the Marshall Islands. He graduated of Xavier Micronesian High School on Chuuk, Federated States of Micronesia, in 2012. After graduation, he joined the National Police Force on Ebeye and attained the rank of Lieutenant Detective.
Ingrid “Kakku” Kabua has served as the Chief Clerk of the Courts and Executive Officer since June 2010.
She was born on Majuro Atoll, Marshall Islands. She spent her early childhood years in Kwajalein Atoll, where she first started school. She then later moved back with her family to Majuro and attended the Majuro Cooperative School until her graduation in 1995. Ingrid went on to attend the Marshall Islands High School and graduated in May of 1999. After high school, she then furthered her education at the Republic of the Marshall Islands-University of the South Pacific Joint Education Project/Program, a two-year program. At RMI-USP, she successfully completed both the Preliminary and Foundation Science courses. Ingrid has also received a Diploma of Justice from the University of South Pacific.
In November of 2004, Ingrid joined the Judiciary as an Assistant Clerk of the Courts. Since then, she has attended several training, workshops, and conferences the Pacific Judicial Council’s Court Administrator Conferences and the Pacific Judicial Development Program’s National Coordinator’s Workshop and the Educator’s Workshop Ingrid was later promoted to the position of Deputy Chief Clerk of Courts and then to the position of Chief Clerk of the Courts.