About

Kinzo H. Mihara

Kinzo was born in northwestern Montana, but as a child of a Naval Officer grew up on both coasts. In school, Kinzo excelled at sports, and in Maryland was ranked in wrestling and took state in football. After high school, Kinzo completed a four year tour with the U.S. Marines serving in an unmanned aerial vehicle (drone) squadron and was an enlisted aide to several senior generals in the Pentagon. After his initial military service, Kinzo completed his undergraduate course of study at the University of Maryland University College in College Park, Maryland. During college, Kinzo was activated off of the Marine Corps reserve list onto active duty to support the war on terror. During his second tour with the Marines, Kinzo was assigned as an enlisted legislative liaison who worked between the U.S. Capitol and the Pentagon. Subsequent to his second tour, Kinzo completed his legal training at the University of Idaho College of Law in Moscow, Idaho.

senior generals in the Pentagon. After his initial military service, Kinzo completed his undergraduate course of study at the University of Maryland University College in College Park, Maryland. During college, Kinzo was activated off of the Marine Corps reserve list onto active duty to support the war on terror. During his second tour with the Marines, Kinzo was assigned as an enlisted legislative liaison who worked between the U.S. Capitol and the Pentagon. Subsequent to his second tour, Kinzo completed his legal training at the University of Idaho College of Law in Moscow, Idaho. Prior to becoming a lawyer, Kinzo was a certified paralegal who worked at a busy public defending law firm in Portland, Oregon. Kinzo then worked for a firm in the Washington, D.C. area litigating major construction defect cases all over the country, often taking those cases to trial.

Kinzo has worked in both large and small firms in Idaho on many different types of legal matters. Kinzo currently represents individuals, businesses, and municipal entities offering advice and representation on both litigation and transactional matters involving criminal, family, real estate transactions and disputes, insurance, and personal injury, and environmental matters. Due to his legal accomplishments as well as his reputation and professionalism before both the bench and bar, Kinzo has been ‘short-listed’ for magistrate judge in Kootenai, Shoshone, and Bonner counties. Kinzo has been recognized in Idaho by the Idaho Business Review as one of its inaugural “Leaders in the Law,” having obtained the award in 2013. Kinzo is active in the Idaho State Bar and is licensed in the states of Washington (Active) and Montana (Inactive). Kinzo is also licensed in the federal courts of Idaho, Montana, the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals, and the Supreme Court of the United States. In short, Kinzo Mihara is an experienced lawyer having appeared in federal, state, local, and tribal courts on a myriad of different types of cases in both the criminal and civil areas of the law.

When he is not practicing law, Kinzo enjoys spending time with his family. Kinzo spends time with his family working on the family’s property in Idaho and Washington, fishing, camping, hunting, boating, and generally enjoying the mountains, lakes, and rivers of North Idaho, Eastern Washington, and Montana.

Some of My Work

State of Idaho V. Coeur d’Alene Tribe

The panel affirmed (1) the district court’s denial of a motion to dismiss the State of Idaho’s action alleging that the Coeur d’Alene Tribe’s offering of Texas Hold’em poker violated a Tribal-State Gaming Compact entered into under the Indian Gaming Regulatory Act, and (2) the district court’s grant of a preliminary injunction.

Metlife V. Holland

Appeal from the District Court of the First Judicial District of the State of Idaho, in and for Kootenai County. The Hon. John T. Mitchell, District Judge.

The judgment of the district court is vacated.

Kinzo H. Mihara, Coeur d’Alene, argued for appellants.

William J. Schroeder, Paine Hamblen, LLP, argued for respondents.