Supreme Court of Hawaii

The Supreme Court of Hawaii is the highest court of the State of Hawaii in the United States. Its decisions are binding on all other courts of the Hawaii State Judiciary. The principal purpose of the Supreme Court is to review the decisions of the trial courts in which appeals have been granted. Appeals are decided by the members of the Supreme Court based on written records and in some cases may grant oral arguments in the main Supreme Court chamber. Like its mainland United States counterparts, the Supreme Court does not take evidence and uses only evidence provided in previous trials.

Hawaii Supreme Court
ʻAha Hoʻokolokolo Kiʻekiʻe o Hawaiʻi (Hawaiian)
Seal of the Hawaii Supreme Court
Established1841
LocationHonolulu, Hawaii
Composition methodGovernor nomination with Senate confirmation
Authorized byHaw. Const. art. VI, § 2.
Appeals toSupreme Court of the United States
Judge term length10 years
Number of positions5
WebsiteHawaii Supreme Court
Chief Justice
CurrentlyMark E. Recktenwald
SinceSeptember 14, 2010
Lead position endsOctober 8, 2025
Aliʻiōlani Hale, the building where the Hawaiʻi State Supreme Court meets
Hawai'i State Judiciary

The Supreme Court of Hawaii meets in Aliʻiōlani Hale in Honolulu.

History

The case law reported in Hawaiian Reports dates back to January 1847[1] and the reign of Kamehameha III, long before Hawaii was annexed by the United States in 1898. (Early Hawaiian cases were originally reported in The Polynesian.)

Kamehemeha III sought to modernize the Hawaiian Kingdom by rapidly transitioning from indigenous traditions to a new legal system based on Anglo-American common law.[2] Hawaii is one of the rare examples of an indigenous polity which voluntarily adopted the common law (albeit as part of the larger objective of avoiding annexation by larger colonial powers), in contrast to the common law's coercive imposition elsewhere by English-speaking colonists.

Functions

The Hawaii State Supreme Court has original jurisdiction to answer questions of law that have been passed to it from trial courts or the federal court, hear civil cases submitted to the Supreme Court on agreed statements of facts, and decide questions coming from proceedings of writs of mandamus, prohibition, and habeas corpus.[3]

Justices
Main article: List of justices of the Supreme Court of Hawaii

The Supreme Court consists of five justices[4][5] who are initially appointed to ten-year terms by the Governor of Hawaii, who makes their nomination from a list of four to six candidates from the Hawaii Judicial Selection Commission.[6] The Governor's nominee is subject to confirmation by the Hawaii State Senate.[6] Candidates must be U.S. citizens, Hawaii residents, and have been licensed to practice law for at least 10 years prior to nomination.[6] The Judicial Selection Commission can opt to retain incumbent justices for additional ten-year terms.[6] All justices must retire at 70 years of age.[6]

As of April 21, 2023, the justices are:[7]

Justice Born Joined Term ends Mandatory retirement Appointed by Law school
Mark E. Recktenwald, Chief Justice (1955-10-08) October 8, 1955 May 11, 2009 (as Associate Justice)
September 14, 2010 (as Chief)		 September 13, 2030 October 8, 2025 Linda Lingle (R) Chicago
Sabrina McKenna (1957-10-07) October 7, 1957 March 3, 2011 March 2, 2031 October 7, 2027 Neil Abercrombie (D) Hawaii
Todd W. Eddins 1964 or 1965 (age 58–59) December 11, 2020 December 10, 2030 2034/2035 David Ige (D) Hawaii
Seat vacant – – – – – –
Seat vacant – – – – – –

    Vacancies and pending nominations

    On October 23, 2023, Lisa M. Ginoza and Vladimir P. Devens were nominated to unspecified seats on the court.[8]

    Seat last held by Vacancy reason Date of vacancy Nominee Nomination announced
    Michael D. Wilson Retirement March 31, 2023[9][10] – –
    Paula A. Nakayama April 21, 2023[10][11][12] – –

    See also

    References
    1. Robertson, George M. (1857). Reports of Some of the Judgments and Decisions of the Courts of Record of the Hawaiian Islands for the Ten Years Ending with 1856, Volume 1 (1889 reprint ed.). Honolulu: The Government Press. p. 1. Retrieved August 25, 2023.
    2. Merry, Sally Engle (2000). Colonizing Hawai'i: The Cultural Power of Law. Princeton: Princeton University Press. p. 4. ISBN 9780691009322. Retrieved 30 September 2020.
    3. Haw. Rev. Stat. § 602-5. Retrieved 2014 December 18.
    4. Haw. Const. art. VI, § 2. Retrieved 2014 December 18.
    5. Haw. Rev. Stat. § 602-1. Retrieved 2014 December 18.
    6. Haw. Const. art. VI, § 3. Retrieved 2014 December 18.
    7. "Hawaii Supreme Court Justices". Hawai'i State Judiciary. Hawai'i State Judiciary. Retrieved 19 December 2020.
    8. "Nominees for Hawaii State Supreme Court announced". khon2. October 23, 2023.
    9. "Nutter & Co. v. Namahoe, SCWC-17-0000496" (PDF). Hawaii State Judiciary. April 17, 2023. Associate Justice Michael D. Wilson, who was a member of the court when the case was decided, retired on March 31, 2023.
    10. Blair, Chad (October 29, 2022). "Another Vacancy Posted For Hawaii Supreme Court". Honolulu Civil Beat.
    11. "Notice of Anticipated Judicial Vacancy – Associate Justice, Supreme Court, State of Hawai'i (Release Date: 10/28/2022)". Hawaii State Judiciary.
    12. "Celebrating Justice Paula A. Nakayama Day". Hawaii State Judiciary. April 21, 2023.

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