The Hawaii State Judiciary is the official name of the judicial system of

Hawaii Hawaii ( ; haw, Hawaii or ) is a state in the Western United States, located in the Pacific Ocean about from the U.S. mainland. It is the only U.S. state outside North America, the only state that is an archipelago, and the only stat ...

in the

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country Continental United States, primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 U.S. state, states, a Washington, D.C., ...

. Based in

Honolulu Honolulu (; ) is the capital and largest city of the U.S. state of Hawaii, which is in the Pacific Ocean. It is an unincorporated county seat of the consolidated City and County of Honolulu, situated along the southeast coast of the isla ...

, the Hawaii State Judiciary is a unified state court system that functions under the Chief Justice of the Hawaii State Supreme Court who is its administrator-in-chief.

Principal courts

The Hawaii State judiciary has four levels; two at the trial level and two at the appellate level. The trial-level courts are the district court, for lesser offenses and minor civil cases, and circuit court, for more serious offenses and major civil cases. There are two appellate courts, the Intermediate Court of Appeals, the lower appellate court, and the Supreme Court, for appeals from the decision of the Intermediate Court via

certiorari In law, ''certiorari'' is a court process to seek judicial review of a decision of a lower court or government agency. ''Certiorari'' comes from the name of an English prerogative writ, issued by a superior court to direct that the record of ...

, and for certain cases, such as election cases, over which it exercises original jurisdiction. The specific roles and names of the courts are as follows: * The Hawaii State Supreme Court is the

state supreme court In the United States, a state supreme court (known by other names in some states) is the highest court in the state judiciary of a U.S. state. On matters of state law, the judgment of a state supreme court is considered final and binding in b ...

. It is the high court of the state and makes binding decisions over appeals from the lower courts upon transfer from the Intermediate Court of Appeals and cases eligible to be heard directly by the Hawaii Supreme Court. It is also responsible for court rules, licensing and disciplining attorneys. * The Hawaii Intermediate Court of Appeals is the state's intermediate

appellate court A court of appeals, also called a court of appeal, appellate court, appeal court, court of second instance or second instance court, is any court of law that is empowered to hear an appeal of a trial court or other lower tribunal. In much of ...

. It reviews appeals from state trial court or administrative agency decisions. Its decisions, under certain circumstances, are subject to the Hawai`i Supreme Court's review. * The primary civil and criminal court in Hawaii is the body known as the

Hawaii state circuit court The Hawaii state circuit courts are the trial courts of general jurisdiction in Hawaii. They are the primary civil and criminal courts of the Hawaii State Judiciary. The circuit courts are the only Hawaii state courts to conduct jury trials. (The ...

s. They rule all jury trial cases and have

exclusive jurisdiction Exclusive jurisdiction exists in civil procedure if one court has the power to adjudicate a case to the exclusion of all other courts. The opposite situation is concurrent jurisdiction (or non-exclusive jurisdiction) in which more than one cour ...

over

probate Probate is the judicial process whereby a will is "proved" in a court of law and accepted as a valid public document that is the true last testament of the deceased, or whereby the estate is settled according to the laws of intestacy in the st ...

, guardianship and criminal felony cases as well as civil cases where the amount in controversy exceeds $25,000. * The Hawaii State family courts deal with

family law Family law (also called matrimonial law or the law of domestic relations) is an area of the law that deals with family matters and domestic relations. Overview Subjects that commonly fall under a nation's body of family law include: * Marriage ...

. They have exclusive jurisdiction over cases with minors involving

delinquency Delinquent or delinquents may refer to: * A person who commits a felony * A juvenile delinquent, often shortened as delinquent is a young person (under 18) who fails to do that which is required by law; see juvenile delinquency * A person who fai ...

, status offenses,

abuse Abuse is the improper usage or treatment of a thing, often to unfairly or improperly gain benefit. Abuse can come in many forms, such as: physical or verbal maltreatment, injury, assault, violation, rape, unjust practices, crimes, or other t ...

and

neglect In the context of caregiving, neglect is a form of abuse where the perpetrator, who is responsible for caring for someone who is unable to care for themselves, fails to do so. It can be a result of carelessness, indifference, or unwillingness a ...

, termination of parental rights,

adoption Adoption is a process whereby a person assumes the parenting of another, usually a child, from that person's biological or legal parent or parents. Legal adoptions permanently transfer all rights and responsibilities, along with filiation, fro ...

guardianships and detention among others. The Family Courts also oversee cases of domestic relations, include

divorce Divorce (also known as dissolution of marriage) is the process of terminating a marriage or marital union. Divorce usually entails the canceling or reorganizing of the legal duties and responsibilities of marriage, thus dissolving th ...

child support Child support (or child maintenance) is an ongoing, periodic payment made by a parent for the financial benefit of a child (or parent, caregiver, guardian) following the end of a marriage or other similar relationship. Child maintenance is paid d ...

, and custody cases. * The

Hawaii state district court The Hawaii state district courts are a level of state courts in Hawaii. In addition, the district courts have jurisdiction over: * Civil cases with an amount in controversy not in excess of $25,000 or where the relief sought is specific perfo ...

s have exclusive jurisdiction over

traffic Traffic comprises pedestrians, vehicles, ridden or herded animals, trains, and other conveyances that use public ways (roads) for travel and transportation. Traffic laws govern and regulate traffic, while rules of the road include traffic ...

infraction A summary offence or petty offence is a violation in some common law jurisdictions that can be proceeded against summarily, without the right to a jury trial and/or indictment (required for an indictable offence). Canada In Canada, summary offe ...

s, landlord-tenant disputes, civil

bench trial A bench trial is a trial by judge, as opposed to a trial by jury. The term applies most appropriately to any administrative hearing in relation to a summary offense to distinguish the type of trial. Many legal systems (Roman, Islamic) use bench ...

s cases where the amount in controversy is under $10,000, civil cases where claim does not exceed $25,000, criminal offenses punishable by fine or by imprisonment not exceeding one year, county-ordinance cases and petitions for restraining orders. The Hawaii State Small Claims Court is a division of district court dealing with small claims. * The

Hawaii Land Court The Land Court of the State of Hawaii (originally, the Court of Land Registration in the former U.S. Territory of Hawaii) has exclusive jurisdiction in the Hawaii State Judiciary over cases involving registered land titles. The Land Court system ...

has exclusive jurisdiction over cases involving

land titles Land registration is any of various systems by which matters concerning ownership, possession, or other rights in land are formally recorded (usually with a government agency or department) to provide evidence of title, facilitate transactions, ...

and is a part of circuit court. * The Hawaii State Tax Appeal Court has jurisdiction over cases involving property, excise, liquor, tobacco, income and insurance taxes, and is a part of circuit court.

External links

National Center for State Courts

Hawaii State Judiciary
* {{Authority control Hawaii state courts State judiciaries in the United States