The Hawai‘i State Judiciary is the official name of the judicial system of Hawai‘i in the United States. Based in Honolulu, the Hawai‘i State Judiciary is a unified state court system that functions under the Chief Justice of the Hawai‘i State Supreme Court who is its administrator-in-chief.

Principal Courts

The Hawai‘i State Judiciary is composed of seven courts.

• The Hawai‘i State Supreme Court is the highest of the courts of the Hawai‘i State Judiciary and makes decisions over cases appealed in other courts.
• The Hawai‘i State Intermediate Court of Appeals is the state's second highest court and shares in the Supreme Court's jurisdiction over appeals from lower courts. While the Supreme Court reviews cases over the formulation of law, the Intermediate Court of Appeals reviews cases for errors.
• The Hawai‘i State Land Court has exclusive jurisdiction over cases involving land titles.

• The Hawai‘i State Tax Appeal Court has jurisdiction over cases involving property, excise, liquor, tobacco, income and insurance taxes.

• The primary civil and criminal court in Hawaii is the body known as the Hawai‘i State Circuit Courts. They rule all jury trial cases and have exclusive jurisdiction over probate, guardianship and criminal felony cases as well as civil cases where the contested amount exceeds USD $20,000.

Ali'iolani Hale in downtown Honolulu is the home of the Hawai'i State Supreme Court whose Chief Justice is concurrently the administrator-in-chief of the Hawai'i State Judiciary.

• The Hawai‘i State Family Courts have exclusive jurisdiction over cases involving legal minors involving delinquency, status offenses, abuse and neglect, termination of parental rights, adoption, guardianships and detention among others. The Family Courts also oversee cases of domestic relations involving divorce, child support, custody matters among others.

• The Hawai‘i State District Courts have exclusive jurisdiction over traffic infractions, landlord-tenant disputes, non-jury trial civil cases where the contested amount is under USD $10,000, civil cases where claim does not exceed USD $20,000, criminal offenses punishable by fine or by imprisonment not exceeding one year, county-ordinance cases and petitions for restraining orders.

Resources

• Hawai‘i State Judiciary