Supreme Court of Hawaii

The Supreme Court of Hawaii is the highest court of the State of Hawaii in the United States. It makes important decisions that all other courts in Hawaii must follow. The main job of the Supreme Court is to check decisions made by lower courts when people ask for a review. These reviews use written information from the lower courts, and sometimes the Supreme Court lets people talk about their cases in person in a special room.

The Supreme Court of Hawaii meets in a building called Aliʻiōlani Hale in the city of Honolulu. Like other top courts in the United States, it does not look at new evidence but only uses what was already shared in earlier trials.

History

The laws of Hawaii have been written down since January 1847, when King Kamehameha III was ruling. This was long before Hawaii was annexed by the United States in 1898. Kamehameha III wanted to update the laws of the Hawaiian Kingdom. He changed them from traditional Hawaiian ways to a new system based on Anglo-American common law.

Hawaii is special because it chose this new legal system on its own, not because others forced it. Early Hawaiian cases were first shared in a newspaper called The Polynesian.

Functions

The Hawaii State Supreme Court mainly reviews important legal questions from lower courts. It can also look at some civil cases and decide on special requests called writs, such as mandamus, prohibition, and habeas corpus. Its decisions guide all other courts in Hawaii.

Justices

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

The Supreme Court of Hawaii has five justices. They are first chosen for ten-year terms by the Governor of Hawaii. The Governor picks from a list of names suggested by a special group. Before someone can become a justice, they need to be confirmed by the Hawaii State Senate. To be a candidate, a person must be a U.S. citizen, live in Hawaii, and have been a lawyer for at least ten years. Justices can sometimes stay longer than one term. All justices must leave the court when they turn 70 years old.

As of May 1, 2026, the justices are:

Vacancy and pending nomination

Cases

The Supreme Court of Hawaii has handled important cases, like Sunoco v. Honolulu in 2023 and Hawaii v. Wilson in 2024. These cases help make the laws in Hawaii.