| Hawaii Supreme Court | |
|---|---|
| ʻAha Hoʻokolokolo Kiʻekiʻe o Hawaiʻi (Hawaiian) | |
 Seal of the Hawaii Supreme Court | |
 Interactive map of Hawaii Supreme Court | |
| Established | 1841 |
| Location | Honolulu, Hawaii ,United States  |
| Composition method | Governor nomination withSenateconfirmation |
| Authorised by | Haw. Const. art. VI, § 2. |
| Appeals to | Supreme Court of the United States |
| Judge term length | 10 years |
| Number of positions | 5 |
| Website | Hawaii Supreme Court |
| Chief Justice | |
| Currently | Sabrina McKenna (acting) |
| Since | October 1, 2025 |
| Hawai'i State Judiciary |
|---|
TheSupreme Court of Hawaii is thehighest court of theState of Hawaii in theUnited States. Its decisions are binding on all other courts of theHawaii 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.
The Supreme Court of Hawaii meets inAliʻiōlani Hale inHonolulu.
The case lawreported inHawaiian Reports dates back to January 1847[1] and the reign ofKamehameha III, long before Hawaiiwas annexed by the United States in 1898. (Early Hawaiian cases were originally reported inThe Polynesian.)
Kamehemeha III sought to modernize the Hawaiian Kingdom by rapidly transitioning from indigenous traditions to a new legal system based on Anglo-Americancommon 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 avoidingannexation by larger colonial powers), in contrast to the common law's coercive impositionelsewhere by English-speaking colonists.
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 ofmandamus,prohibition, andhabeas corpus.[3]
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 ofOctober 1, 2025, the justices are:[7][8]
| Name | Born | Start | Term ends | Mandatory Retirement[a] | Appointer | Law School |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Sabrina McKenna,Acting Chief Justice | (1957-10-07)October 7, 1957 (age 68) | March 3, 2011 | March 2, 2031 | 2027 | Neil Abercrombie (D) | Hawaii Duke (LLM) |
| Todd W. Eddins | (1964-03-18)March 18, 1964 (age 61) | December 11, 2020 | December 10, 2030 | 2034 | David Ige (D) | Hawaii |
| Lisa M. Ginoza | (1964-10-20)October 20, 1964 (age 61) | January 12, 2024 | January 11, 2034 | 2034 | Josh Green (D) | Hawaii |
| Vladimir Devens | 1962 (age 62–63) | January 12, 2024 | January 11, 2034 | 2032 | Josh Green (D) | UC Berkeley |
| Vacant |
| Vacator | Reason | Vacancy Date | Nominee | Nomination Date |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Mark E. Recktenwald | Mandatory retirement | October 1, 2025[8] | Pending | TBD |
![[icon]](/mt/?noimg=&dark=on&url=http%3a%2f%2fen.wikipedia.org%2fwiki%2fFile%3aWiki_letter_w_cropped.svg) | This sectionneeds expansion. You can help byadding to it.(February 2024) |
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