21°18′15″N157°51′44″W / 21.304175°N 157.862334°W /21.304175; -157.862334
| United States District Court for the District of Hawaii | |
|---|---|
| (D. Haw.) | |
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| Location | Prince Kuhio Federal Building (Honolulu) |
| Appeals to | Ninth Circuit |
| Established | August 21, 1959 |
| Judges | 4 |
| Chief Judge | Derrick Watson |
| Officers of the court | |
| U.S. Attorney | Ken Sorenson(acting) |
| U.S. Marshal | Justin Mark Davis (acting) |
| www | |
TheUnited States District Court for the District of Hawaii (incase citations,D. Haw.) is the principaltrial court of theUnited States Federal Court System in thestate ofHawaii. The court'sterritorial jurisdiction encompasses the state of Hawaii and theterritories ofMidway Atoll,Wake Island,Johnston Atoll,Kingman Reef,Palmyra Atoll,Baker Island,Howland Island, andJarvis Island;[1][2] it also occasionally handles (jointly with theUnited States District Court for the District of Columbia and theHigh Court of American Samoa) federal issues that arise in the territory ofAmerican Samoa, which has no local federal court orterritorial court.[3] It is located at thePrince Kuhio Federal Building indowntown Honolulu, fronting theAloha Tower andHonolulu Harbor. The court hears both civil and criminal cases as a court oflaw andequity. A branch of the district court is theUnited States Bankruptcy Court which also has chambers in the federal building. TheUnited States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit has appellate jurisdiction over cases coming out of the District of Hawaii (except forpatent claims and claims against the U.S. government under theTucker Act, which are appealed to theFederal Circuit). TheUnited States Attorney for the District of Hawaii represents the United States in all civil and criminal cases within her district.
As of February 21, 2025[update], the actingUnited States attorney isKen Sorenson.[4]
When theTerritory of Hawaii was formed in 1900, jurisdiction was placed in theNinth Circuit. On March 18, 1959, when the District of Hawaii was formed, the district had two judgeships for the court. On July 10, 1984, a third judgeship was added, and a fourth was added on December 1, 1990.[5]
As of October 15, 2024[update]:
| # | Title | Judge | Duty station | Born | Term of service | Appointed by | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Active | Chief | Senior | ||||||
| 13 | Chief Judge | Derrick Watson | Honolulu | 1966 | 2013–present | 2022–present | — | Obama |
| 14 | District Judge | Jill Otake | Honolulu | 1973 | 2018–present | — | — | Trump |
| 15 | District Judge | Micah W. J. Smith | Honolulu | 1981 | 2024–present | — | — | Biden |
| 16 | District Judge | Shanlyn A. S. Park | Honolulu | 1969 | 2024–present | — | — | Biden |
| 8 | Senior Judge | David Alan Ezra | San Antonio, Texas[Note 1] | 1947 | 1988–2012 | 1999–2005 | 2012–present | Reagan |
| 9 | Senior Judge | Helen W. Gillmor | Honolulu | 1942 | 1994–2009 | 2005–2009 | 2009–present | Clinton |
| 10 | Senior Judge | Susan Oki Mollway | Honolulu | 1950 | 1998–2015 | 2009–2015 | 2015–present | Clinton |
| 11 | Senior Judge | John Michael Seabright | Honolulu | 1959 | 2005–2024 | 2015–2022 | 2024–present | G.W. Bush |
| 12 | Senior Judge | Leslie E. Kobayashi | Honolulu | 1957 | 2010–2024 | — | 2024–present | Obama |
| # | Judge | State | Born–died | Active service | Chief Judge | Senior status | Appointed by | Reason for termination |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Cyrus Nils Tavares | HI | 1902–1976 | 1960–1972[Note 1] | 1960–1961 | 1972–1976 | Eisenhower | death |
| 2 | Martin Pence | HI | 1904–2000 | 1961–1974 | 1961–1974 | 1974–2000 | Kennedy | retirement |
| 3 | Samuel Pailthorpe King | HI | 1916–2010 | 1972–1984 | 1974–1984 | 1984–2010 | Nixon | death |
| 4 | Dick Yin Wong | HI | 1920–1978 | 1975–1978 | — | — | Ford | death |
| 5 | Walter Heen | HI | 1928–present | 1981[Note 2] | — | — | Carter | nomination withdrawn |
| 6 | Harold Fong | HI | 1938–1995 | 1982–1995 | 1984–1991 | — | Reagan | death |
| 7 | Alan Cooke Kay | HI | 1932–2024 | 1986–2000 | 1991–1999 | 2000–2024 | Reagan | death |
Chief judges have administrative responsibilities with respect to their district court. Unlike the Supreme Court, where one justice is specifically nominated to be chief, the office of chief judge rotates among the district court judges. To be chief, a judge must have been in active service on the court for at least one year, be under the age of 65, and have not previously served as chief judge.
A vacancy is filled by the judge highest in seniority among the group of qualified judges. The chief judge serves for a term of seven years, or until age 70, whichever occurs first. The age restrictions are waived if no members of the court would otherwise be qualified for the position.
When the office was created in 1948, the chief judge was the longest-serving judge who had not elected to retire, on what has since 1958 been known assenior status, or declined to serve as chief judge. After August 6, 1959, judges could not become or remain chief after turning 70 years old. The current rules have been in operation since October 1, 1982.
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Prior to 1959, the United States District Court for the District of Hawaii was an Article IV tribunal in theTerritory of Hawaii. The following is a partial list of Judges for that court.
| # | Judge | State | Born–died | Active service | Chief Judge | Senior status | Appointed by | Reason for termination |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Morris M. Estee | HI | 1833–1903 | 1900–1903[6] | — | — | McKinley | death |
| 2 | Sanford B. Dole | HI | 1844–1926 | 1903–1915[7] | — | — | T. Roosevelt | retirement |
| 3 | George Washington Woodruff | HI | 1864–1934 | 1909–1910 | — | — | Taft | resigned |
| 4 | Alexander George Morison Robertson | HI | 1867–1947 | 1910–1911[8] | — | — | Taft | resigned |
| 5 | Charles Frederic Clemons | HI | 1871–1925 | 1911–1916[9] | — | — | Taft | resigned |
| 6 | Horace Worth Vaughan | HI | 1867–1922 | 1916–1922[10] | — | — | Wilson | death |
| 7 | Joseph Poindexter | HI | 1869–1951 | 1917–1924 | — | — | Wilson | retirement |
| 8 | John T. DeBolt | HI | 1857–1944 | 1922–1926 | — | — | Harding | term expired |
| 9 | William T. Rawlins | HI | 1877–1928 | 1924–1928 | — | — | Coolidge | deceased |
| 10 | William Barker Lymer | HI | 1882–1939 | 1926–1934[11] | — | — | Coolidge | retirement |
| 11 | Edward K. Massee | HI | 1871–1960 | 1929–1935 | — | — | Coolidge | term expired |
| 12 | Seba Cormany Huber | HI | 1871–1944 | 1934–1940[12] | — | — | F. Roosevelt | retirement |
| 13 | Edward Minor Watson Jr. | HI | 1874–1938 | 1935–1938[13] | — | — | F. Roosevelt | died |
| 14 | Delbert E. Metzger | HI | 1875–1967 | 1939–1952 | — | — | F. Roosevelt | term expired |
| 15 | Ingram Stainback | HI | 1883–1961 | 1940–1943 | — | — | F. Roosevelt | resigned |
| 16 | Joseph Frank McLaughlin | HI | 1908–1962 | 1943–1959 | — | — | F. Roosevelt | statehood |
| 17 | Jon Wiig | HI | 1906–1987 | 1952–1959 | — | — | Truman | statehood |
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Since 1962, the court's clerk has filed or recorded the deeds and other land title documents for land located in the federalTerritory of Palmyra Island, under48 U.S.C. § 644a,Executive Order No. 10967[14] and Order No. 2862 of theSecretary of the Interior.[15]
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| Courts of appeals | |
| District courts |
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| Specialty courts | |
| Territorial courts | |
| Extinct courts | |
| Note | American Samoa does not have a district court or federal territorial court; federal matters there go to theDistrict of Columbia,Hawaii, orits own Supreme Court. |
