# United States District Court for the District of Hawaii

21°18′15″N 157°51′44″W﻿ / ﻿21.304175°N 157.862334°W﻿ / 21.304175; -157.862334
The United States District Court for the District of Hawaii (in case citations, D. Haw.) is the principal trial court of the United States Federal Court System in the state of Hawaii. The court's territorial jurisdiction encompasses the state of Hawaii and the territories of Midway Atoll, Wake Island, Johnston Atoll, Kingman Reef, Palmyra Atoll, Baker Island, Howland Island, and Jarvis Island; it also occasionally handles (jointly with the United States District Court for the District of Columbia and the High Court of American Samoa) federal issues that arise in the territory of American Samoa, which has no local federal court or territorial court. It is located at the Prince Kuhio Federal Building in downtown Honolulu, fronting the Aloha Tower and Honolulu Harbor. The court hears both civil and criminal cases as a court of law and equity. A branch of the district court is the United States Bankruptcy Court which also has chambers in the federal building. The United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit has appellate jurisdiction over cases coming out of the District of Hawaii (except for patent claims and claims against the U.S. government under the Tucker Act, which are appealed to the Federal Circuit). The United 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, the acting United States attorney is Ken Sorenson.

## History

When the Territory of Hawaii was formed in 1900, jurisdiction was placed in the Ninth 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.

## Current judges

As of October 15, 2024:
| # | Title | Judge | Duty station | Born | Term of service | Term of service | Term of service | Appointed by |
| # | Title | Judge | Duty station | Born | Active | Chief | Senior | Appointed by |
| 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 | 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 Ezra has sat with the Western District of Texas since taking senior status.

## Former judges

| # | Judge | State | Born–died | Active service | Chief Judge | Senior status | Appointed by | Reason for termination |
| 1 | Cyrus Nils Tavares | HI | 1902–1976 | 1960–1972 | 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 | — | — | 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 |
* ↑ Recess appointment; formally nominated on January 10, 1961, confirmed by the Senate on September 21, 1961, and received commission on September 22, 1961.
* ↑ Recess appointment made by President Carter; President Reagan later withdrew the nomination before the Senate could act.

## Chief judges

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 as senior 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.

## Succession of seats

Seat 1 :
| Seat established on August 21, 1959 by 73 Stat. 4 ||||
| Tavares | 1961–1972 |
| King | 1972–1984 |
| Ezra | 1988–2012 |
| Watson | 2013–present |
Seat 2 :
| Seat established on August 21, 1959 by 73 Stat. 4 ||||
| Pence | 1961–1974 |
| Wong | 1975–1978 |
| Heen | 1981 |
| Fong | 1982–1995 |
| Mollway | 1998–2015 |
| Otake | 2018–present |
Seat 3 :
| Seat established on July 10, 1984 by 98 Stat. 333 ||||
| Kay | 1986–2000 |
| Seabright | 2005–2024 |
| Smith | 2024–present |
Seat 4 :
| Seat established on December 1, 1990 by 104 Stat. 5089 (temporary) ||||
| Gillmor | 1994–2009 |
| Kobayashi | 2010–2024 |
| Seat made permanent on December 23, 2024 by 138 Stat. 2693 ||||
| Park | 2024–present |

## Judges of the United States District Court for the Territory of Hawaii

Prior to 1959, the United States District Court for the District of Hawaii was an Article IV tribunal in the Territory 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 | — | — | McKinley | death |
| 2 | Sanford B. Dole | HI | 1844–1926 | 1903–1915 | — | — | T. Roosevelt | retirement |
| 3 | George Washington Woodruff | HI | 1864–1934 | 1909–1910 | — | — | Taft | resigned |
| 4 | Alexander George Morison Robertson | HI | 1867–1947 | 1910–1911 | — | — | Taft | resigned |
| 5 | Charles Frederic Clemons | HI | 1871–1925 | 1911–1916 | — | — | Taft | resigned |
| 6 | Horace Worth Vaughan | HI | 1867–1922 | 1916–1922 | — | — | 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 | — | — | Coolidge | retirement |
| 11 | Edward K. Massee | HI | 1871–1960 | 1929–1935 | — | — | Coolidge | term expired |
| 12 | Seba Cormany Huber | HI | 1871–1944 | 1934–1940 | — | — | F. Roosevelt | retirement |
| 13 | Edward Minor Watson Jr. | HI | 1874–1938 | 1935–1938 | — | — | 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 |

## Succession of seats

Seat 1 :
| Seat established on April 30, 1900 by 56 Stat. 222 ||||
| Estee | 1900–1903 |
| Dole | 1903–1915 |
| Vaughan | 1916–1922 |
| DeBolt | 1922–1926 |
| Lymer | 1926–1934 |
| Huber | 1934–1940 |
| Stainback | 1940–1943 |
| McLaughlin | 1943–1959 |
Seat 2 :
| Seat established on March 3, 1909 by 60 Stat. 322 ||||
| Woodruff | 1909–1910 |
| Robertson | 1910–1911 |
| Clemons | 1911–1916 |
| Poindexter | 1917–1924 |
| Rawlins | 1924–1928 |
| Massee | 1929–1935 |
| Watson | 1935–1938 |
| Metzger | 1939–1952 |
| Wiig | 1952–1959 |

## "Recorder of Deeds" for the Territory of Palmyra Island

Since 1962, the court's clerk has filed or recorded the deeds and other land title documents for land located in the federal Territory of Palmyra Island, under 48 U.S.C. § 644a, Executive Order No. 10967 and Order No. 2862 of the Secretary of the Interior.