# Supreme Court of Hawaii

The Supreme Court of Hawaii is the highest court of the State of Hawaii in the United States. Its decisions are binding on all other courts of the Hawaii 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 in Aliʻiōlani Hale in Honolulu.

## History

The case law reported in Hawaiian Reports dates back to January 1847 and the reign of Kamehameha III, long before Hawaii was annexed by the United States in 1898. (Early Hawaiian cases were originally reported in The Polynesian.)
Kamehemeha III sought to modernize the Hawaiian Kingdom by rapidly transitioning from indigenous traditions to a new legal system based on Anglo-American common law. 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 avoiding annexation by larger colonial powers), in contrast to the common law's coercive imposition elsewhere by English-speaking colonists.

## Functions

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 of mandamus, prohibition, and habeas corpus.

## Justices

The Supreme Court consists of five justices 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. The Governor's nominee is subject to confirmation by the Hawaii State Senate. Candidates must be U.S. citizens, Hawaii residents, and have been licensed to practice law for at least 10 years prior to nomination. The Judicial Selection Commission can opt to retain incumbent justices for additional ten-year terms. All justices must retire at 70 years of age.
As of January 13, 2024, the justices are:
| Justice | Born | Joined | Term ends | Mandatory retirement | Appointed by | Law school |
| Mark E. Recktenwald, Chief Justice | (1955-10-08) October 8, 1955 (age 69) | May 11, 2009 | September 13, 2030 | 2025 | Linda Lingle (R) | Chicago |
| Sabrina McKenna | (1957-10-07) October 7, 1957 (age 67) | March 3, 2011 | March 2, 2031 | 2027 | Neil Abercrombie (D) | Hawaii |
| Todd W. Eddins | (1964-03-18) March 18, 1964 (age 60) | December 11, 2020 | December 10, 2030 | 2034 | David Ige (D) | Hawaii |
| Lisa M. Ginoza | (1964-10-20) October 20, 1964 (age 60) | 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 |
* ↑ Justices must retire once they attain the age of 70.
* ↑ Chief Justice Recktenwald was initially appointed by Governor Lingle as an Associate Justice. He was subsequently appointed as Chief Justice, with his term beginning on September 14, 2010.

## Vacancy and pending nomination

| Seat | Seat last held by | Vacancy reason | Date of vacancy | Nominee | Date of nomination |
| — | Mark E. Recktenwald | Mandatory retirement | October 8, 2025 | – | – |

## Cases

* Sunoco v. Honolulu (2023)
* Hawaii v. Wilson (2024)