The Pacific commercial advertiser. [volume] (Honolulu, Hawaiian Islands) 1885-1921, 1907-05-20

9e'ii1HSitAoH ana procedure consisted ii
the transfer of the appointment OF tn.
Supreme and Circuit Court judges from
the President, now Governor, of Ha
wsii, with the consent of the local Sen
| ate, to the President of the United
States, with the consent of the Nation,
al Senate: the reduction of the tenure
of the Supreme Court justices from life
| to four years and of the Circuit judges
| from six to four years; the introduction
of the grand jury; the requirement OF
unanimity in the verdicts of trial jul
! ries; the abolition of racial and mixed
| juries: and the creation of a distinct
| Federal Court, namely. a District
Court having also the jurisdiction of a
| Circuit Court. The principal jurisdic-
tional change resulted from the crea-
ton of the Federal Court, whose jur.s-
diction naturally was to extend over
certain classes of cases, such as ad-
miralty and bankruptcy cases, which
had previously been within the juris-
diction of the Hawaiian courts; but, on
the other hand, the latter were to be
called on to decide incidentally many
questions arising under the Federal
Constitution and laws. Of these uues-
tons the one that excited greatest in
terest was whether the Constitution
followed the flag to Hawaii Immediate
ly upon annexation, and particularly
whether the provisions relating to Gus
toms duties and grand and trial juries
were applicable to Hawaii during the
transition period between annexation
and the esta blishment of Territorial
Government. The view of the Terri
total Supreme Court that those provi-
sions We're not app ,icable during that
period was afterward sustained by the
Federal Supreme Court.
As compared with other Territories, a
higher status of organization and self
government was allowed to continue in
Hawaii, by providing, as in the sew
eral States, for distinct local and Fed
eral courts, instead of having, as in
other Territories only one set of courts
to exercise both local and Federal ju-
risdiction; by permitting the local
courts to continue with Supreme
Court of appellate jurisdiction and dis
tinct superior courts of original juris-
diction presided over by different
judges instead of providing, as in
other Territories, for only one set of
judges TO sit singly as superior courts
for the trial of cases in the first in
stance and together as a Supreme
Court to hear appeals from its own
members; and by providing that cases
might be taken on writ Of error to
the Federal Supreme Court from the
Territorial Supreme Court as from a
State Supreme Court only when Fed
eral question was involved, thus leav
ing the local Supreme Court the final
arbiter n local cases, instead of allow
ing as in other Territories, appeals
also in local cases involving over $4,000
in value. Recently, however, a main
land corporation, which had lost a case
in Hawaii, procured the enactment of
an amendment to the organic act so
as to permit an appeal in all cases in
volving more than that amount, and
moved for a rehearing in Hawaii so as
to suspend the judgment for the pur-
pose of taking an appeal after the
passage of the amendment The amend
ment was rushed through in the clos
Ing days of q session of Congress and
Hawaii learned of it for the first time
after it had become law. 1t is, Of
course, a splendid privilege to be al
lowed to take a case to such a court as
the Federal Supreme Court. and yet it
may we'll be asked why the burdens of
that court should be increased by cases
of purely local concern. and why such
cases should be taken to that court
from a Territory-especially one that
is the successor of an Independent SOW
ereignty-any more than from a State.
The Hawaiian judiciary, however
was not the creation of the constitu-
ton Of the republic. The change from
monarchy to republic was less marked
than that from republic to Territory
The former scarcely affected the judi
ciary. Hawaii had already reached a
plane of constitutional government
and all by process of evolution. She
indeed, presents a complete history OF
a growth from absolute government by
q despot to constitutional government
by the people.
The Territorial judiciary comprises
the usual three grades of courts-a SUI
preme Court, superior courts of rec
ord. called Circuit Courts. five in num-
Der. and inferior courts. called District
Courts twenty-nine in number.
The Supreme Court consists of a
chief justice and two associate JUS
tees. 1t holds one term a yeaps be-
ginning on the first Monday of October
and continuing until final adjournment.
which is usually about the beginning