Assignment #7

(Source: http://www.city-data.com/picfilesv/picv9876.php)

The State of Hawaii appoints supreme court judges for life of uses reappointment of some sort for the higher level courts. The State of Hawaii also does the same thing for intermediate appellate courts and trial courts as well. All three types give life tenure. “Tenure” refers to a position or office that is held for the person if the past the trial of the position they are applying for (Merriam-Webster Online Dictionary). In other words, an individual can hold the high position of the Supreme Court job until he/she wishes to retire. Most times the individual decides to keep the job until it’s impossible for them to perform their duties. Just like selecting a council member of the Supreme Court System, Hawaii uses lifetime tenure for their Trial Court Judges and Intermediate Appellate Court Judges.
For example, in Hawaii’s Supreme Court System, the Chief Justice is Ronald Moon, who was sworn into the Supreme Court System in March of 1993. There he is supported by his fellow Justice Associates Simeon Acoba Jr., who was sworn in May 2000 after serving as a judge of the Intermediate Court for 6 years; James Duffy Jr., sworn in June 2003; Paula Nakayama, the first woman as a Supreme Court Justice member in 26 years, being sworn into office April 1993; and Mark Recktenwald who was recently sworn into office this past May (Hawai’I Sate Judiciary).
Appointing a judge based on popular opinion allows for the people to choose who runs their court system and the people will not be as mad at the selection because they chose who was appointed. The problem with popular opinion dictating who is appointed is that the judge who gets appointed may not necessarily be the best judge for the job. Popular voting can be skewed by the public. A well liked individual running for office may have the support from other individuals or Corporations who donate tons of money for the campaigns. The catchier the campaign, and signs are, the more people would notice that person. Although a person’s admired by the voters, it doesn’t guarantee that the person running for office will do his/her duty or the duties that he/she promised those who votes for them. It is common for a lot of people to make promises to the community in doing things to make it a better place, but when they win that office they ran for, they don’t fulfill that promise.
In Hawaii the Supreme court has 5 justices en banc. The supreme court has mandatory jurisdiction in civil, criminal, administrative agency, juvenile, disciplinary, certified questions from federal courts, and original proceeding cases. They have discretionary jurisdiction in civil, criminal, administrative agency, juvenile, original proceeding, and interlocutory decision cases.
Some cases are assigned to the Intermediate Court of Appeals. That courts has mandatory jurisdiction in civil, criminal, administrative agency, juvenile, interlocutory and decision cases assigned by the supreme court. They have no discretionary jurisdiction though.
The circuit/family court is more robust and on 4 circuits. It employs 33 circuit judges. 4 are specially assigned for family court proceedings and there are 14 district level family court judges. This level handles tort contract, real property, and miscellaneous civil cases. This level doesn't cover mental health, probate/estate, administrative agency appeals, domestic relations, juvenile, or traffic infractions.
The District courts is on 4 circuits and uses 22 judges with no jury trials. This level handles tort contract, real property, and miscellaneous civil cases exclusive up to $3,500. There are preliminary and misdemeanor hearings as well as hearings for traffic infractions, parking, and ordinance violations. This court is for smaller scale claims/cases.

There are 4 types of court systems in Hawaii. The lowest form is District court followed by Family court then the Court of Appeals, and finally the Hawaii Supreme Court. District court consists of 22 judges which decide the outcome of the cases because there are no jury trials
in District court. The case assignments are contract cases involving anywhere between $0 and $20,000. There are some civil cases pleaded in this court, and some can be as low as $3,500.
Family Court is the next step in the court system. There are 33 circuit judges and 14 district family court judges. These courts handle contract and property cases like district court however a much wider range when it comes to the money issue. Family court can handle cases involving $10,000 and up. Their exclusive cases that only they handle are juvenile, domestic violence, probate, mental health, and administrative agency appeals.
The next highest court is the Intermediate Court of Appeals. This court handles cases that can be passed to the Supreme Court. They take the cases that have not had a prior suit, but have questions of law that could have civil action involved. These case types are civil, criminal, administrative agency, and juvenile. Also the Intermediate Court of Appeals does not have discretionary jurisdiction therefore they must entertain every case filed. The link to the Intermediate Court of Appeals is http://tinyurl.com/yzxmmx5.
The final and highest court is the Hawaii Supreme Court. This court includes 5 judges that assign cases to the Intermediate Court of Appeals. They entertain the same types of cases that the Intermediate Court of Appeals does, but they have discretionary jurisdiction on all of those cases meaning they can choose which cases they want to hear. They also hear cases formally appealed cases from the Intermediate Court of Appeals. They can also hear cases involving certain questions from lower courts, certain questions of law from federal courts, complaints on elections, and the discipline judges. The link to the Hawaii Supreme Court is http://tinyurl.com/25w86k.

In Mililani, Hawaii, a felony arrest was made against a 22-year old man. The nature of the felony was first degree terroristic threatening and carrying a deadly weapon, after the 22-year old threatened a 45-year old man in a dispute over a parking spot. The crime occurred specifically at the Mililani Town Center. Due to the fact that this arrest was made on felony charges, this case will likely be heard by a Court of General Jurisdiction.

On Oct. 21 three excessive speeding cases were dismissed by a state appeals court, the Intermediate Court of Appeals, due to the recent ruling of the Hawaii’s Supreme Court regarding laser-gun readings of the offenders’ speed. These appeals were made on the grounds that the readings of said laser-guns weren’t adequately proven to be accurate. What is interesting about these dismissals is that they were predicted, shortly after the Hawaii Supreme Court ruling, by Honolulu Prosecutor Peter Carlisle.

References:

Advertiser Staff, . (2009, October 26). Parking stall argument in mililani leads to felony arrest. Retrieved from http://www.honoluluadvertiser.com/article/20091026/BREAKING01/91026047/Parking+stall+argument+in+Mililani+leads+to+felony+arrest

Dooley, J. (2009, October 22). More Hawaii speeding cases overturned on laser-gun issue. Retrieved from http://www.honoluluadvertiser.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=2009910220360

Fact sheet on judicial selection methods in the states. (2002, September 9). Retrieved October 23, 2009, from The American Bar Association website: http://www.abanet.org/leadership/fact_sheet.pdf

tenure. (2009). In Merriam-Webster Online Dictionary.Retrieved October 26, 2009, from http://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/tenure

Hawaii Supreme Court
Supreme court of Hawaii. (2009, October 24). Retrieved October 24, 2009, from Hawai'i State Judiciary website: http://www.courts.state.hi.us/page_server/Courts/Supreme/72D2460755E8199BEBD3ACE8C3.html

Hawaii Appellate Court
Appellate court of Hawai'i. (2009, October 24). Retrieved October 24, 2009, from Hawai'i State Judiciary website: http://www.courts.state.hi.us/page_server/Courts/Appeals/4942E2685D7AF75AEBD824637E.html

Hawaii Circuit/District Court
Hawai'i Third Circuit. (2009, October 24). Retrieved October 24, 2009, from Hawai'i State Judiciary website: http://www.courts.state.hi.us/page_server/GenInfo/Contact/36331383F1BEADEAE9DB7361C7.html

Hawai'i court structure as of fiscal year 2007. (2009, October 24). Retrieved October 24, 2009 from NCSC: Research website: http://www.ncsconline.org/D_Research/Ct_Struct/state_inc.asp?STATE=HI