United States District Court for the District of Hawaii

United States District Court for the District of Hawaii (D. Haw.)
Map
Appeals to	Ninth Circuit
Established	June 1900
Judges assigned	4
Chief judge	Susan Oki Mollway
Official site

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. 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).

History

When the Territory of Hawaii was formed in 1900, jurisdiction was placed in the Ninth Circuit. On March 18, 1959, when the State of Hawaii was formed, the district had two judgeships for the court. On July 10, 1984 a third judgeship was added, and a fourth added on December 1, 1990.

Current Judges

#	Title	Judge	Duty station	Born	Term of service			Appointed by
					Active	Chief	Senior
10	Chief Judge	Susan Oki Mollway	Honolulu	1950	1998–present	2009–present	—	Clinton
8	District Judge	David Alan Ezra	Honolulu	1947	1988–present	1999–2005	—	Reagan
11	District Judge	John Michael Seabright	Honolulu	1959	2005–present	—	—	G.W. Bush
12	District Judge	Leslie E. Kobayashi	Honolulu	1957	2010–present	—	—	Obama
7	Senior District Judge	Alan Cooke Kay	Honolulu	1932	1986–2000	1991–1999	2000–present	Reagan
9	Senior District Judge	Helen W. Gillmor	Honolulu	1942	1994–2009	2005–2009	2009–present	Clinton

Magistrate Judges

• Barry M. Kurren
• Kevin S.C. Chang

Former Judges

#	Judge	State	Born/Died	Active service	Term as Chief Judge	Senior status	Appointed by	Reason for termination
1	Estee, Morris M.Morris M. Estee	HI	1833–1903	1900–1903	(none)	(none)	McKinley, McKinley	death
2	Dole , Sanford B.Sanford B. Dole	HI	1844–1926	1903–1915	(none)	(none)	Roosevelt, Roosevelt	retirement
3	Vaughan , Horace WorthHorace Worth Vaughan	HI	1867–1922	1916–1922	(none)	(none)	Wilson, Wilson	death
4	Tavares, Cyrus NilsCyrus Nils Tavares	HI	1902–1976	1960–1972	1960–1961	1972–1976	Eisenhower, Eisenhower	death
5	Pence, MartinMartin Pence	HI	1904–2000	1961–1974	1961–1974	1974–2000	Kennedy, Kennedy	retirement
6	Wong, Dick YinDick Yin Wong	HI	1920–1978	1975–1978	(none)	(none)	Ford, Ford	death
7	Heen, Walter MeheulaWalter Meheula Heen	HI	1928–present	1981	(none)	(none)	Carter, Carter	recess appointment not confirmed by United States Senate
8	Fong, Harold MichaelHarold Michael Fong	HI	1938–1995	1982–1995	1984–1991	(none)	Reagan, Reagan	death
9	King, Samuel PailthorpeSamuel Pailthorpe King	HI	1916–2010	1972–1984	1974–1984	1984–2010	Nixon , Nixon	retirement

See also

• Courts of Hawaii
• List of United States federal courthouses in Hawaii