United States District Court for the District of Hawaii

United States District Court for the District of Hawaii
(D. Haw.)
Appeals to: Ninth Circuit
Established: June 1900
Judges assigned: 4
Chief Judge: John Michael Seabright
http://www.hid.uscourts.gov/

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.[1][2] 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 (currently Florence T. Nakakuni) represents the United States in all civil and criminal cases within her district.

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.[3]

Current Judges

# Title Judge Duty station Born Term of service Appointed by
Active Chief Senior
11 Chief Judge John Michael Seabright Honolulu 1959 2005–present 2015–present — G.W. Bush
12 District Judge Leslie E. Kobayashi Honolulu 1957 2010–present — — Obama
13 District Judge Derrick Kahala Watson Honolulu 1966 2013–present — — Obama
14 District Judge vacant — — — — — —
7 Senior Judge Alan Cooke Kay Honolulu 1932 1986–2000 1991–1999 2000–present Reagan
8 Senior Judge David Alan Ezra San Antonio, Texas[Note 1] 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
  1. ↑ Judge Ezra has sat with the United States District Court for the Western District of Texas since taking senior status.

Vacancies and pending nominations

Seat Seat last held by Vacancy reason Date of vacancy Nominee Date of nomination
2 Susan Oki Mollway Senior Status November 6, 2015 Clare E. Connors September 8, 2015

Former Judges

# Judge State Born–died Active service Chief Judge Senior status Appointed by Reason for
termination
1 Tavares, Cyrus NilsCyrus Nils Tavares HI 1902–1976 1960[4]–1972 1960–1961 1972–1976 Eisenhower, Eisenhower death
2 Pence, MartinMartin Pence HI 1904–2000 1961–1974 1961–1974 1974–2000 Kennedy, Kennedy retirement
3 King, Samuel PailthorpeSamuel Pailthorpe King HI 1916–2010 1972–1984[5] 1974–1984 1984–2010 Nixon , Nixon retirement
4 Wong, Dick YinDick Yin Wong HI 1920–1978 1975–1978 — — Ford, Ford death
5 Heen, Walter MeheulaWalter Meheula Heen HI 1928–present 1981[6] — — Carter, Carter not confirmed
6 Fong, Harold MichaelHarold Michael Fong HI 1938–1995 1982–1995 1984–1991 — Reagan, Reagan death

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 1981–1981
Fong 1982–1995
Mollway 1998–2015
vacant 2015–present
Seat 3
Seat established on July 10, 1984 by 98 Stat. 333
Kay 1986–2000
Seabright 2005–present
Seat 4
Seat established on December 1, 1990 by 104 Stat. 5089 (temporary)
Gillmor 1994–2009
Kobayashi 2010–present

Judges of the former United States District Court for the District 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 Estee, Morris M.Morris M. Estee HI 1833–1903 1900–1903[7] — — McKinley, McKinley death
2 Dole , Sanford B.Sanford B. Dole HI 1844–1926 1903–1915[8] — — Roosevelt, Roosevelt retirement
3 Vaughan , Horace WorthHorace Worth Vaughan HI 1867–1922 1916–1922[9] — — Wilson, Wilson death
4 Poindexter , Joseph BoydJoseph Boyd Poindexter HI 1869–1951 1917–1924 — — Wilson, Wilson retirement
5 Lyman , William BarkerWilliam Barker Lyman HI 1882–1939 1926–1934[10] — — Coolidge, Coolidge retirement
6 Huber , Seba CormanySeba Cormany Huber HI 1871-1944 1934–1940[11] — — Roosevelt retirement

See also

Notes

  1. ↑ 28 U.S.C. § 91.
  2. ↑ 48 U.S.C. § 644a.
  3. ↑ "History of the Federal Judiciary: U.S. District Court for the District of Hawaii". Federal Judicial Center. Retrieved December 10, 2010.
  4. ↑ Recess appointment; formally nominated on January 10, 1961, confirmed by the United States Senate on September 21, 1961, and received commission on September 22, 1961.
  5. ↑ Gary T. Kubota; Ken Kobayashi (December 8, 2010). "'Great judge,' 'great man'". Honolulu Star Advertiser. Retrieved December 9, 2010.
  6. ↑ Recess appointment made by President Carter; President Ronald Reagan later withdrew the nomination before the United States Senate could act.
  7. ↑ Oscar Tully Shuck (1901). History of the bench and bar of California: being biographies of many remarkable men, a store of humorous and pathetic recollections, accounts of important legislation and extraordinary cases, comprehending the judicial history of the state. The Commercial printing house. pp. 827–828.
  8. ↑ "Dole, Sanford Ballard office record". state archives digital collections. state of Hawaii. Retrieved September 9, 2010.
  9. ↑ Ben R. Guttery (March 2, 2008). Representing Texas. p. 153. ISBN 978-1-4196-7884-4.
  10. ↑ "Judge William Barker Lymer, Honolulu Star Bulletin, Friday, April 14, 1939, Page 1, Col 8. Honolulu Advertiser Friday, April 14, 1939, Page 1.".
  11. ↑ "Judge William Barker Lymer, Honolulu Advertiser Friday, April 14, 1939, Page 1.". "Delbert E. Metzger, Hawai'i's Liberal Judge by H. Brett Melendy, page 53" (PDF). "HUBER, SEBA CORMANY, Index to the Honolulu Advertiser & Star Bulletin 1929-1969, 1871-1944 Honorary LLD conferred on judge by Lebanon Valley College, Pa S 6/8/36 p1, Dies at home S 8/16/44 p1".|

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