Hawaii State Circuit Courts

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Hawaii State Judiciary

Supreme Court
Intermediate Appeals Court
Circuit Courts
District Courts
Family Courts
Tax Appeal Court
Land Court

The Hawaiʻi State Circuit Courts are the primary civil and criminal courts in Hawaiʻi. The largest of the bodies that make up the Hawaiʻi State Judiciary, the circuit courts rule all jury trial cases and have exclusive jurisdiction over probate, guardianship and criminal felony cases as well as civil cases where the contested amount exceeds US$20,000.

[edit] Hawaiʻi Circuit Court caseload

The case load of the Hawaiʻi Circuit Courts has dropped by about half in the last ten years. At the end of fiscal year 2004, there were pending a total of 32,803 cases. These are broken down to 11,943 criminal cases; 6,747 civil cases; 6,203 guardianship cases; 5,839 probate cases; 2,071 Miscellaneous cases. [1] The dramatic drop in the caseload has been attributed to the fall in the crime rate, and the use of alternative dispute resolution proceedings such as arbitration and mediation.