List of justices of the Supreme Court of Hawaii

Following is a list of justices of the Supreme Court of Hawaii.

Current justices

TitleNameServed on court sinceCurrent term
Chief JusticeMark E. RecktenwaldMay 11, 2009September 14, 2010 – September 13, 2030
JusticeSabrina McKennaMarch 3, 2011March 3, 2011 – March 2, 2021
JusticeTodd W. EddinsDecember 11, 2020December 11, 2020 – December 10, 2030
JusticeLisa M. GinozaJanuary 12, 2024January 12, 2024 - January 11, 2034
JusticeVladimir DevensJanuary 12, 2024January 12, 2024 - January 11, 2034

Past justices

From October 8, 1840, to January 15, 1848, the court was known as the Supreme Court of the Kingdom of Hawaii.

  • This early Supreme Court was head by the King, the Kuhina Nui, and four other chiefs elected by the representative body to serve as Judges. The four judges of the Supreme Court were not associate justices but served that capacity as assistants to the chief justice, i.e. the King.[1][2][3]

From January 15, 1848, to December 6, 1852, it was known as the Superior Court of the Kingdom of Hawaii.
From December 6, 1852, to January 17, 1893, it was known as the Supreme Court of the Kingdom of Hawaii.
From January 17, 1893, to July 4, 1898, it was known as the Supreme Court of the Republic of Hawaii.
From July 4, 1898, to August 21, 1959, it was known as the Supreme Court of the Territory of Hawaii.
From August 21, 1959, to the present, it is known as the Supreme Court of Hawaii.

Pre-statehood courts

NamePortraitAppointmentTerm EndChief Justice AppointmentChief Justice Term End
Kamehameha III[1]
October 8, 1840January 15, 1848October 8, 1840January 15, 1848[4]
Kekāuluohi[1]
October 8, 1840[5]June 7, 1845
Keoni Ana[1]
June 10, 1845January 15, 1848
Zorobabela Kaʻauwai[1]May 10, 1842[6]November, 1846 (resigned)[1][7]
Pākī[1]
May 10, 1842[8]by January 15, 1848
Charles Kanaʻina[1]
May 10, 1842[9]by January 15, 1848
Jonah Kapena[1]May 10, 1842[10]by January 15, 1848
Joshua Kaeo[1]November, 1846[1][7]by January 15, 1848
Lorrin Andrews
January 15, 1848January 10, 1855[11]
John Papa ʻĪʻī
January 15, 1848February 16, 1864[12]
William Little Lee
January 16, 1848May 28, 1857January 16, 1848May 28, 1857[13]
George Morison Robertson*
January 10, 1855December 24, 1863[14]
Elisha Hunt Allen
June 4, 1857February 22, 1877June 4, 1857[15]February 1, 1877[16]
George Morison Robertson*
February 16, 1864March 12, 1867[14]
Robert Grimes DavisFebruary 16, 1864July 8, 1868[17]
James W. Austin
July 10, 1868July 10, 1869[18]
Alfred S. Hartwell*
September 30, 1868February 18, 1874[19]
Hermann A. Widemann
July 10, 1869February 18, 1874[20]
Charles Coffin Harris
February 18, 1874July 2, 1881February 1, 1877July 2, 1881[21]
Albert Francis Judd
February 18, 1874May 20, 1900November 5, 1881May 20, 1900[22]
Lawrence McCully
February 1, 1877April 10, 1892[23]
Benjamin H. AustinNovember 7, 1881July 5, 1885[24]
Edward Preston
July 7, 1885January 17, 1890[25]
Richard F. Bickerton
December 29, 1886December 10, 1895[26]
Abraham Fornander
December 27, 1886November 1, 1887[27]
Sanford B. Dole
December 28, 1887January 17, 1893[28]
Walter F. Frear
March 7, 1893August 15, 1907July 5, 1900August 15, 1907[29]
William Austin Whiting
January 11, 1896July 14, 1900[30]
Antonio Perry*
July 5, 1900June 15, 1904[31]
Clinton A. Galbraith
June 30, 1900June 15, 1904[32]
Alfred S. Hartwell*
June 15, 1904March 9, 1911August 15, 1907March 9, 1911[19]
Francis March Hatch
June 15, 1904January 31, 1905[33]
Arthur A. Wilder
February 13, 1905January 25, 1910[34]
Sidney M. Ballou
August 15, 1907May 6, 1909[35]
Antonio Perry*
May 6, 1909April 2, 1914[31]
John T. DeBolt19101914
Alexander George Morison Robertson
March 9, 1911January 1, 1918March 9, 1911January 1, 1918[36]
Edward Minor Watson Jr.
March 19, 1914December 15, 1916[37]
Ralph P. Quarles
April 2, 1914September 12, 1918[38]
James Leslie Coke*
January 13, 1917April 17, 1922March 7, 1918April 17, 1922[39]
Samuel B. Kemp*
March 7, 1918April 17, 1922[40]
William S. Edings
September 26, 1918October 10, 1922[41]
Antonio Perry*
April 17, 1922July 3, 1934February 26, 1926July 3, 1934[42]
Emil C. Peters*
April 17, 1922December 21, 1925April 17, 1922December 21, 1925
Alexander Lindsay Jr.
October 10, 1922[43]September 5, 1926[44]
James J. Banks19261938
Charles Francis Parsons19261935
James Leslie Coke*
July 3, 1934March 22, 1941July 3, 1934March 22, 1941[39]
Emil C. Peters*
19351949
Samuel B. Kemp*
1938June 30, 1950June 20, 1941June 30, 1950[40]
Louis LeBaron
19421955
Albert Moses Cristy19491950
Edward Armstrong Towse
April 18, 1950April 6, 1956October 15, 1951April 6, 1956
Ingram Stainback
October 15, 19511959
Philip L. Rice
February 7, 1955July 27, 1959March 29, 1956July 27, 1959
Masaji Marumoto
19561959

Succession of seats (1900–1959)

Associate Justice 1
Seat established on March 3, 1900 by 60 Stat. 322
Galbraith1900–1904
Hartwell1904–1907
Ballou1907–1909
Perry1909–1914
Quarles1914–1918
Edings1918–1922
Lindsay1922–1926
Parsons1926–1935
Peters1935–1949
Cristy1949–1950
Towse1950–1956
Stainback1951–1959
Associate Justice 2
Seat established on March 3, 1900 by 60 Stat. 322
Perry1900–1904
Hatch1904–1905
Wilder1905–1910
DeBolt1910–1914
Watson1914–1916
Coke1917–1918
Kemp1918–1922
Perry1922–1926
Banks1926–1938
Kemp1938–1941
LeBaron1942–1955
Rice1955–1956
Marumoto1956–1959

Courts since statehood

NamePortraitAppointmentTerm EndChief Justice AppointmentChief Justice Term End
Charles E. Cassidy
October 5, 1959May 8, 1967
Cable A. WirtzOctober 5, 1959May 8, 1967
Rhoda Valentine LewisOctober 5, 1959May 8, 1967
Masaji Marumoto*
October 5, 1959September 15, 1960
Wilfred TsukiyamaOctober 5, 1959December 31, 1965October 5, 1959December 31, 1965
Jack MizuhaApril 28, 1961June 28, 1968
William S. RichardsonMarch 25, 1966October 30, 1982March 25, 1966October 30, 1982
Kazuhisa AbeMay 8, 1967December 28, 1973
Bernard H. LevinsonMay 8, 1967August 31, 1974
Masaji Marumoto*
May 8, 1967December 28, 1973
Bert T. KobayashiJuly 17, 1969December 29, 1978
Thomas Shoichi OgataFebruary 5, 1974December 30, 1981
Benjamin MenorApril 16, 1974December 30, 1981
Homer Baird KidwellJuly 1, 1975February 28, 1979
Herman T. F. LumJanuary 28, 1980March 31, 1993April 26, 1983March 31, 1993
Edward NakamuraMarch 24, 1980December 28, 1989
Yoshimi HayashiMarch 30, 1982March 31, 1992
Frank D. Padgett
March 30, 1982March 31, 1992
James H. WakatsukiSeptember 7, 1983September 22, 1992
Robert G. KleinMarch 31, 1992February 4, 2000
Steven LevinsonApril 7, 1992December 30, 2008
Paula A. NakayamaApril 22, 1993April 21, 2023[45]
Mario R. RamilMay 13, 1993December 31, 2002
Ronald MoonMarch 9, 1990March 30, 2010March 31, 1993March 30, 2010
James E. DuffyJune 27, 2003July 1, 2012
Simeon R. Acoba Jr.May 19, 2000February 29, 2014
Richard W. PollackAugust 6, 2012June 2, 2020
Mark E. Recktenwald
May 5, 2009September 14, 2010September 14, 2010Incumbent
Sabrina McKenna
March 3, 2011
Michael D. WilsonApril 17, 2014March 31, 2023[46]
Todd W. EddinsDecember 11, 2020
  • Indicates served non-consecutive terms as either an Associate Justice or Chief Justice.

References