| Court Name: | Hawaii Intermediate Court of Appeals |
| Established: | 1979[1] |
| Jurisdiction: | Hawaii, United States  |
| Location: | Honolulu, Hawaii |
| Type: | Governor nomination with Senate confirmation |
| Authority: | Haw. Const. art. VI, § 2. |
| Appealsto: | Supreme Court of Hawaii |
| Terms: | 10 years |
| Positions: | 7 |
| Website: | Hawaii Intermediate Court of Appeals |
| Chiefjudgetitle: | Chief Judge |
| Chiefjudgename: | Katherine G. Leonard (acting) |
| Termstart: | January 13, 2024 |
The Hawaii State Intermediate Court of Appeals (ICA) is the intermediate appellate court of the Hawaii State Judiciary.[2] It has jurisdiction over appeals from lower courts and agencies.[3]
The ICA is composed of one chief judge and six associate judges,[4] who sit in randomly selected panels of three. Each judge is appointed to an initial ten-year term by the Governor.[5] Judges are nominated by the Governor from a list of four to six names submitted by the Judicial Selection Commission.[6] A judge's nomination is subject to confirmation by the Hawaii Senate, but reappointments require only approval of the Judicial Selection Commission.[7] Under article VI, §3 of the Hawaii Constitution, all judges of the Intermediate Court of Appeals, like the justices of the Supreme Court of Hawaii and the judges of the Hawaii State Circuit Courts, have a mandatory retirement age of 70.
The Intermediate Court of Appeals was established in 1979.[8] The court consisted of one chief judge and two associate judges.[9] Annual salary of the chief judge was set at $45,000 and the associates judges were set at $43,750.[10] The court shared concurrent jurisdiction with the Hawaii Supreme Court.[11]
Originally, Hawaii adopted the so-called "push-down" or "deflective" model of appellate procedure still used in a small number of other states. Following judgment or appropriate agency decision, a party filed an application for writ of certiorari with the Hawaii Supreme Court.[12] Following granting of a writ of certiorari, the Hawaii Supreme Court would then assign the case to the Intermediate Court of Appeals or to itself.[13] The Hawaii Supreme Court could also reassign a case to itself under limited circumstances.[14]
In 1992, the court expanded to one chief judge and three associate judges.[15]
In 2001, the court expanded to one chief judge and five associate judges.[16]
In 2004, Hawaii changed its appellate procedure so that all appeals from the lower courts and agency decisions would now go directly to the Intermediate Court of Appeals, meaning that court would normally be the first to rule on the merits of an appeal.[17] However, a party could still submit an application to transfer a case to the Hawaii Supreme Court upon the grounds of a question of imperative or fundamental public importance; an appeal from a decision of any court or agency when appeals are allowed by law invalidating an amendment to the state constitution or determining a state statute, county ordinance, or agency rule to be invalid on the grounds that it was invalidly enacted or is unconstitutional, on its face or as applied, under either the constitution of the State or the United States; or a sentence of life imprisonment without the possibility of parole.[18]
For the 2016-2017 state fiscal year, the budget for the Hawaii Supreme Court and the Intermediate Court of Appeals was approximately $6.7 million.[19]
In 2022, the court expanded to one chief judge and six associate judges.[20]
The Commission on Salaries has recommend the following salaries for the chief judge and the associate judges:[21]
| 7/1/2013 | 7/1/2014 | 7/1/2015 | 7/1/2016 | 7/1/2017 | 7/1/2018 | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Chief Judge | $198,588 | $202,560 | $206,616 | $210,744 | $214,956 | $219,252 | |
| Associate Judge | $190,908 | $194,724 | $198,624 | $202,596 | $206,652 | $210,780 |
the judges were:[22]
| Judge | Joined | Term ends | Appointed by | Law school | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Katherine G. Leonard, Acting Chief Judge | Linda Lingle (R) | Hawaii | |||
| Keith K. Hiraoka | David Ige (D) | UC Berkeley | |||
| Clyde J. Wadsworth | David Ige (D) | UCLA | |||
| Karen T. Nakasone | David Ige (D) | Boston University | |||
| Sonja McCullen | David Ige (D) | Hawaii | |||
| Kimberly T. Guidry | Josh Green (D) | Hawaii | |||
| Vacant |