A one-tier judicial system where all judges can preside over most civil or criminal cases that come before them is being considered by the state Judiciary. Chief Justice wants
streamlined isle courtsBy Debra Barayuga
dbarayuga@starbulletin.comChief Justice Ronald Moon floated the concept in his State of the Judiciary address to the Hawaii State Bar Association's Young Lawyers Division yesterday.
But he said such an initiative will take a long time to implement. It will require constitutional amendments and just as important, "Judges will have to get used to the idea and buy into the concept," Moon said.
Hawaii's trial system is administered by the Family, District and Circuit Courts. A single-tier system with only Circuit judges would eliminate jurisdictional barriers that prevent, for example, a District Court judge from presiding over a felony trial or Family Court judge from handling a lawsuit.
Moon called the current system "unwieldy" for citizens, causing defendants or litigants to go from one court to the other trying to figure out which court can handle a claim or whether different claims must be heard in a different court.
Moon envisions courtrooms being used more efficiently. He wants judges to concentrate on areas they may specialize in but be flexible enough to handle other matters. It would require additional training just as judges already undergo annually.
Ultimately, the goal of a one-tier system would be to better serve the public by making the courts more accommodating and less expensive, Moon said.
If and when a system is put into place, attorneys hope that the state educates not only the public about its merits, but lawyers as well, said Russ S. Awakuni, an attorney and president of the Young Lawyers Division.
Improvements to the courts that the public can expect sooner is an upgrade in the online Ho'ohiki system that enables litigants to search for case information and documents from the statewide Circuit and Family Court database. Moon said searches will be quicker and more user-friendly.
Awakuni is among those who welcome the improvements. "It's so important that we find or use technology to make it easier to do our jobs."
Having a system similar to the bankruptcy courts where attorneys can do a search at their desktop and literally call up documents for a reasonable fee is something he and others attorneys look forward to. Also early next year, the public and attorneys can request and pay for court documents on the Internet.