Federal Criminal Law in Hawaii at a Glance
Judicial District(s)
District of Hawaii
Circuit
Ninth Circuit
Circuit Seat
San Francisco, California
Key Statute
18 U.S.C. § 3231
Original federal criminal jurisdiction over offenses against the laws of the United States.
The Federal Judicial District(s) Covering Hawaii
28 U.S.C. § 91 defines the federal judicial district(s) for Hawaii:
“Hawaii constitutes one judicial district which includes the Midway Islands, Wake Island, Johnston Island, Sand Island, Kingman Reef, Palmyra Island, Baker Island, Howland Island, Jarvis Island, Canton Island, and Enderbury Island: Provided, That the inclusion of Canton and Enderbury Islands in such judicial district shall in no way be construed to be prejudicial to the claims of the United Kingdom to said Islands in accordance with the agreement of April 6, 1939 , between the Governments of the United States and of the United Kingdom to set up a regime for their use in common.” — 28 U.S.C. § 91
Appeals from those district courts go to the United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit. Circuit membership is set by 28 U.S.C. § 41, which lists Hawaii among the states of the Ninth Circuit.
Federal Criminal Appellate Review for Cases Arising in Hawaii
Jurisdiction
Original federal criminal jurisdiction
“The district courts of the United States shall have original jurisdiction, exclusive of the courts of the States, of all offenses against the laws of the United States.”
Recent decision
United States v. Salazar Del Real
“The panel held that the Attorney General cannot do so. Although the Federal Vacancies Reform Act of 1998 (FVRA) provides that a first assistant automatically succeeds to a vacant office, that rule of automatic succession applies only to a first assistant who held that position at the time the vacancy arose; it does not apply to a first assistant who never served under a validly appointed official.” Read the opinion at CourtListener.
Circuit
Appeals are heard by the Ninth Circuit
“In the federal system, 94 district courts are organized into 12 regional circuits. Each circuit has its own court of appeals that reviews cases decided in U.S. district courts within the circuit.” The Ninth Circuit sits in San Francisco, California.
Additional research notes are published as new court decisions are issued.
Primary sources
- 28 U.S.C. § 91 — Hawaii (law.cornell.edu). Verbatim: “Hawaii constitutes one judicial district which includes the Midway Islands, Wake Island, Johnston Island, Sand Island, Kingman Reef, Palmyra Island, Baker Island, Howland Island, Jarvis Island, Canton Island, and Enderbury Island: Provided, That the inclusion of Canton and Enderbury Islands in such judicial district shall in no way be construed to be prejudicial to the claims of the United Kingdom to said Islands in accordance with the agreement of April 6, 1939 , between the Governments of the United States and of the United Kingdom to set up a regime for their use in common.”
- 28 U.S.C. § 41 — Number and composition of circuits (law.cornell.edu). Verbatim: “The thirteen judicial circuits of the United States are constituted as follows: Circuits Composition District of Columbia District of Columbia. First Maine, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, Puerto Rico, Rhode Island. Second Connecticut, New York, Vermont. Third Delaware, New Jersey, Pennsylvania, Virgin Islands. Fourth Maryland, North Carolina, South Carolina, Virginia, West Virginia. Fifth District of the Canal Zone, Louisiana, Mississippi, Texas. Sixth Kentucky, Michigan, Ohio, Tennessee. Seventh Illinois, Indiana, Wisconsin. Eighth Arkansas, Iowa, Minnesota, Missouri, Nebraska, North Dakota, South Dakota. Ninth Alaska, Arizona, California, Idaho, Montana, Nevada, Oregon, Washington, Guam, Hawaii. Tenth Colorado, Kansas, New Mexico, Oklahoma, Utah, Wyoming. Eleventh Alabama, Florida, Georgia. Federal All Federal judicial districts.”
- 18 U.S.C. § 3231 — District courts (law.cornell.edu). Verbatim: “The district courts of the United States shall have original jurisdiction, exclusive of the courts of the States, of all offenses against the laws of the United States.”
- United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit (uscourts.gov). Verbatim: “In the federal system, 94 district courts are organized into 12 regional circuits. Each circuit has its own court of appeals that reviews cases decided in U.S. district courts within the circuit.”
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