The bulk of the records are case files and minute books in the form of writs, petitions, orders, decrees, and judgments which document the many ways in which the Judiciary exercised the judicial power of government to interpret and apply the law. In addition, there are administrative records, including jury lists, court calendars, applications to practice law, appointments of district magistrates and circuit court judges, commissions and oaths of judicial officers, and court activity reports which document the routine functioning of the Judiciary.
The records document the function of the Judiciary branch of the Hawaiian government from the early years of the sovereign constitutional monarchy to well into statehood. One of the earliest items in the record group is a minute book of the Supreme Court dated 1844 in the Civil and Criminal Minute Books of the First Circuit Court (Series 198, vol. 1) which reflects the initial organization Supreme Court as authorized by the Constitution of 1840. A Fifth Circuit Court adoption minute book in the Civil and Criminal Minute Books of the Fifth Circuit Court (Series 251, vol. 27) contains the most recently dated item (1970) in the collection.
The bulk of the records document the primary function of the courts, to dispense justice to parties, in civil cases where plaintiffs seek compensation from defendants, and in criminal cases where individuals who commit offenses against the state are tried, and if found guilty, are punished. Circuit court and district court cases are both represented in the records.
The administrative function of the Judiciary branch and of individual circuit and district courts is documented in Records of the Chief Justice and First Circuit Court Judges (Series 240), Records of the Clerks of the Supreme Court and the First Circuit Court (Series 241), Incoming Letters to the Second Circuit Court (Series 028), Records of the Second Circuit Court Clerk (Series 243), Records of the Third Circuit Court Clerk (Series 245), Miscellaneous Case Files of the Fourth Circuit Court (Series 246), Records of the Fourth Circuit Court Clerk (Series 248), Miscellaneous Case Files of the Fifth Circuit Court (Series 249), Records of the Fifth Circuit Court Clerk (Series 252), and Records of the Honolulu District Court Clerk (Series 254).
Administrative records include court calendars, notary books, jury lists, district court reports, 19th Century and district court oaths of magistrates and attorneys, 19th Century applications of attorneys to practice law, clerk's minutes, and late 19th Century and early territorial notary public record books and correspondence. The subject files of the Chief Justice date from 1959 to 1967 and document his function as the administrative head of the Judiciary. Appointments of district magistrates, district court reports to the Supreme Court, revisions of the rules of the Supreme Court, circuit, and family courts are included in the records. There are holograph record books of individual Supreme Court justices from the Kingdom in the Civil and Criminal Minute Books of the Supreme Court and First Circuit Court (Series 198) which document both judicial and administrative functions.
This record group is organized into subgroups by jurisdiction, as follows: Supreme Court; First Circuit Court (Oahu); Second Circuit Court (Maui, Molokai, Lanai and Kahoolawe); Third Circuit Court (Hawaii island); Fourth Circuit Court (Hamakua, Hilo, and Puna on Hawaii island); Fifth Circuit Court (Kauai); District Court of the First Circuit (Oahu); District Court of the Second Circuit (Maui County); District Court of the Third Circuit (Hawaii island); and District Court of the Fifth Circuit (Kauai).
The records of all the circuit courts contain case files and minute books relating to civil, criminal, divorce, and probate court proceedings. Adoptions and guardianship proceedings are included with probate case files and minute books. Gaps in case files are noted in the series descriptions and container lists. A summary of dates covered in the records and case files unique to individual circuit courts follows.
The Supreme Court and First Circuit Court records date from 1844 to 1967. There are gaps in coverage from 1917 to 1958. Admiralty and Intermediary case files and minute books are found in the Supreme Court and First Circuit Court. The Second Circuit Court records date from 1848 to 1917. The records of the Third Circuit Court date from 1850 to 1943. Bankruptcy and tax appeals proceedings are documented in civil minute books in Civil and Criminal Minute Books of the Third Circuit Court (Series 244). The records of the Fourth Circuit Court date from 1893 to 1943. Miscellaneous Case Files (Series 246) and Fishing Rights Case Files (Series 023) provide a small collection of records relating to water and fishing rights in the districts of Hamakua, Hilo, and Puna on the island of Hawaii. The records of the Fifth Circuit Court date from 1848 to 1970. Miscellaneous Cases (Series 249) and Special Proceedings (Series 250) contain a small group of records relating to water rights, fishing rights, land ownership, and plantation labor contract enforced under the Masters and Servants Act (1859 Civil Code). These case files are not fully indexed by name or subject. Naturalization proceedings are documented in Civil and Criminal Minute Books of the Third Circuit Court (Series 244), Minute Books of the Fourth Circuit Court (Series 247), and Civil and Criminal Minute Books of the Fifth Circuit Court (Series 251).
The records of the district courts are primarily minute books of civil and criminal proceedings dating from 1847 to 1954. The bulk of the minute books cover 1860 to 1920. District court proceedings for minor civil, institutional commitments, criminal arraignments, and non jury criminal cases are documented. There are proceedings relating to plantation labor contract enforcement throughout the circuits. Indentured plantation laborers included Hawaiians and immigrants from North America, Europe, and Asia. The minute books are not indexed by name or type of case. The bulk of the minute books are in Hawaiian and have not been translated. The later territorial period from 1930 to 1959 is not well covered in the records.
The following Judiciary records are indexed: civil, criminal (except Third and Fourth Circuits), divorce, equity, law, and probate case files, and wills for all circuits. Also indexed are the Third, Fourth, and Fifth Circuit Court probate minute books. These indexes are cataloged. Manuscript indexes to other case files are noted in the series descriptions. Manuscript indexes to individual minute books are generally located at the beginning or end of each volume.
The volume of records created and the standardization of their form both increased over time. The earliest records are unformatted holograph court documents such as petitions, depositions and judgments. By 1880, printed forms in English and in Hawaiian for complaints, mittimus, summons, writs, etc., were in wide use by the courts.
