The 2025 legislative session was one of the most successful for the Judiciary: better compensation, more judge positions, and more diversion programs.
The success was a combined effect of the Hawaiʻi State Judiciary's need for resources and the state's financial situation.
“I think we felt like we needed to address them, otherwise they're going to get so bad that they were going to be really systemically problematic,” said Senate Judiciary Committee Chair Karl Rhodes.
“The future of the budget is uncertain. There was money in the budget this year, and I think there was some sense that if we're gonna address some of this stuff, we need to do it now.”
The Judiciary gained two judge positions, one in rural Oʻahu and another in West Hawaiʻi County. Chief Justice Mark Recktenwald explained that a judge position has not been added in almost 40 years.
Kona essentially has just one District Court judge handling all the cases.
“A busy morning calendar, maybe on a Monday morning when you could have more than a hundred people showing up for court,” Recktenwald said.
“To get through that calendar and give everybody their day in court by allowing them to present what they want to present to the court, it's very, very difficult.”
Due to the Legislature allowing the state Salary Commission’s recommendations to go into effect, judges will also receive a sizable raise.
Recktenwald explained that the raises will go a long way toward recruiting lawyers to take the job. It’s been an uphill battle, especially on neighbor islands where they’ve had to reopen the positions after not receiving enough applicants.
“We've seen fewer and fewer people applying to become judges and longer delays for our Judicial Selection Commission to be able to identify and recommend candidates,” he said.
Another legislative priority for the Judiciary was increasing the pay for guardians ad litem, court-appointed counsel in criminal proceedings, and medical examiners who evaluate a criminal defendant’s mental fitness.
“We were really in a crisis situation,” said House Hawaiian Affairs and Judiciary Committee Chair David Tarnas.
“People weren't willing to serve in these capacities because our compensation rates were so low. Now they will. And so I think it was a combination of a crisis situation where there are so many unmet needs and there are so many stakeholders in the community that were all in agreement that this was a necessary step.”
Permanent alternatives to the traditional court system
Recktenwald also emphasized the importance of diversion programs – two of which the Legislature made permanent this year.
One is the Community Outreach Court, where hearings are held at community sites versus a traditional courtroom. The change of setting is meant to help those who are homeless and may not be able to keep track of or make their court dates. It also gives some the opportunity to work off fines through community service.
The other is the Women’s Court Program on Oʻahu, an alternative to incarceration for women – many of whom were not compliant with probation and could face up to 10 years in prison.
“We've learned that women who come into the criminal justice system have had trauma earlier in their lives,” Recktenwald said. “In order to move them on a path forward, we have to address that underlying trauma.”
The women going through the program must complete several phases over the course of about two years, including drug treatment, therapy, and securement of employment and housing.
Deputy Honolulu Prosecutor Tana Kekina-Cabaniero has been working on the Women’s Court Program.
“The courtroom is not a place of punishment and judgment. In women's court, the courtroom becomes a safe place, a place where they can come and seek services and seek help,” she said.
“The goal is to provide the clients with the tools they need to succeed in the community independently, not having to rely on anyone else to do it for them.”
About 35 women are currently in the program. Six of them on Oʻahu will graduate later this month. The Legislature also allowed for a pilot women’s court to start on Hawaiʻi Island.
“Having permanency will allow the other jurisdictions to bring on this project,” Kekina-Cabaniero said. “You need specialized individuals, and without the funding to find those individuals and bring them into the program, it wouldn't be as effective.”
Despite the wins, lawmakers eye further reform
“I think there's still more work to be done in the area of expungement and record clearance that requires coordination between the attorney general and the judiciary branch,” Tarnas said.
Rhoads added that bail reform is another issue that needs to be looked at. A measure that would have tied bail amounts to a person’s income failed during one of the last stages of the legislative process this year.
“ You can have your life pretty severely disrupted in not very long period of time. ... If you're rich enough to make bail, then it's no big deal. But if you're not, you're literally in jail, and whereas if you were wealthy, you wouldn't be,” he said. “It's very complicated, but I think there's really good reasons for looking at factors other than cash bail to determine who to keep and who not to keep.”
Meanwhile, Recktenwald is retiring from his post after 15 years as chief justice because he has reached the age limit for judges: 70 years old.
“I'm sorry to see Chief Justice Recktenwald retire,” Tarnas said. “I was not able to get through a bill to increase the retirement age for our judges, so he is forced to retire because of his age, but he is a great advocate and has been a wonderful leader for the Judiciary.”
Recktenwald is still figuring out what comes next, but he wants his successor to continue advocating for increased access to the courts, specifically for those who cannot afford a lawyer.
“I would hope and expect that my successor would build on those efforts, find new ways to be able to help people who can't afford a lawyer to be able to get representation or get advice or information that will empower them to be able to effectively represent themselves,” he said.
“I think the effort to expand access to justice has really been essential to delivering on the promise of justice for all, so I would hope my successor would focus on that.”
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