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HRS §571-8.1

Who can be a district family judge and how long they serve

District family judges must live in their circuit and have been a lawyer in Hawaii for at least five years. They serve six-year terms, but the supreme court can remove them early if needed for the public good or because the court's workload has dropped.

courts

The statute, as written — Qualifications; tenure; removal

Each district family judge shall reside in the judicial circuit for which the district family judge is appointed and shall have been an attorney licensed to practice in all the courts of the State for at least five years. District family judges shall hold office for a term of six years and until their successors are appointed and qualified; provided that any district family judge may be summarily removed from office, and the district family judge's commission revoked by the supreme court whenever the supreme court deems such removal necessary for the public good or the volume of cases within the circuit is reduced to a level where the reduction of the number of district family judges within a circuit is deemed advisable.
Read the official text at capitol.hawaii.gov ↗as published Jan 6, 2026our copy taken Aug 20, 2026

LawTrove is not legal advice. The summary above is a computer-generated restatement — the authoritative text is the official version linked above.