For Non-Lawyers

 

 
Photo by UH Botany Professor K. W. Bridges

 

Hawai‘i State Courts

For a good general overview of the Hawai‘i Judicial system, click here.  For environmental cases, the most important courts are Circuit Courts (state trial courts), the Intermediate Court of Appeals (ICA), and the Hawai‘i Supreme Court.

Hawai‘i State Agencies

Hawai‘i's state agencies are located within the executive branch of the state government.  The agencies include boards, commissions and divisions that are established by the Hawai‘i State Constitution, statutes or executive orders.  They provide decision-making authority for departments within the executive branch or advise departments in specific programs.  These agencies also apply and interpret state environmental statutes and regulations.

Federal Courts

For a good overview of the Federal Judicial system, click here.  For environmental cases, the most important courts are the U.S. District Courts (federal trial courts), the U.S. Courts of Appeals, and the U.S. Supreme Court.  In Hawai‘i, there is one federal district court (for the District of Hawai‘i), consisting of 5 federal judges and 3 federal magistrates.

Federal Agencies

Federal agencies are a part of the executive branch of the U.S. government.  Agencies are a part of an Executive Department or function as an independent agency.  Executive Department agencies are responsible for enforcing and administering federal laws.  Federal independent agencies are specifically created by statutes passed by Congress.  These statutes define the goals of each independent agency and give the agency's rules and regulations the power of federal law.  The most important federal agencies in the environmental arena are Department of Energy, Environmental Protection Agency, Fish and Wildlife Service, National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, National Marine Fisheries Service, National Park Service, Nuclear Regulatory Commission, and the Office of Environmental Quality Control.