Honorable Calvin K.Y. Say

Speaker, House of Representatives

Twenty-First State Legislature

Regular Session of 2001

State of Hawaii

Sir:

Your Committee on Judiciary and Hawaiian Affairs, to which was referred S.B. No. 1460, S.D. 1, entitled:

begs leave to report as follows:

The purpose of this bill is to change the number of associate judges on the Intermediate Appellate Court (ICA) from three to an undetermined number.

The Judiciary testified in support of this measure.

Over the past five years, an average of 882 new cases each year were filed with the ICA. Under extraordinary procedures, the ICA was able to dispose of more appeals in FY 1997, 1998, and 1999 than were filed and had clearance rates of 156 percent, 139 percent, and 101 percent, respectively, for those years. However, the ICA has not been able to maintain this pace. In FY 2000, the clearance rate for appeals fell to 82 percent.

Attempts to deal with the appellate case load have evolved into procedures and processes that have been viewed as controversial, causing some litigants to question whether the parties are getting due process. For example, a large number of cases were decided by summary disposition orders instead of opinion, and oral argument has become rare.

With these necessary but controversial adaptations, the ICA has barely been able to keep dispositions equal to the filing rate.

In light of this, your Committee believes that if the State is to maintain an effective appellate justice system that disposes of cases in a timely manner and provides litigants with a fair hearing process, the number of ICA judges must be increased.

Your Committee has amended this bill by increasing the number of ICA associate judges from three to five, and making technical, nonsubstantive amendments for purposes of clarity, style, and conformity. As amended, this bill will allow the Judiciary to begin the process of recruiting two new judges for the ICA. It is the intent of your Committee that no new additional funds be provided for this purpose for fiscal year 2001-2002.

As affirmed by the record of votes of the members of your Committee on Judiciary and Hawaiian Affairs that is attached to this report, your Committee is in accord with the intent and purpose of S.B. No. 1460, S.D. 1, as amended herein, and recommends that it pass Second Reading in the form attached hereto as S.B. No. 1460, S.D. 1, H.D. 1, and be referred to the Committee on Finance.