Honolulu County Environmental Court

Honolulu County Environmental Court Overview

Hawaii created Environmental Court to focus civil and criminal cases tied to the state's natural resources. The court does not operate as a wholly separate building; instead, designated District and Circuit Court judges hear environmental matters within the existing court structure. For Honolulu County, environmental cases tied to felony-level conduct or civil amounts over $40,000 are heard in the First Circuit Court at Kaʻahumanu Hale. Misdemeanor-level environmental cases, county ordinance matters, and civil claims up to $40,000 are heard in Honolulu District Court at Kauikeaouli Hale.

The Judiciary's state court structure page identifies Environmental Court as a designated court that exercises civil and criminal jurisdiction over environmental matters involving water, forests, streams, beaches, air, mountains, terrestrial life, and marine life. The page sits within the wider trial-court structure rather than as a stand-alone branch.

Honolulu County Environmental Case Types

Honolulu County environmental cases can span several record categories.

• Civil environmental enforcement: state or county agencies pursuing compliance with environmental laws.
• Criminal environmental cases: alleged criminal violations of environmental statutes.
• Land use and shoreline cases: when zoning, shoreline, or coastal rules tie to environmental claims.
• Wildlife and marine cases: protected species, fisheries, and marine life enforcement.
• Air and water quality cases: Department of Health enforcement matters routed through the court.
• Forestry and conservation district cases: Department of Land and Natural Resources enforcement.

Honolulu County Environmental Court records often involve agency records held by DLNR, DOH, the City and County of Honolulu, and federal agencies. The court file is one piece; UIPA agency records and federal records may also apply.

Where Honolulu County Environmental Cases Are Filed

Civil environmental cases over $40,000 file at the First Circuit Court. Felony environmental cases also file there. Misdemeanor or county ordinance-level environmental cases and small-value civil matters file at the Honolulu District Court. The Honolulu District Court Civil Division at (808) 538-5151, the Criminal Division at (808) 538-5101, and the rural District Court divisions are the most common Honolulu County Environmental Court entry points for smaller matters.

Searching Honolulu County Environmental Court Records

Public environmental cases appear in eCourt Kōkua under their underlying case type. There is no separate "Environmental Court" tile; the case shows under the court that issued the order or hearing.

1. Open eCourt Kōkua and accept the disclaimer.
2. Use Party Search by case name (often the state or county agency vs. a defendant) or Case Search if you have the Case ID.
3. Open the case from the result list and read the Summary, Events, Dockets, and (for criminal) Offenses tabs.
4. For older or sealed environmental case records, contact the matching Legal Documents Branch.
5. For agency-side environmental records (DLNR, DOH, City and County), follow the UIPA path on the public records page.

Key Statutes Behind Honolulu County Environmental Cases

Honolulu County environmental cases pull from multiple statutory frameworks. The statutes below are not the entire environmental code, but they cover the records-access and criminal-records angles most useful to a Honolulu County Environmental Court records lookup.

• HRS Chapter 92F — UIPA framework for agency records tied to environmental enforcement.
• HRS Chapter 846 — criminal history record information, relevant when criminal environmental cases produce arrest or conviction data.
• HRS § 831-3.2 — expungement framework for eligible nonconviction arrest records, including some environmental criminal arrests.

The criminal history records statute (HRS Chapter 846) shown below sets dissemination limits for criminal records that environmental enforcement may generate.

HRS Chapter 846 ties criminal environmental cases to the wider Hawaii criminal-history system.

UIPA Access to Environmental Agency Records

HRS Chapter 92F sets the Honolulu County public records framework for agencies like the Department of Health, the Department of Land and Natural Resources, and the City and County of Honolulu. Environmental enforcement actions usually begin in an agency before reaching court, so the UIPA path matters for inspection reports, complaint files, monitoring data, and notice of violation records.

The UIPA statute page shown below is the controlling source for state and county agency record disclosure.

For broader UIPA workflow and request fields, see the public records page.

Expungement and Sealing of Environmental Cases

Hawaii expungement under HRS § 831-3.2 covers eligible nonconviction arrest records. Convicted environmental offenses generally cannot be expunged. Sealing may apply on a case-by-case basis through a motion in the underlying environmental case. As of July 1, 2025, the Judiciary moved nonconviction arrest expungement and related court-record removal to a streamlined HCJDC process.

The expungement statute shown below sets the eligibility framework that applies to environmental criminal cases like other Honolulu County criminal records.

For step-by-step expungement guidance, see the criminal records page.

Related Honolulu County Pages

The Circuit Court page covers felony and large-value civil environmental matters. The court records page covers wider eCourt Kōkua use. The public records page covers UIPA requests to agencies. The criminal records page covers HCJDC, eCrim, and HPD arrest logs that can tie to environmental criminal cases.