The Judicial Performance Program was established in September 1993 by Chief Justice Ronald T.Y. Moon to promote judicial competence and excellence among Hawai`i state judges. The goals of the program are to:

• Improve each individual judge's performance.
• Increase the efficiency of judicial management within the Judiciary.
• Provide the Judicial Selection Commission with a potential source of information for retention and promotion decisions.
• Improve the design and content of judicial education programs.
• Promote public trust and confidence in the courts.

How it Works

The Judicial Performance Program Committee, the Hawai`i State Judiciary and the Hawai`i State Bar Association have worked closely to develop a process that evaluates and provides feedback to judges. All eligible full-time and a limited number of per diem judges are evaluated by attorneys who have appeared before the judge on substantive matters. The attorneys are asked to respond confidentially to a series of questions applying scores that range from one for Poor to five for Excellent, and to provide any helpful written comments. There is no limit to the number of times a judge can and will be evaluated.

The whole process takes twelve months and begins with a three-week evaluation period. The sample size of this evaluation varies, but does not exceed 150 questionnaires per judge. The data is then collected and analyzed by the Judicial Performance Committee, the committee responsible for the Judicial Evaluation Program. All results are given to the Chief Justice and the Judicial Evaluation Review Panel to be discussed with the individual judges.