Rule Text
The timely filing of an application for a writ of certiorari stays finality of the intermediate court of appeals’ judgment on appeal unless otherwise ordered by the supreme court. If the application for a writ is dismissed or rejected, the intermediate court of appeals’ judgment on appeal is effective upon entry of the order dismissing or rejecting the application for writ. If the application for a writ is accepted, the intermediate court of appeals’ judgment on appeal is stayed pending final disposition of the certiorari proceeding in accordance with Rule 36.
Amendment history: Amended October 19, 1993, effective November 15, 1993; further amended December 6, 1999, effective January 1, 2000; Comment added and rule further amended June 20, 2006, effective July 1, 2006; further amended December 14, 2011, effective January 1, 2012; further amended April 28, 2026, effective July 1, 2026.
Plain-English Summary (for reference only — not a substitute for the rule text above)
This summary is not the rule. The rule text controls.
If you lose your case at the Intermediate Court of Appeals and you file an application asking the Hawaiʻi Supreme Court to review it (called a writ of certiorari), that filing puts the Intermediate Court of Appeals' judgment on hold. This means the judgment does not become final right away, unless the Supreme Court says otherwise.
What happens next depends on what the Supreme Court decides to do with your application. If the Supreme Court turns down or dismisses your application, the Intermediate Court of Appeals' judgment becomes final as soon as that decision is entered. If the Supreme Court agrees to take your case, the Intermediate Court of Appeals' judgment stays on hold until the Supreme Court finishes reviewing the case and issues its own final decision.
In short, asking the Supreme Court to review your case pauses the lower court's judgment while you wait to find out if your case will be heard. The judgment only becomes official once the certiorari process is fully resolved, either by rejection of your application or by a final ruling after the Supreme Court accepts the case.
