Rule 4 Eligibility; Registration Required

Here's a plain English summary of this rule:

If you are a lawyer representing someone in a case that's part of Hawaiʻi's electronic court system (called JIMS), you must sign up for the state's electronic filing system, known as JEFS. Once you're registered, you are required to file all your court documents online instead of on paper.

The only way around this requirement is if the court gives you a specific exemption. Without that exemption, lawyers don't have a choice: electronic filing through JEFS is mandatory for every document in the case.

This rule is mainly aimed at attorneys, not the people they represent. It's meant to keep court paperwork organized and consistent by making sure lawyers use the same electronic system across all their cases.