Our History: Friends of the Judiciary History Center of Hawaii
The origins of the Judiciary History Center date back to the 1970’s. In 1976, during the last major renovation of Aliiolani Hale, Chief Justice William S. Richardson appointed an advisory committee of private citizens and Judiciary personnel to oversee the building’s restoration. The advisory committee recommended an educational facility be established within Aliiolani Hale to help the public better understand the function of the United State’s judicial branch, Hawaiian concepts of law, and the history and development of Hawaii’s Judiciary.
In 1983, Chief Justice Herman Lum appointed the first “Friends” board of directors—many of whom were part of the restoration committee—as an advisory group to support the Judiciary’s development of a history center. The following year, the Friends of the Judiciary History Center of Hawaii was established as a nonprofit 501(c)(3) organization. Act 211 of Hawaii Revised Statute 6F recognizes the Friends as “the nonprofit citizen’s group organized to support the Judiciary History Center” (1990).
Today, the Friends of the Judiciary History Center of Hawaii is dedicated to promoting the interests and civic empowerment of Native Hawaiians and the general public, by supporting the King Kamehameha V Judiciary History Center’s efforts to preserve, interpret, and educate about Hawaii’s legal history through the lens of law, public policy, and the courts.
The Friends support the Center through contributions to research publications, exhibitions, public programming, teacher professional development opportunities, and civic education outreach with students. In 2023, the Friends board spearheaded the museum’s Capital Campaign to renovate and redesign the Judiciary History Center.
Your donation today can help the Friends support the Center’s crucial work to inform, inspire, and unite our community!
Our History: King Kamehameha V Judiciary History Center
For over 30 years, the King Kamehameha V Judiciary History Center has served as a bridge between the Hawaii State Judiciary and our greater community. Located within Aliiolani Hale, the Judiciary History Center is an administrative program of the State Judiciary and a permanent educational institution. The Center is the first museum created for a United State’s judicial branch, with the purpose of exploring the history, role, and process of the courts.
In the 1980s, federal grant awards from the National Endowment for the Humanities (NEH) to the Friends of the Judiciary History Center funded research into court cases and operations of the Hawaiian Kingdom. Historian, author, and librarian Jane Silverman led the project with Harry Ball, Professor of Sociology at the University of Hawaii: Manoa, which uncovered information used to plan and develop the Center’s original exhibition, “The Social Role of the Courts,” located in the Monarchy Court Gallery. In addition to NEH, funding to complete the Center was provided by appropriations from the Hawaii State Legislature and contributions from the Friends.
On September 12, 1989, a formal dedication and opening ceremony was held for the Center in Aliiolani Hale, with a speech given by Governor John Waihee and a blessing by Reverend Abraham Akaka. In 2000, the Judiciary History Center was renamed in honor of King Kamehameha V, the namesake and founder of Aliiolani Hale.
