The court's territorial jurisdiction encompasses the state of Hawaii and the territories of Midway Atoll, Wake Island, Johnston Atoll, Kingman Reef, Palmyra Atoll, Baker Island, Howland Island, and Jarvis Island;[1][2] it also occasionally handles (jointly with the United States District Court for the District of Columbia and the High Court of American Samoa) federal issues that arise in the territory of American Samoa, which has no local federal court or territorial court.

The United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit has appellate jurisdiction over cases coming out of the District of Hawaii (except for patent claims and claims against the U.S. government under the Tucker Act, which are appealed to the Federal Circuit).

[5] As of October 15, 2024[update]: Chief judges have administrative responsibilities with respect to their district court.

Unlike the Supreme Court, where one justice is specifically nominated to be chief, the office of chief judge rotates among the district court judges.

The chief judge serves for a term of seven years, or until age 70, whichever occurs first.

The age restrictions are waived if no members of the court would otherwise be qualified for the position.