Unless local conditions make it impracticable, each circuit court shall establish regular times and places, at intervals sufficiently frequent for the prompt dispatch of business, at which motions requiring notice and hearing may be heard and disposed of; but the judge at any time or place and on such notice, if any, as the judge considers reasonable may make orders for the advancement, conduct, and hearing of actions. To expedite its business, the court may make provision by rule or order for the submission and determination of motions without oral hearing upon brief written statements of reasons in support and opposition.
Rule 78.Motion Day.
Last amended January 1, 2000 · Last verified July 3, 2026
In one sentenceRule 78 requires each circuit court to set regular times and places for hearing motions, while letting a judge act on shorter notice or without oral argument when it speeds things along.
Full Text of Rule 78
Amendment History
Amended December 7, 1999, effective January 1, 2000
Plain-English Summary
Unless local conditions make it impracticable, each circuit court must set regular, frequent times and places for hearing and disposing of motions that require notice and a hearing. That doesn't stop a judge from making orders for advancing, conducting, or hearing a case at any other time or place, on whatever notice the judge considers reasonable.
To keep things moving, the court can also provide, by rule or order, for deciding motions without oral argument, based on brief written statements of the reasons for and against.
Frequently Asked Questions
Does a court have to set fixed times for hearing motions?
Yes, unless local conditions make it impracticable; Rule 78 requires regular, sufficiently frequent times and places for motions requiring notice and hearing.
Can a motion be decided without an oral hearing?
Yes. The court may provide for submitting and deciding motions on brief written statements alone, without oral argument.
Source & verification. The rule text and History are reproduced verbatim from the
official Hawaii Rules of Civil Procedure (Haw. R. Civ. P. 78). Prescribed by the Supreme Court of Hawaii (Haw. Rev. Stat. § 602-11; Haw. Const. art. VI, § 7). The plain-English summary is original and written by us. Last verified July 3, 2026. ·
Official source
Also known as: motion dayhearing motions without oral argument