As noted in the story, we recently applied to the Hawaii Supreme Court for a transfer of the case from the Intermediate Court of Appeals to the Supreme Court, and for expedited consideration pursuant to Haw. Rev. Stat. § 11-52 (1993).
Transfer of an appeal from the ICA to the Supreme Court is mandatory ifthe appeal involves “a question of imperative or fundamental publicimportance.” Transfer is discretionary if it involves “a question offirst impression or a novel legal question.” Haw. Rev. Stat. § 602-58 (1993).Appeals of residency issues are of great public importance and aresubject to speedy resolution under section 11-52, which provides”[w]hen the appeal is perfected, the court shall hear the appeal assoon thereafter as may be reasonable.”