The High Court of American Samoa is a Samoan court and the highest court below the

United States Supreme Court The Supreme Court of the United States (SCOTUS) is the highest court in the federal judiciary of the United States. It has ultimate appellate jurisdiction over all U.S. federal court cases, and over state court cases that involve a point o ...

American Samoa American Samoa ( sm, Amerika Sāmoa, ; also ' or ') is an unincorporated territory of the United States located in the South Pacific Ocean, southeast of the island country of Samoa. Its location is centered on . It is east of the Internatio ...

. The Court is located in the capital of

Fagatogo Fagatogo is the downtown area of Pago Pago (the territorial capital of American Samoa).Grabowski, John F. (1992). ''U.S. Territories and Possessions (State Report Series)''. Chelsea House Pub. Page 51. . Located in the low grounds at the foot of M ...

. It consists of one chief justice and one

associate justice Associate justice or associate judge (or simply associate) is a judicial panel member who is not the chief justice in some jurisdictions. The title "Associate Justice" is used for members of the Supreme Court of the United States and some sta ...

, appointed by the

United States Secretary of the Interior The United States secretary of the interior is the head of the United States Department of the Interior. The secretary and the Department of the Interior are responsible for the management and conservation of most federal land along with natur ...

, holding office during "good behavior" and removable for cause. As American Samoa has no local

federal district court The United States district courts are the trial courts of the U.S. federal judiciary. There is one district court for each federal judicial district, which each cover one U.S. state or, in some cases, a portion of a state. Each district cou ...

or territorial court, the High Court has also been granted the powers of a federal district court in certain matters while other federal matters are handled by the

United States District Court for the District of Columbia The United States District Court for the District of Columbia (in case citations, D.D.C.) is a federal district court in the District of Columbia. It also occasionally handles (jointly with the United States District Court for the District ...

and the

United States District Court for the District of Hawaii The United States District Court for the District of Hawaii (in case citations, D. Haw.) is the principal trial court of the United States Federal Court System in the state of Hawaii. The court's territorial jurisdiction encompasses the sta ...

. The High Court of American Samoa also has several Samoan associate judges who sit with the two justices. Normally, two associate judges will sit with the chief justice and associate justice on every case. The Secretary of the Interior retains ultimate authority over the courts. The colonial-style Maugaolii High Court served as the

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headquarters during

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the World War II by country, vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great power ...

Organization

The High Court consists of four divisions: * the trial division; * the probate division; * the land and titles division; and * the appellate division. The trial division, which consists of the Chief Justice, the Associate Justice, and associate judges, is a court of general jurisdiction, empowered to hear, among other things, felony cases and civil cases in which the amount in controversy exceeds $5,000.

Justices

The past and present justices of the court:

References

External links

American Samoa Legal Database
* Politics of American Samoa 1921 establishments in the United States Courts and tribunals established in 1921

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Organization

Justices

See also

References

External links