LIHU'E, Kaua'i— The state judiciary on Friday dedicated Hawai'i's most high-tech courthouse, replacing the one the courts on Kaua'i have used since the late 1930s.

Hawai'i Chief Justice Ronald Moon and Circuit Court Judge George Masuoka attended the dedication ceremony.

"George had been fighting so long to acquire the funds for the Kaua'i Judiciary Complex to be built," Moon said.

"I even remember what he said to me, he said, 'Ronald, I don't think I'll even be alive when we finally get the funding to build this complex.' Well ladies and gentlemen, you are looking at the living dead."

"It's been a long time coming," Masuoka said.

The 112,000-square-foot facility, named Pu'uhonua Kaulike, or The Sanctuary of Justice, cost $42 million to construct and equip.

"We operated from a facility which had been obsolete for 20 years," said Ernest Barreira, deputy chief court administrator for the Fifth Judicial Circuit.

"Although the Kaua'i Judiciary Complex is a wonder to look at from the outside, the true value and precedence of the facility is inside; it being the most technologically advanced judicial facility in Hawai'i is its true prestige."

One wing has six technologically enhanced courtrooms and judicial chambers, while the other houses administrative functions and court-user services.

The building has five jail cells, multiple conference rooms, meeting rooms for attorneys and clients, and four jury deliberation rooms.

The courtrooms, hallways, offices and outdoor areas are monitored by 170 security cameras.

The facade of the new facility features glass mosaic murals created by Kaua'i artist Carol Bennett. The artwork, titled "Kanawai," or law, depicts falling water that represents justice raining down, she said.

The murals were commissioned and funded through the state's Art in Public Places Program.

The complex will be open to the public Aug. 22.