Juveniles Tried as Adults in Hawaii

Hawaii has no automatic adult prosecution; the family court decides through a waiver hearing. It may waive jurisdiction for a minor 16 or older charged with a felony, and for a minor 14 or older charged with a felony that caused serious bodily injury, would be a class A felony, or follows more than one prior felony-level adjudication; minors of any age charged with first- or second-degree murder or attempted murder may also be waived. The court must find no evidence the minor is committable to a mental health or disability institution (and, for 16- and 17-year-olds, that the minor is untreatable in available facilities or community safety requires restraint beyond minority), weighing seriousness, violence, maturity, record and the prospects for rehabilitation.

Hawaii's rule on court-appointed lawyers: An indigent person who is arrested for, charged with, or convicted of an offense punishable by confinement in jail or prison is entitled to be represented by a public defender; the court may appoint other counsel for a conflict of interest or in the interests of justice (§ 802-1). Unless the court orders otherwise, the determination of indigency is made by a public defender, subject to review by the court, based on an appropriate inquiry into the person's finances and an affidavit or certificate signed by the person demonstrating financial inability to obtain counsel. A person waives the right to counsel by refusing to furnish information pertinent to the indigency determination (§ 802-4). Haw. Rev. Stat. §§ 802-1, 802-4

Lawyers set their own fees, and Hawaii has rules on how they may charge. See hiring a criminal defense lawyer in Hawaii for fee rules, how to check a lawyer's license and free help.

How release before trial works in Hawaii: Before conviction, a defendant 'may be admitted to bail before conviction as a matter of right' for bailable offenses, and bail is set under 'the least restrictive conditions required to ensure the defendant's appearance and to protect the public' (§ 804-4). Bail may be denied where the charge is for a serious crime and there is a serious risk of flight, obstruction of justice or witness intimidation, danger to any person or the community, or likely further illegal activity; and if, after a hearing, the court finds no condition or combination of conditions will reasonably assure appearance or the safety of any other person or the community (§ 804-3). The amount of bail rests in the discretion of the justice, judge or the officers named in § 804-5, and 'shall be set in a reasonable amount based upon all available information, including the offense alleged, the possible punishment upon conviction, and the defendant's financial ability to afford bail'; it should be determined 'as not to suffer the wealthy to escape by the payment of a pecuniary penalty, nor to render the privilege useless to the poor' (§ 804-9). Haw. Rev. Stat. §§ 804-3, 804-4, 804-9 What happens after an arrest.

Each state sets its own rules for sealing or expunging records. See Hawaii expungement and record sealing rules.