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It is 11:30 p.m. in Kapolei and a 15-year-old walking home from a friend's house is stopped by a Honolulu Police Department officer. Honolulu's youth curfew covers people under 16, so the officer has a reason to ask questions. What happens next depends on rules specific to Hawaii: which court hears cases involving people under 18, what an officer must do about parents, how a juvenile record is kept, and which office provides a free lawyer.
Under 18 means Family Court
Hawaii does not have a court called 'juvenile court.' Since 1965 the Family Court, a division of the state circuit courts, has handled delinquency cases (a minor accused of breaking a law), status offenses (things that are only offenses because of age, like truancy or running away), and juvenile detention. The Honolulu Police Department's own policy defines a juvenile as a youth under 18, so a 17-year-old arrested in Kaneohe is on the Family Court track.
A case can still be moved. Hawaii's waiver statute, HRS section 571-22, lets the Family Court transfer certain cases to adult criminal court after a hearing; 'waiver' means the Family Court gives up the case. We could not confirm the ages and offense list from an official page; check that section or ask a defense lawyer. The Family Court process rests on In re Gault (1967), where the U.S. Supreme Court held that a young person facing possible confinement has the right to notice of the charges, to a lawyer, to question witnesses, and to stay silent.
Parents, questioning, and where a minor is taken
Honolulu's police policy on handling juveniles says the arresting officer shall notify a parent or guardian of any arrest, including a field arrest. Officers may take a youth to a station for questioning when they have reasonable grounds. The policy does not promise that a parent will be in the room, and we found no Hawaii rule requiring a lawyer or parent before a minor waives the right to stay silent. The calm answer: say you want a parent and a lawyer, then stop talking.
On Oahu, a youth who qualifies for secure detention goes to the Kapolei Juvenile Detention Facility. A status offender, which includes a curfew violation, shall not be held in secure detention, and children under 12 are not held there either.
Curfew is a county rule; records are confidential but not erased
There is no statewide youth curfew in Hawaii. Curfew is a county matter, and the state has four counties: Honolulu, Maui, Hawaii, and Kauai. The Honolulu policy states that curfew applies to a youth under 16; on Maui or in Hilo, check your own county's ordinance.
Juvenile records in Hawaii are confidential by statute, but confidential is not the same as gone. Under HRS section 571-88, a person, or a parent for a minor, can apply in writing to the Family Court to expunge a juvenile arrest record, and 'expunge' means the record is set aside and kept secret or destroyed. That relief is available only when the case was never referred for prosecution or the court found the young person not responsible. When it is granted, the court issues a certificate, and you may legally say you have no record of that arrest.
Getting a free lawyer and finding the rules
The Hawaii Office of the Public Defender represents people who cannot afford a lawyer, and its eligibility page lists minors in Chapter 571 proceedings, meaning Family Court law-violation cases. The Oahu office is at 1130 North Nimitz Highway, Suite A-254, in Honolulu, and it has a separate Family line, (808) 586-2300. Branch offices in Hilo, Kona, Kauai, and Maui and Molokai are linked from the office's Contact Us page. Ask for the public defender at the first court date if you do not have a lawyer.
The Hawaii State Judiciary site describes the Family Court and has self-help pages on preparing for a juvenile hearing. The Honolulu Police Department publishes its handling-juveniles policy online. Bring a parent or another trusted adult to every court date.
À retenir
- Anyone under 18 in Hawaii goes to the Family Court, and In re Gault (1967) guarantees notice, a lawyer, and the right to stay silent there.
- Honolulu police must notify a parent or guardian of any arrest, but nothing requires a parent before questioning; ask for a parent and a lawyer.
- Curfew is a county ordinance, not state law; Honolulu's applies under age 16, and a curfew violator cannot be held in secure detention.
- Juvenile records are confidential, and HRS 571-88 lets you ask the Family Court to expunge an arrest that was never prosecuted; the Public Defender's Family line on Oahu is (808) 586-2300.
Sources
- Honolulu Police Department: Policy, Handling Juveniles (s'ouvre dans un nouvel onglet)
- Hawaii Office of the Public Defender: Oahu Office (s'ouvre dans un nouvel onglet)
- Collateral Consequences Resource Center: Hawaii restoration of rights, expungement and sealing (s'ouvre dans un nouvel onglet)
- Legal Information Institute (Cornell): In re Gault (1967) (s'ouvre dans un nouvel onglet)
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