← Back to search

HRS §337-2

Who this law applies to

This law says that if someone is found in Hawaii and is believed to be mentally unsound, and they ran away from another state where they were being held or had been declared unsound by a court, Hawaii must send them back to that state when asked.

everyone

The statute, as written — Persons subject to the chapter

A person alleged to be of unsound mind found in the State, who has fled from another state, in which at the time of the person's flight: (1) The person was under detention by law in a hospital, asylum, or other institution for the insane as a person of unsound mind; or (2) The person had been theretofore determined by legal proceedings to be of unsound mind, the finding being unreversed and in full force and effect, and the control of one's person having been acquired by a court of competent jurisdiction of the state from which the person fled; or (3) The person was subject to detention in such state, being then the person's legal domicile, personal service of process having been made, based on legal proceedings there pending to have the person declared of unsound mind, shall, on demand of the executive authority of the state from which the person fled, be delivered up to be removed thereto.
Read the official text at capitol.hawaii.gov ↗as published Jan 6, 2026our copy taken Aug 20, 2026

LawTrove is not legal advice. The summary above is a computer-generated restatement — the authoritative text is the official version linked above.