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HRS §46-35

County must provide lawyers for firefighters

This section says the county must provide a lawyer for firefighters who are charged with a crime, get a traffic ticket, or are sued for something they did while doing their firefighter job. The county pays for the lawyer in criminal and traffic cases, and the county attorney handles civil cases.

employees

The statute, as written — Firefighters, counsel for

Whenever any firefighter is prosecuted for any crime for acts done in the performance of the firefighter's duty as a firefighter, or any traffic violation while in the course of operating any firefighting apparatus or other authorized emergency vehicle of the fire department, or sued in any civil cause for acts done in the performance of the firefighter's duty as a firefighter, the firefighter shall be represented and defended, (1) In the criminal and traffic violations proceedings by an attorney to be employed and paid by the council, and (2) In the civil case by the corporation counsel or county attorney, as the case may be.
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.