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HRS §707-769

When extortion charges can be defended

This section lists defenses to extortion charges. A person can defend if they did not know the property was someone else's, or if they believed they had a right to it. There are also special defenses for household items taken from a spouse or partner, and for threats made to get what is owed.

spouses

The statute, as written — Defenses to extortion

(1) It is a defense to a prosecution for extortion as defined by paragraph (1) of section 707-764 that the defendant: (a) Was unaware that the property or service was that of another; or (b) Believed that the defendant was entitled to the property or services under a claim of right or that the defendant was authorized, by the owner or by law, to obtain or exert control as the defendant did. (2) If the owner of the property is the defendant's spouse or reciprocal beneficiary, it is a defense to a prosecution for extortion under paragraph (1) of section 707-764 that: (a) The property which is obtained or over which unauthorized control is exerted constitutes household belongings; and (b) The defendant and the defendant's spouse or reciprocal beneficiary were living together at the time of the conduct. (3) "Household belongings" means furniture, personal effects, vehicles, or money or its equivalent in amounts customarily used for household purposes, and other property usually found in and about the common dwelling and accessible to its occupants. (4) It is an affirmative defense to a prosecution for extortion as defined in paragraphs (1) and (2) of section 707-764 and as further defined by subparagraphs (e), (f), (g), and (i), that the defendant believed the threatened accusation, penal charge, or exposure to be true, or the proposed action of a public servant was justified, and that the defendant's sole intention was to compel or induce the victim to give property or services to the defendant due the defendant as restitution or indemnification for harm done, or as compensation for property obtained or lawful services performed, or to induce the victim to take reasonable action to prevent or to remedy the wrong which was the subject of the threatened accusation, charge, exposure, or action of a public servant in circumstances to which the threat relates. (5) In a prosecution for extortion as defined in paragraph (1) of section 707-764, it is not a defense that the defendant has an interest in the property if the owner has an interest in the property to which the defendant is not entitled.
Read the official text at capitol.hawaii.gov ↗as published Jan 6, 2026our copy taken Aug 20, 2026

Sections this one refers to

§707-764 What counts as extortion and when it is a crime

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