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HRS §835-4

Court rules for a material witness at arraignment

When a witness comes to court, the judge must explain the hearing and the witness's rights, including the right to a lawyer. If the hearing is delayed because the witness asks for time, the judge can set bail or jail the witness if they don't show up.

courts

The statute, as written — Material witness order; arraignment

(a) When the prospective witness appears before the court, the court must inform the prospective witness of the nature and purpose of the proceeding, and that the prospective witness is entitled to a prompt hearing upon the issue of whether the prospective witness should be adjudged a material witness. The prospective witness possesses all the rights, and is entitled to all the court instructions, with respect to right to counsel, opportunity to obtain counsel and assignment of counsel in case of financial inability to retain such, which, pursuant to rule 5(d)(1), Hawaii rules of criminal procedure, accrue to a defendant arraigned upon a felony complaint in the district court. (b) If the proceeding is adjourned at the prospective witness' instance, for the purpose of obtaining counsel or otherwise, the court must order the prospective witness to appear upon the adjourned date. The court may further fix bail to secure the prospective witness' appearance upon such date or until the proceeding is completed and, upon default thereof, may commit the prospective witness to the custody of the chief of police for such period.
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.