Hawaii Revised Statutes
571. Family Courts
571-84 Records.

§571-84 Records. (a) The court shall maintain records of all cases brought before it. Except as provided in sections 571-84.6 and 584-20.5, in proceedings under section 571-11 and in paternity proceedings under chapter 584, the following records shall be withheld from public inspection: the court docket, petitions, complaints, motions, and other papers filed in any case; transcripts of testimony taken by the court; and findings, judgments, orders, decrees, and other papers other than social records filed in proceedings before the court. The records other than social records shall be open to inspection: by the parties and their attorneys, by an institution or agency to which custody of a minor has been transferred, and by an individual who has been appointed guardian; with consent of the judge, by persons having a legitimate interest in the proceedings from the standpoint of the welfare of the minor; and, pursuant to order of the court or the rules of court, by persons conducting pertinent research studies, and by persons, institutions, and agencies having a legitimate interest in the protection, welfare, treatment, or disposition of the minor.
(b) Reports of social and clinical studies or examinations made pursuant to this chapter shall be withheld from public inspection, except that information from these reports may be furnished, in a manner determined by the judge, to persons and governmental and private agencies and institutions conducting pertinent research studies or having a legitimate interest in the protection, welfare, treatment, or disposition of the minor.
(c) No information obtained or social records prepared in the discharge of official duty by an employee of the court shall be disclosed directly or indirectly to anyone other than the judge or others entitled under this chapter to receive the information, unless and until otherwise ordered by the judge.
(d) Any photograph or fingerprint taken of any minor may be used or circulated only as permitted by section 571-74.
(e) The records of any police department and of any juvenile division or section thereof, relating to any proceedings authorized under section 571-11 shall be confidential and shall be open to inspection and use only by persons whose official duties are concerned with this chapter, except as provided in subsections (d) and (f), sections 571-88 and 571-72(b), or as otherwise ordered by the court.
(f) Any police records concerning traffic accidents in which a minor coming within section 571-11(1) is involved, after the termination of any proceeding under section 571-11(1) arising out of any accident, or in any event after six months from the date of the accident, shall be available for inspection by the parties directly concerned in the accident or their duly licensed attorneys acting under written authority signed by either party. Any person who may sue because of death resulting from any traffic accident shall be deemed a party concerned.
(g) In all proceedings concerning violations other than traffic violations, in which a minor coming within section 571-11(1) is involved and after the termination of any proceeding under section 571-11(1) arising out of the violation, the court may disclose to a party directly concerned the disposition of a case involving an offense against a person or property. This disclosure shall be made only upon written request of the party directly concerned. If the minor has been adjudicated a law violator, the name and address of the minor, and, when practicable, the name of the parent or guardian shall be disclosed, pursuant to the order of the court or the Hawaii family court rules, to the parties directly concerned with the alleged violation or their duly licensed attorneys acting under written authority signed by either party. For the purpose of this section, "parties directly concerned" means any person who may sue because of death, injury, or damage resulting from any violation, other than a traffic violation, in which a minor coming within section 571-11(1) is involved.
The minor, and, when practicable, the minor's parents or custodian, and the attorney of the minor shall be notified when the minor's name and address have been released.
(h) Evidence given in proceedings under section 571-11(1) or (2) shall not in any civil, criminal, or other cause be lawful or proper evidence against the minor therein involved for any purpose whatever, except in subsequent proceedings involving the same minor under section 571-11(1) or (2).
(i) All information in the records except reports of social studies and clinical studies or examinations shall be recorded in the juvenile justice information system. Information about the dates, length, preparer, and subject of social studies may be included in the juvenile justice information system. [L 1965, c 232, pt of §1; Supp, §333-39; HRS §571-84; am L 1973, c 211, §1(k); am L 1977, c 172, §2; am L 1980, c 232, §30; am L 1983, c 168, §1; am L 1987, c 47, §1; am L 1990, c 189, § §3, 4; am L 1991, c 311, §5; am L 1995, c 100, §2; am L 1997, c 317, §4 and c 318, §3; am L 1999, c 18, §16 and c 139, §2; am L 2001, c 233, §3; am L 2019, c 225, §2]
Cross References
Juvenile justice information system, see chapter 846D.
Rules of Court
Confidentiality, see HFCR rule 79; court dispositions reported, see HFCR rule 157.
Case Notes
Defendant did not have standing under this section to seek suppression of statements defendant made in family court because the purpose of this [section] was not to protect adults involved in a family court dispute. 14 F. Supp. 2d 1194 (1998).
This section does not prohibit use of juvenile record in presentence report under §706-602. 56 H. 75, 527 P.2d 1269 (1974).
Court's ruling that evidence of defendant's juvenile proceedings could be admissible violated subsection (h) and constituted reversible error, where ruling was a reason defendant decided not to testify, infringed on defendant's constitutional right to testify, and there was a reasonable possibility that the court's error might have contributed to defendant's conviction. 127 H. 432, 279 P.3d 1237 (2012).
Subsection (h) clearly and unambiguously prohibits the use of evidence from juvenile proceedings in any adult criminal case for any purpose whatsoever; appellate court thus erred in affirming trial court's ruling that the State would be allowed to introduce evidence from the prior juvenile proceedings of defendant if defendant testified on cross-examination in the instant case that defendant did not know that a single punch could cause the death of a person. 127 H. 432, 279 P.3d 1237 (2012).

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