Opinion ID: 1157986
Heading Depth: 2
Heading Rank: 1

Heading: The Bail Schedule Contravenes The Controlling Bail Statutes.

Text: HRS ch. 804 governs bail in criminal cases. HRS § 804-5 designates the persons who may admit an accused to bail [3] and provides as follows: By whom allowed. In cases where the punishment for the offense charged may be imprisonment for life not subject to parole, or imprisonment for a term of more than ten years with or without a fine, a judge or justice of a court of record, [other than a district court judge,] shall be competent to admit the accused to bail, in conformity with sections 804-3 to 6. In all other cases the accused may be so admitted to bail by any judge or justice of a court of record, [including a district judge,] and in cases where the punishment for the offense charged may not exceed two years' imprisonment with or without a fine, the sheriff, the sheriff's deputy, the chief of police or any person named by the chief of police, or the sheriff of Kalawao, regardless of the circuit within which the alleged offense was committed, may admit the accused person to bail. (Emphasis added and brackets in original.) Pursuant to HRS § 804-5, where the maximum punishment is two years or less, a circuit court judge, a district court judge, the chief of police, or persons appointed by the chief of police (as well as the sheriff or sheriff's deputy or the sheriff of Kalawao) may admit an accused to bail. In this particular case, because the charged offense was a misdemeanor with a maximum penalty of less than two years, the police had the authority to set the bail for Petitioner. Because HPD had the authority to admit Petitioner to bail, the amount of bail rested within HPD's discretion, as allowed by HRS § 804-9. See also State v. Kapoi, 64 Haw. 130, 137, 637 P.2d 1105, 1111 (1981) (fixing amount of bail subsequent to defendant's arrest for minor offense is matter within discretion of chief of police or his designee). [4] HRS § 804-9 provides as follows: Amount. The amount of bail rests in the discretion of the justice or judge or the officers named in section 804-5; but should be so determined as not to suffer the wealthy to escape by the payment of a pecuniary penalty, nor to render the privilege useless to the poor. In all cases, the officer letting to bail should consider the punishment to be inflicted on conviction, and the pecuniary circumstances of the party accused. We understand HRS § 804-9 to mean no more than that bail shall be fixed in a reasonable amount, considering the financial status of the defendant and the punishment to be imposed upon him on conviction. See Sakamoto v. Chang, 56 Haw. 447, 451, 539 P.2d 1197, 1199 (1975) (interpreting the precursor to HRS § 804-9). Further, the statute grants wide discretion to the bail setting authority to balance these and other relevant factors in determining the amount of bail for the individual defendant. Id. [5] Because HRS § 804-5 provides the chief of police or his designee with independent authority and discretion to admit persons charged with misdemeanor offenses, including abuse of household member offenses, to bail in accordance with HRS § 804-9, the senior judge of the family court lacked authority to issue a bail schedule divesting the police of that authority and discretion. Thus, the Bail Schedule is contrary to statute and must be vacated. The fact that this particular Bail Schedule is contrary to statute, however, does not prevent the family court or HPD from considering reasonable, suggested bail guidelines as long as it is clear that the actual setting of the amount of bail, in all instances, is within the discretion of the bail setting authority identified in HRS § 804-5 and that bail must be determined on an individualized basis as required by HRS § 804-9.