Hawaii - Jury Duty Laws, Jury Selection, Juror Qualification

In the American court system, criminal defendants are guaranteed the right to trial by a "jury of their peers". In Hawaii, a pool of potential jurors is randomly selected from the local population of individuals eligible for jury duty.

A prospective juror must be:

• a citizen of the United States and of the State
• at least 18 years old
• a resident of the circuit in which summoned
• able to read, speak, and understand the English language
• been convicted of a felony in a state or federal court and pardoned.

How Are Potential Jurors Chosen in Hawaii?

The first stage in jury selection is summoning a pool of potential jurors from the list of local citizens eligible to serve on a jury in Hawaii, as described above.

The state clerk shall compile a master list for each circuit yearly consisting of all voter registration lists and supplemented with lists of taxpayers and licensed drivers of the circuit.

Receiving a Jury Duty Summons in Hawaii

If your name is randomly selected for the jury pool through the process described above, you receive a jury summons in the mail instructing you to appear for jury selection on a pre-set day.

While there are a few excuses for getting out of jury selection in HI, most people summoned will have to report to the courthouse for the next stage of the juror selection process, voir dire.

The Juror Selection Process, or "Voir Dire"

Just because you qualify to be a juror and are summoned for jury selection, doesn't mean that you will be selected to be a juror on a case. The process of "Voir Dire", the actual act of jury selection, is how judges, defense attorneys, and prosecutors actually choose the individuals who will sit on the juries for upcoming criminal and civil cases.

During the voir dire process, each lawyer will ask the pool of potential jurors a series of questions about their background, beliefs, prejudices, or relationships with any party to the case. While the goal is to select an impartial jury to render a verdict, each attorney will also seek to exclude any jurors who seem to be more likely to vote against their client's interests. While jury candidates are instructed to be open and truthful when answering such questions, the juror selection process is also where most individuals who don't wish to serve on a trial find a way to be excused from further juror duties.

What Happens After Jury Selection Day

If you are selected to serve on a jury, you will be provided with the trial date, and must return to serve on the jury for the duration of the trial and deliberations. If you were not selected to serve on any jury during the voir dire process, you can go home, and your Hawaii jury duty obligations are complete.

You will receive nominal Hawaii jury duty pay for the jury selection day, as well as for any days served on a jury. Once your service is complete, you won't be summoned for jury duty again until Hawaii re-adds you to the potential juror pool.

While jury duty is a civic requirement for all eligible citizens in Hawaii, the state restricts how often you can be summoned for jury duty in order to ensure a fresh jury pool and prevent undue hardship by being summoned too frequently.

Hawaii Jury Duty Summons Frequency:

A person who has served as a juror in Hawaii State or District court within one year preceding submission of the juror questionnaire shall be exempt from serving.

While there are a number of ways to be legally excused from jury duty in Hawaii, failing to appear when summoned for jury selection or jury duty without an excuse is illegal, and can result in legal repercussions.

Wilful misrepresentation of a material fact on jury qualification form may be find the juror guilty of petty misdemeanor and punished by a fine of not more than $500 or imprisonment for not more than thirty days, or both.

Employers in Hawaii are also forbidden from penalizing employees who miss work for jury duty.