"Fines and fees (and license suspensions) are the main ways that courts keep even petty violators in a never-ending cycle with the criminal justice system. Hawaii has a barbaric way of dealing with this that would shock the conscience of anyone coming from most other states (where it is probably already pretty shocking).
They take injustice to the next level here, by requiring people, many indigent, and/or mentally ill, and/or without transportation, to continually make court appearances to report on their progress in paying off a fine that might be as low as $30. If the, often chronically dysfunctional, person misses the court date, they get an arrest warrant for a new misdemeanor charge called Contempt of Court which carries up to a year in jail and, of course, even more fines. This goes on forever, with little chance of it ever ending when the person simply can't pay the fines, even decades down the line. In my short time here, I have seen several people with petty offenses from 10-15 years ago, still getting regularly locked up for contempt of court for missing the court dates regarding their old fines. Of course, being snatched off the street and incarcerated leads to job loss and housing loss, which in turn makes paying the fines even more impossible.
This is not shocking or wrong to any of the prosecutors or judges here. It seems normal to them, because they've never seen it any other way. In California it was already bad enough, but Hawaii has a truly draconian criminal justice system. You can do jail time for getting into a fender bender here, or for driving over 80 in a 55. Possessing recreational marijuana carries real jail time here, with a measly 3 grams (less than the most commonly sold small quantity) decriminalized down to a violation with a fine.
I'm in the courtrooms watching helplessly aghast as prosecutors and judges matter-of-factly impose these harsh outcomes. I would like to step up my outside game and get involved with influencing the legislature and courts to change these unjust practices. Yet, I feel conflicted because Hawaii has such an issue with white people from the mainland coming here and not being humble to the existing culture. As a mainland transplant, I'm expected to catch waves, not make waves."
-- David Pullman
They take injustice to the next level here, by requiring people, many indigent, and/or mentally ill, and/or without transportation, to continually make court appearances to report on their progress in paying off a fine that might be as low as $30. If the, often chronically dysfunctional, person misses the court date, they get an arrest warrant for a new misdemeanor charge called Contempt of Court which carries up to a year in jail and, of course, even more fines. This goes on forever, with little chance of it ever ending when the person simply can't pay the fines, even decades down the line. In my short time here, I have seen several people with petty offenses from 10-15 years ago, still getting regularly locked up for contempt of court for missing the court dates regarding their old fines. Of course, being snatched off the street and incarcerated leads to job loss and housing loss, which in turn makes paying the fines even more impossible.
This is not shocking or wrong to any of the prosecutors or judges here. It seems normal to them, because they've never seen it any other way. In California it was already bad enough, but Hawaii has a truly draconian criminal justice system. You can do jail time for getting into a fender bender here, or for driving over 80 in a 55. Possessing recreational marijuana carries real jail time here, with a measly 3 grams (less than the most commonly sold small quantity) decriminalized down to a violation with a fine.
I'm in the courtrooms watching helplessly aghast as prosecutors and judges matter-of-factly impose these harsh outcomes. I would like to step up my outside game and get involved with influencing the legislature and courts to change these unjust practices. Yet, I feel conflicted because Hawaii has such an issue with white people from the mainland coming here and not being humble to the existing culture. As a mainland transplant, I'm expected to catch waves, not make waves."
-- David Pullman