Judges and staff from the First Circuit recently participated in their second Expungement and Bench Warrant Recall Clinic. This free legal service event was held at Waimānalo Elementary School on January 11, to assist members of Oʻahu’s Windward community.

Volunteer attorneys from the private sector, the Native Hawaiian Legal Corporation, the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) of Hawaiʻi, and Hawaiʻi Innocence Project processed expungement applications, while personnel from the State Office of the Public Defender handled bench warrant recalls. Fifty-eight attendees were served: 41 submitted applications for expungement, and 17 had their bench warrants recalled.

Individuals with arrest records and bench warrants often face a variety of challenges that can impact different aspects of their lives, including denial of employment following a basic background check; limitations on career advancement; difficulty obtaining professional licenses; being disqualified for rental housing, especially in more competitive markets like Hawaiʻi’s; risk of eviction; challenges with maintaining parental rights or child custody; eligibility for certain educational programs, financial aid, or scholarships; and a range of social stigmas related to having a criminal history.

“I am deeply grateful to our community partners, judges and staff who provided this valuable opportunity to members of our community to obtain access to justice,” said Chief Justice Mark E. Recktenwald. “Those who are eligible to have their bench warrants recalled and arrest records expunged may find relief from the long-term impact these records can have, enabling them to move forward in their lives.”

Deputy Chief Judge Melanie May also expressed thanks to the event participants, saying, “This event would not have been possible without the State Office of the Public Defender, the Hawaiʻi Criminal Justice Data Center, William S. Richardson School of Law, Hawaiʻi Workers Center, ACLU Hawaiʻi, Project e4, Volunteer Legal Services Hawaiʻi, and the Waimanalo community. Our thanks go out to all of them.”