Access Kalawao Bench Warrants

Kalawao County covers the Kalaupapa Peninsula on the north shore of Molokai. It has no police force and no court of its own. All Kalawao bench warrants run through Maui's Second Circuit Court, the statewide eBench Warrant system, and the Hawaii State Sheriff Division. You can start your search for Kalawao County bench warrants on eCourt Kokua, then call the Sheriff Division in Honolulu to confirm. This page lays out each step so you can look up Kalawao bench warrants with less guesswork.

Why Kalawao County Is Different

Kalawao is the smallest county in Hawaii by both people and land. It covers the Kalaupapa Peninsula, the old leprosy settlement on the north shore of Molokai. The rest of Molokai is part of Maui County. Kalawao sits under Hawaii Department of Health rule and the National Park Service. The land is a National Historical Park. Most day-to-day life runs through federal and state staff, not a county office.

The county has no police department. It has no court. It has no elected officials. It has no municipal buildings. Any criminal case that starts on the peninsula gets routed out to the rest of the state for action. This means a Kalawao bench warrant is not signed or served by a local agency. The three agencies that touch these cases are the Second Circuit Court in Wailuku, the State Sheriff Division, and the statewide eBench Warrant system. Each plays a set role.

Maui Second Circuit and Kalawao Bench Warrants

Every Kalawao criminal case runs through the Second Circuit Court on Maui. The main courthouse is Hoapili Hale at 2145 Main Street in Wailuku. The clerk phone is (808) 244-2929. A Second Circuit judge signs each Kalawao bench warrant. The clerk files the paper. The digital copy flows to JIMS and then to eCourt Kokua for public case lookup. You can search the case on the free eCourt Kokua portal.

Each Kalawao bench warrant must follow Hawaii Rules of Penal Procedure Rule 9. Rule 9 requires a judge signature, a name or description of the person, the offense, the date and court of issue, and a bail amount. The rule bars service between 10 p.m. and 7 a.m. on closed private premises unless a judge writes an exception on the face of the paper.

The state code that backs this is Hawaii Revised Statutes Chapter 803. HRS § 803-1 is the baseline arrest rule. HRS § 803-39 lets a judge sign a bench warrant when a person breaks court terms. These rules apply to Kalawao just like they do to the other four counties. The one quirk is that service must come from state staff, not from a local police force.

State Sheriff Division for Kalawao

The Hawaii State Sheriff Division is the main law enforcement body for Kalawao County bench warrants. The Sheriff Division sits inside the Department of Law Enforcement. Headquarters is at 715 South King Street, Suite 410, Honolulu, HI 96813. The main line is (808) 587-5002. The Hawaii Section line is (808) 933-8833. Staff there cover the neighbor islands when a local police force is not in play. For Kalawao, the Sheriff Division is the one unit that shows up to serve a warrant on the peninsula.

You can read about the full role of the unit on the Sheriff Division page. The page lists the mission, the bureaus, and the statewide warrant service job. It is the best first stop for Kalawao bench warrants since the peninsula has no local police force. The unit works with the Second Circuit on each case and pulls warrant data from the locked eBench system.

The image below is from the State of Hawaii Sheriff Division page linked above.

The Sheriff Division page is the go-to source for statewide warrant service info that applies to Kalawao bench warrants.

eBench Warrant System and Kalawao

Every Kalawao bench warrant flows into the state eBench Warrant system as soon as the judge signs. The system is run by the Hawaii State Judiciary. You can read the login page at the eBench Warrants portal, though access is locked to approved police, sheriffs, and court staff. Public users who want Kalawao case status should use eCourt Kokua instead.

eCourt Kokua shows case dockets, hearing dates, and warrant status for most open cases. The hearing search rolled out in August 2023 and gives a two-week view of upcoming hearings. The release is on the eCourt Kokua hearing search page. For older Kalawao cases, you may need to visit the Hawaii State Archives.

The Hawaii State Archives holds Judiciary Branch records from 1839 to 1970. These include civil, criminal, marriage, divorce, equity, law, probate, and will records. Some of the old Kalawao files live in this set, given the unique judicial history of the leprosy settlement. You can read the pointer on the UH Law Library Hawaii Courts guide. The archives are a good secondary source for old Kalawao bench warrants that never made it into JIMS.

The image below is from the UH Law Library Hawaii Courts guide linked above.

The UH Law Library guide is the most useful single spot for old court records tied to Kalawao County bench warrants.

Criminal History Checks That Touch Kalawao

There is no HCJDC public access site on Kalawao. The closest sites are on Maui at 55 Mahalani Street in Wailuku and in Honolulu at 465 South King Street. Each printout costs $25. You can read the full list at the HCJDC public access sites page. A $25 printout is not a direct bench warrant search, but it can flag past convictions that may tie to an old Kalawao case.

For a fast online check, use the eCrim portal. A basic search costs $5. A full criminal history report costs $12. The tool times out after 30 minutes of no use. For name and fingerprint checks at the state level, read the HCJDC criminal history page. It spells out the forms and the fees for adult record checks that may touch on Kalawao bench warrants.

Clearing a Kalawao County Bench Warrant

If you find a bench warrant in your name tied to a Kalawao case, do not wait it out. The warrant will stay active until a sheriff serves it or a Second Circuit judge quashes it. The safe first step is to talk to a lawyer. A private defense lawyer can file a motion to quash and set a new court date at Hoapili Hale in Wailuku. The Office of the Public Defender helps people who cannot pay for counsel.

You can also call the Second Circuit clerk at (808) 244-2929 to ask how the judge wants the case handled. Many judges will agree to quash a Kalawao bench warrant if the person shows up and posts the bail amount set on the warrant. The judge may set new release terms too. Walking onto the peninsula to ask a sheriff about a warrant is a risk. Sheriffs can arrest you on the spot if the warrant is valid. Call the Sheriff Division at (808) 587-5002 first and send a lawyer to the courthouse.

You can also read the broader Hawaii State Judiciary home at the state courts site. It is the root page for every court service that applies to Kalawao County bench warrants, from case lookup to clerk contact lines. Public users who cannot reach the Maui clerk can also search by case type or judge from the main site.

Kalawao Peninsula Area

Kalawao County is home to Kalaupapa, the old Hansen's disease settlement and now a National Historical Park. The peninsula also holds the old town site of Kalawao on the east end. There are no incorporated cities in the county. Entry to the peninsula is limited by federal and state rule, so most cases that lead to a Kalawao bench warrant start with a visiting worker or a state agent rather than a resident.

Nearby Hawaii Counties

Kalawao sits on the north shore of Molokai, next to Maui County on the same island. The other four counties each have their own courts and their own police records units. If a case crosses islands, you may need to check a warrant at a nearby county too.